The old Smurf song is familiar. “La, la, la, la, la, la, La! La! La! La! La!”. I can hear it in the living room even as I type this article for Associated Content. My 18 month old son’s eyes are glued to the television. Utilizing a good mix of character voices, music and sound effects, the Smurfs are still around to take names.
Who would have thought when you were seven or eight years old that some thirty years later your kids would be watching 543 year old “Papa Smurf” teach a lesson. Maybe he’s 570 something now. The Smurfs have stood the test of time thanks to the advent of digital cable and the channel Boomerang. Each morning it comes on at 9:30E/8:30C. There is also an additional airing of “The Smurfs” at 5:30E/4:30C each afternoon. Which allows parents to let their kids watch “The Smurfs” before and after school.
This just happens to be the 50th year anniversary for The Smurfs. Can you believe the show started in 1958. That means nearly three generations of kids have been allowed to watch the popular cartoon featuring blue sky guys. According to www.smurf.com, the Smurfs appeared first on October 23, 1958. Now 40 years later they are still running around and teaching little lessons. There is an excellent web site detailing each and every Smurf at www.bluebuddies.com. It even features a sound clip from each character.
The Smurfs will actually hit the big screen in 2010 with an animated action adventure movie. The film is rumored to star John Lithgow and Julia Sweeney and is currently in pre-production according to IMBD. Can you believe there will be a new millenium Smurfs movie? There is a 1976 movie called the “Smurfs and the Magic Flut” that is also available on DVD that you can find on EBay and Amazon.
If you don’t have Boomerang and want to watch the Smurfs AOL has set up a link you can watch many episodes for free at. It’s http://video.aol.com/show/smurfs. You’ll have to watch a commercial but it’s a small price to pay.
As for the new movie, I can’t imagine it will be a huge success but will undoubtedly bring back many folks who were clinging to the show in their high chairs in the 1980’s. It might even bring back my son who watches it from time to time in the morning.
