The Smurfs (1995 film)

The Smurfs is a 1995 traditionally-animated musical/comedy/adventure film based on the comic strip of the same name by Pierre "Peyo" Culliford. It is written by Peyo's son, Thierry Culliford, along with Thomas Hart and John Loy. The film is produced by Studio Peyo, in association with Walt Disney Feature Animation. The film was released to theatres on May 12, 1995.

Plot
Johan and Peewit, the brave knight and royal court jester of the kingdom, help Papa Smurf and the other Smurfs rescue Smurfette from the evil wizard Gargamel and his pet cat Azrael. Smurfette had a dream about where she came from and tells us the reasons of how Smurfette was created to cause chaas before Papa Smurf found her inner beauty and made her a real Smurf with the use of magic.

Voice cast

 * Jack Angel - Papa Smurf
 * Kristin Chenoweth - Smurfette
 * Alan Cumming - Gutsy Smurf
 * Danny Goldman - Brainy Smurf
 * George Lopez - Grouchy Smurf
 * Gary Basaraba - Hefty Smurf
 * Dan Castellaneta - Vanity Smurf
 * Paul Reubens - Jokey Smurf
 * Rob Paulsen - Clumsy Smurf, Painter Smurf
 * Jeff Foxworthy - Handy Smurf
 * Jeff Glen Bennett - Scaredy Smurf
 * Hank Azaria - Gargamel
 * Frank Welker - Azrael
 * Charlie Adler - Poet Smurf
 * Cam Clarke - Sir Johan
 * Billy West - Peewit
 * Colin Fox - The King
 * Robert DeNiro - Raven #1
 * Maurice LaMarche - Raven #2
 * John Kricfalusi - Raven #3

Additional voices

 * Ross Bagdasarian, Jr.
 * Janice Karman
 * Michael Bell
 * Frank Welker
 * Tress MacNeille
 * June Foray
 * Phil Vischer
 * Mike Nawrocki
 * Ken Samson
 * Jim Cummings
 * Charlie Adler
 * Dan Castellaneta
 * Kath Soucie
 * Jess Harnell
 * Rob Paulsen

Development
On February of 1990, Peyo pitched his new Smurfs film to Disney with a plot outline and the film was eventually approved.

Reception
The Smurfs received positive-to-mixed reviews from critics.

Soundtrack
A CD soundtrack for the film was released on March 7, 1995.
 * 1) The Smurf Song (La La Song) (original theme from the Hanna-Barbera cartoon)
 * 2) The Ballad of Friendship
 * 3) Be In A Smurfy Mood
 * 4) It's A Smurf-Smurf-Smurfy Day
 * 5) Peewit Wants A Smurf
 * 6) The Smurfs/Ravens of Rock N' Roll
 * 7) Gettin' Smurfy
 * 8) Gargamel's Plan (All of the Blue Essence)
 * 9) The Girls of Rock N' Roll (End Credits, original 1986 version from The Malibu Bikini Shop)

Home media
The film was released November 21, 1995 on VHS, June 4, 2001 on DVD, and April 15, 2008 on Blu-ray.

Trivia

 * Cam Clarke reprises his role as Sir Johan from The Smurfs and the Magic Flute.
 * Danny Goldman reprises his role as Brainy Smurf from the Hanna-Barbera animated television series.
 * George Lopez, Gary Basaraba, Paul Reubens, Jeff Foxworthy, Hank Azaria (in live-action) and Frank Welker later reprised their roles in the live-action/CGI The Smurfs duology, while Jack Angel reprised his role as Papa Smurf in the CGI short films.
 * Unlike the Hanna-Barbera cartoon and like the original comics, Brainy gets bonked in the head for talking too much instead of being thrown/kicked out of the Smurf Village.
 * And like the Hanna-Barbera cartoon, Papa Smurf used magic to make Smurfette pretty instead of plastic "smurfery" like in the comics.
 * Grouchy has an extensive use of dialogue in the film, which is marked the first time he says anything else besides saying that he hates every single thing that comes his way.
 * This film marks the first appearance of Gutsy Smurf, a Scottish Smurf created for the film.
 * He later returned in the live-action//CGI The Smurfs duology for Sony Pictures Animation and Columbia Pictures.
 * A few songs are recycled from The Smurfs and the Magic Flute, one song recycled from Fleischer feature Gulliver's Travels with permission from Paramount, and some recycled from The Chipmunk Adventure.
 * Also, the original version of The Girls of Rock N' Roll from 1986's The Malibu Bikini Shop was used with permission and can be heard during the end credits.
 * Be In A Smurfy Mood is sung to the tune of Put on Your Sunday Clothes from the 1969 film Hello Dolly!