Socially awkward children can identify with Bigmouth, the giant ogre who often tried too hard to make friends and be accepted, particularly with Gargamel but even with the Smurfs.
So when Bigmouth makes a friend in Handy Smurf's creation Clockwork, he does everything he can to protect his little friend, particularly from the evil Lord Balthazar in "Bigmouth's Friend."
Lord Balthazar, it seems, wants to kidnap Clockwork Smurf from King Gerard and force the mechanical being to lead him to the Smurf Village, where he and Gargamel will be able to destroy the Smurfs once and for all and turn them into gold. Meanwhile, a lonely Bigmouth wants to visit Gargamel, but he is cruelly sent away. After he unwittingly interrupts a picnic, Bigmouth cries that he has no friends but then meets Clockwork, who immediately accepts him. King Gerard is surprised but accepting that Clockwork has made a new friend, despite Bigmouth's poor social skills.
When Lord Balthazar and Gargamel visit King Gerard and demand Clockwork, the boy king refuses and has them arrested for trespassing, prompting Balthazar's vow of revenge. Later, he shows Gargamel a wooden, giant robot with which he plans to invade the Smurf Forest castle and overthrow Gerard, all to get at Clockwork.
Meanwhile, as Bigmouth and Clockwork are playing in the forest, Handy has created a voice synthesizer to take to King Gerard and have installed in Clockwork; the Smurflings accompany to him so they can meet this Clockwork and become friends.
That night, Lord Balthazar (along with Gargamel) return to the castle with their robot and demand Clockwork, or else they destroy the castle and have King Gerard overthrown. While the Smurflings call in Papa Smurf for aid, the guards and soldiers wage a losing battle against the giant robot, as all powerful ammunition proves ineffective.
Papa Smurf, upon being told about the attempted coup at the Smurf Forest castle and that nothing seems to be even so much as fazing the robot ... even large boulders are being crushed with no effort. Once all the ammunition is exhausted and the soldiers sent fleeing, Goliath begins breaking into the castle ...
... until Clockwork arrives to save the day.
Right?
Wrong.
Despite being reminded their purpose was to capture Clockwork and force him to lead him and Gargamel to the Smurfs, Lord Balthazar — upset at someone dare stand up to him — simply uses Goliath's fists to easily crush the much smaller Clockwork to bits. And then he turns his attention to delivering the final punch that will break down the severely damaged castle door and walls, the focus now being on committing regicide.
Unfortunately for Lord Balthazar, he doesn't count on Bigfoot.
Despite being much smaller than Goliath, they quickly realize that Bigfoot is incredibly strong. With ease, he picks up Goliath, swings him around and throws him into the side wall of the castle, destroying the robot and forcing Balthazar and Gargamel to flee. See, in Balthazar's overzealousness of being challenged as a fearsome force, he forgot that his initial goal was to use Clockwork to lure the Smurfs to his castle, capture them and turn them into gold ... and in losing focus came away with nothing.
In the end, Handy is able to repair Clockwork and install the voice synthesizer, allowing it to talk. All it can say is "Hi," but Handy points out, "One step at a time. Rome wasn't built in a day."
Tropes seen in this episode:
- Curb-Stomp Battle: Goliath withstanding a brutal defensive attack unfazed. The tables are turned when Bigmouth arrives and destroys the robot with no difficulty.
- David vs. Goliath: Clockwork is the only hope the Smurfs have in defeating Lord Balthazar's giant robot, Goliath. It is another unlikely hero — also much smaller than Goliath — that comes to the rescue, however.
- Heel–Face Turn: Previously, Bigmouth was more of a Wild Card ... not really so much a villain as he was easily influenced, duped and taken advantage of by Gargamel, who often used him as a pawn in his schemes to defeat the Smurfs for good. But two key events in this episode turn Bigmouth toward the side of good for good: 1. At the beginning of the episode, when he comes wanting to play but Gargamel tells him he is an oaf and a buffoon and wants nothing more to do with him; and 2. When Bigmouth witnesses Goliath deliver the blow that destroys Clockwork and, seeing his real friends (the Smurfs and King Gerard) in danger of their lives, rushes in to stop the monstrous robot ... not even realizing he may be their last hope.
- I Just Want to Have Friends: Bigmouth's awkward attempts to make friends. One attempt includes asking a family, out picnicking in the forest, to play with him. His usual attempts to socialize with Gargamel — himself not exactly the last word on social graces — also don't quite go over as hoped.
- Intelligible Unintelligible: Even Bigmouth can understand Clockwork.
- No Social Skills: A major reason why Bigmouth seemingly has no friends ... he barges in (often at Gargamel's) without being invited or knocking, and comes upon on a family picnic, trying too hard to ask to be friends.
- Only Friend: Clockwork Smurf, whom Bigfoot mourns when he is apparently damaged beyond repair. It is presumed that he also eventually meets and makes friends with King Gerard.
