[Scherb]

I'm curious to see if any of you could correctly name the writer's for the show.
Specifically, which writer created Smurfette and why.
I'll treat you all to a few fun anecdotes and trivia morsels whether or not anyone can get this right.

EDIT: It occured to me I should probably clarify. I meant for the Hannah Barbera show.

[Fram]

Peyo created the Smurfs and all important figures (Gargamel, Azrael, Papa, Brainy, Hefty, Jokey, Smurfette, Baby, ... and of course Johan and Peewit). They all existed in the comics first and only later in the cartoons.

And why? To get a new storyline, a new element in the comic.

[Scherb]

you're close.
'cept Smurfette, as she was in the television show, had nothing to do with Peyo's character.
"SMurfette" as Peyo created, was just a stutue turned to life, the only thing the two share are name.
The character wasn't made into a female smurf until the HB toon, and by the specific writer whose name I'm asking you of (whose daughter was writen into the show, the girl Smurfette meets int he forest in one of the episodes)

[Guest]

Now this is interesting because the person behind the UK marketing campaign and also who helped bring the smurfs to America in the early 80s told me that Smurfette was created specifically for the HB cartoon for the States. We've been scratching our head over this because it didn't make much sense, so any extra info on this subject is much appreciated.

[Fram]

you're close.
'cept Smurfette, as she was in the television show, had nothing to do with Peyo's character.
"SMurfette" as Peyo created, was just a stutue turned to life, the only thing the two share are name.
The character wasn't made into a female smurf until the HB toon, and by the specific writer whose name I'm asking you of (whose daughter was writen into the show, the girl Smurfette meets int he forest in one of the episodes)

I don't get what you mean here. The Smurfette we all know (the blonde flirt) is the same as was created by Peyo in the sixties. She started life as a blac-haired creation of Gargamel, and was turned into Smurfette as we know her by Papa Smurf. This all happened in the comic way before there were any Hanna Barbera cartoons. I don't think there is any characteristic of Smurfette in the cartoons that was not originally in the comics. If Smurfette wasn't a female smurf until the HB toon, then what was she?

[Guest]

Maybe Peyo didn't conceive Smurfette to be female in the comics and she only became a real girl in the cartoons? Like Pinocchio becoming a real boy and not a puppet! I will ask my contact to explain what he meant further as well.

[XoioX2000]

Fram is completely right on this: The Smurfette appeared in the comics way before the HB cartoon was even thought about.

The fact that she is a female in the comic is in little doubt, simply because of how she gets all the Smurfs to run around like headless chickens to demonstrate their love! Proper female behavior, isn't it??

Now if that's not enough, then I am afraid there is no extra information in the cartoon that confirms she is a "she"...

Now is she wasn't... then she did hide it pretty well...

Scherb, you seem to have some very deep info about this! Please tell us! :):)

[Guest]

There wasn't a Smurfette in the Magic Flute though was there? So who made the decision to leave her out of that? There is something to this story, I am sure.

[Guest]

And the Magic Flute wasn't HB was it?

[XoioX2000]

Ok I'm talking from memory here so I could be wrong: I think the Magic Flute is chronologically before the The Smurfette story, hence why she is not in it...

[Guest]

So do all the HB cartoons mirror the comic stories exactly? Or did they use early versions of the comics (pre-smurfette) and put smurfette in there to spice up the HB cartoons?

[Scherb]

Well, the reason I thought I'd tease with that, is that my father can clear all of this up. He was one of the original writers for the HB series, as well as some Scooby Doo, Flintstones, Dennis the Menace, Swamp Thing, and Kissyfur.

Last I heard, when I was younger, was that my sister convinced him to include Smurfette into the cartoon. Yes, Peyo had the character of Smurfette, but HB didn't want to include her until my dad wrote her in anyway.

The little girl Smurfette meets int he forrest, Laura, is my sister btw.

I guess I didn't phrase the original question well, but It's hard to create leading questions to trivia like that.

He was never paid for any of those shows, nor characters, and had to sue HB later one btw. They won, Reagan (then governer and still president of the SAG, wanted the money to stay in the hands of the actors and not the writers, and he pulled a, well, Reagan by dismissing the case through an appointment of a very unsympathetic judge.

Thought maybe you'd be interested in that.

[Fram]

That is indeed interesting. The original question was a bit confusing, it looked like there was no smurfette before the cartoons
I don't know that much about the cartoons, so any info is welcome!

[Guest]

well im just glad smurfette is around, cartoon or not, she's one hit chick !

[Guest]

Well this still seems a bit strange because it differs again to the info I was told. I will do some more digging.

[Fram]

It does seem bizarre that a character the bosses didn't want in the cartoon and he decided to write in anyway, is featured (nay, headlines) in the very first episode already:

1. The Abominable Snowbeast
The Smurfs encounter a snow creature that turns out to be friendly with Smurfette.

The description of episode 29 is exactly thesame as the comic:

29. The Smurfette
Gargamel creates Smurfette as a pawn to destroy the Smurfs, and Papa Smurf changes her into a real Smurf to foil Gargamel's plan.

, and also many other early episodes are straight from the comics (AstroSmurf, ...).

24. Romeo And Smurfette
Hefty and Handy, not to mention everyone else, compete for the amourous attention of Smurfette.

Considering that the first year(s) of the Smurfs were constantly supervised by Peyo and Delporte (the original writers of the comics) and that they wanted the Smurf cartoon to be as close to the Smurf comics as possible, I would be surprised if Smurfette, a character which appears in every comic after she is introduced (i.e. in book 3, and we are up to 23 or 24 now), would have been written out of the cartoon originally. The only serious difference I know of is that the Black Smurfs had to become Purple Smurfs for obvious American reasons.

[eggie smurf]

Going on memory also, Smurfette was not in the first couple of seasons of The Smurfs cartoon in the US...the cartoon where Smurfette was "created" was also one of my favorites I also remember when Baby made his appearance a few seasons after Smurfette did in the cartoons...is Baby a cartoon creation or was he in the comics also? And were the Smurflings in the comics? It is interesting to see if there is a difference between the cartoons and comics. I'm glad you're here with your comic knowledge, Fram, because I never knew anything about the books before I joined here

[Fram]

Baby was in the comics before he was in the cartoons. I don't know if the Smurflings were first in one or the other, I think ideas were sometimes interchanged...

And Smurfette was definitely in the first year of the cartoons and it looks like she was even in the very first episode!

[XoioX2000]

Baby was in the comics before he was in the cartoons. I don't know if the Smurflings were first in one or the other, I think ideas were sometimes interchanged...

And Smurfette was definitely in the first year of the cartoons and it looks like she was even in the very first episode!

Yeap I seem to remember it that way as well: I thought the big noise around the cartoon at the time was that she HAD to be in otherwise HB felt they were not targetting an audience large enough (ie inc. little girlies!! :):)

[Rachel]

Hi Scherb, welcome aboard.

An interesting discussion guys. I am afraid I am no expert on either the comics or the cartoons so it is good to read about this stuff.

Can anyone tell me how many comic stories and cartoon episodes have been made?