Ah, Smurfs, the little blue dwarfs with iconic hats and white pants. They are a classic from the last century. The Smurfs franchise had grown so much that it became open to a lot of creativity. New characters were introduced, and new movies were made. Despite all these expansions, do you know all these ten smurfy facts?
Love Smurfs? Check out more of our smurfy articles here and here!
10. The Smurf Language
In the Smurf universe, or at least, in the English version of it, the Smurfs are notorious for substituting the word “smurf” in the middle of their sentence. Several observations were made, and it was noted that the substitutions only replaced nouns, verbs, and their describing words. Though the substitutions themselves can be quite random. We wouldn’t know if “I am walking the road” is “I am smurfing the road” or “I am walking the smurf” unless we ask for a smurf.
9. Azrael’s Cat Breed
Azrael is quite a common cat in real life. He was based on a tabby cat. He also appeared orange, like most of the tabby cats portrayed in the media.
8. Smurfette’s Tail
Those who had watched the first movie know that Smurfette wasn’t an original smurf at first. Rather, she was a creation of Gargamel. This fact was also shown in the comics. Gargamel created her so that he could infiltrate the smurf’s village by having his smurf go into their ranks. He intended her to wreak havoc in the village.
Being a “created” smurf, this explains why she was the only female original smurf. However, something that could have been missed by the audience is that this fact also explained why she has no tail. Her tailless physical appearance and her being the only female smurf point to the fact that she was not a real smurf at first.
7. The Smurf Hat
One of the defining characteristics of the smurfs as a race (or a species) is their hats which look like (and are probably inspired by) the Phrygian cap. This cap became popular during the French Revolution and became a symbol of it after most revolutionaries wore the cap in red color.
6. Wild Smurf
Wild Smurf appeared like regular smurfs except for his hat and his underwear. For a hat, he wore a hat made up of leaves. For his bottom half, he did not wear those classic white smurf pants, but rather, he had a simple breechcloth, just enough to cover his lower loin area.
His story said that, while he was young, he was lost in the forest and was raised by wild animals. This made him develop and exhibit animal-like behavior. If this story sounds familiar, it surely does! His character is inspired by Tarzan.
5. Papa Smurf
Papa Smurf is often regarded as a father figure to the smurf. He cares for them, protects them, and he tends to their needs. The word “papa” truly describes him well.
However, in some European languages, he is referred to as the “Great Smurf” instead. For example, in French, he is called “Grand Schtroumpf,” the word “grand” meaning “great.”
4. Brainy Smurf
In French, Brainy Smurf isn’t called something like “intelligent smurf” or “genius smurf.” Instead, he is called Schtroumpf à Lunettes, or “Smurf with eyeglasses.”
3. Clumsy Smurf’s Hat
Clumsy wears his hat in a bit more forward position than the rest of the Smurfs. He wears it so much to the front that it’s so close to his eyes.
2. Blue Moon
In the 2011 movie, the smurfs were seen celebrating an event called “The Blue Moon festival.” The idea of this festivity lasted the whole movie until the end when the moon turned blue because of a spell.
In reality, the phrase “blue moon” is an idiom meaning “very rarely,” somewhat below the “when pigs fly” metaphor.
1. Three apples high
The said expression was often used to describe the smurfs’ height. Three apples, when stacked on top of one another, are almost one ruler high. Does that mean that smurfs are around a ruler high?
Well, not really. The “three apples high” expression came from the French idiom “haut comme trois pommes.” This expression was meant to say “very small in size” and, like most idioms, is not supposed to be interpreted literally. The said phrase was translated word-by-word to English, though.
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