La Schtroumpfette (lost Belgian animated TV special based on "The Smurfs" comic; 1969)
This article has been tagged as Needing work due to its lack of concrete references.
Early 1960s production photo of Les Schtroumpfs. The same team behind the 1961 TV series also worked on the 1969 Special.
Status: Lost
Background Information
In 1961, Belgian production studio TVA Dupuis made a TV series called Les Schtroumpfs, which was the first animated appearance of the characters who would later appear in English media as The Smurfs. The Belgian series had a total of 9 episodes aired between 1961-67 on RTB (Radio Télévision Belge de la Communauté Françoise). Some of the episodes were made in color, but have faded over time. Currently, some of the episodes can be seen at Belgian Comic Strip Center in Brussels, Belgium.
In 1965, the first animated feature film starring the characters was made called Les Aventures des Schtroumpfs which collected 5 episodes of the TV series.
The Special
In 1969, TV Dupuis made a TV special which adapted Peyo's comic storyline La Schtroumpfette (The Smurfette) which was first serialized in weekly Belgian magazine Spirou on April 7th, 1966, and published in graphic novel format in 1967. The production behind the TV special is unknown and it might have aired only once in Belgium. Unlike the 1961 series, the 1969 TV special has not resurfaced, with not even screenshots available. All that is known for sure is that it was made by the same producer of the 1961 TV series, along with some of the same production crew.
The special is particularly noteworthy as it would mark Smurfette's first animated appearance before the 1981 Hannah-Barbera series (and in one of the 1978 National Benzole commercials featuring The Smurfs). Due to very little information about the special's history, it became the most obscure adaptation of Peyo's work and is now completely forgotten in Belgium.
Gallery
Front cover of a 1966 issue of Spirou Magazine showing two smurfs. This issue is where the story was first serialized.
A page where Smurfette makes her first appearance.
Original French cover from 1967, two years before the 1969 TV special.
See Also
- Les Aventures des Schtroumpfs (partially found Belgian animated film; 1965)
- The Smurfs (found animated National Benzole commercial series; 1978)
- The Smurfs Australian BP commercial (lost advertising material; 1980s)