User Reviews

"The Smurfs Christmas Special" is an Emmy-nominated 23-minute short film from 1982, so it has its 35th anniversary this year. As it features the Smurfs, it is an animated film of course. In terms of length and contents, you can probably say that it's pretty much just another Smurfs episode with the exception that there is focus on winter and Christmas in here and that Gargamel is not the primary antagonist in here. or lets say not the evil one. This is the story of two children away from home and they make friends with the Smurfs while Gargamel and an evil sorcerer are looking for them. There are weaknesses for sure, for example that Gargamel makes a pact with him that says if he brings him the kids then he can destroy the Smurfs. Strangely enough, Gargamel finds the children in the Smurf village, but instead of following through with his lifelong goal of catching/destroying the Smurfs, he just takes the children away. And, even if the song near the end was pretty nice, it is a bit absurd how it defeats pure evil and the flames as well. A very children-friendly film that is maybe a bit more dramatic than usual. But there are funny moments again as well, such as Gargamel's cat laughing at his owner's singing voice and a couple more depending on your subjective humor. I personally enjoyed the watch and it's a decent choice to see at the holidays. Thumbs up.

Thanks to the IMDb hit-list for directing me towards Toplessrobot.com, where they posted an article about the "Top 10 Most Insane, Child-Warping Moments of '80s Cartoons". At number 7 was the finale from this special, in which the Smurfs, two adorable little children and Gargamel join forces to sing a diabolical fiend out of existence.

I have fond memories of watching this particular show when it was first broadcast on UK television on ITV in '83 (the BBC would picked them up and show them again about a decade later, though I'm not sure if that included this special). Back in '83 I was accustomed to hearing the voices dubbed into Dutch and was surprised to find that all the characters in the American version have sped up helium induced voices. Even Gargamel seems to be suffering from this affliction.

Anyway, the thing I most recalled from this special happened to be that very same 'Christmas makes the badness go away' song (I may even have had an old audio recording on a cassette tape - that's how much I was into the Smurfs back then). In this special, the Smurfs are preparing their Christmas celebrations, most notably by baking a giant pudding. Meanwhile Gargamel is planning to use his mother's old recipe for making life miserable to destroy the Smurfs one by one.

Young William and Guinevere and their kindly grandfather are traveling to their rich uncle Edgar on a slay. A nasty looking stranger (guest voice actor René Auberjonois) commands a wolf to startle them but, like all cartoon bad guys, still somehow manages to let all three of them get away from him. However, the two children are separated from their grandpa and end up at Gargamel's cottage. He sends them away at first but the stranger, who doesn't seem to want to do anything for himself, strikes a bargain with the bald wizard in a dress: find the children and receive the means to destroy the entire Smurf village.

Meanwhile, Billy and Guinny are picked up by the Smurfs and the boy, being the youngest, promptly mistake Papa Smurf for Santa Clause. Armed with a map to the Smurf's village and a powerful spell to make everything wither and die, Gargamel finally manages to destroy the Smurf village. Lucky for the Smurfs they are all out helping the children. There seems to be a little mathematical problem here, for we only see about 10 to 15 Smurfs out and about, not 101. But of course Gargamel becomes greedy and tries to double cross the stranger by telling uncle Edgar where the children are (in order to receive a reward in gold). Soon the stranger is on to him and uses his powers of unearthly evilness by summoning up a ring of fire that serves as a gateway to 'another place' Only one thing can save the children (as well as Gargamel & Azrael) now. You guessed it: 'Goodness makes the badness go away'.

But while the triumph of good over evil is the scene everyone remembers best, there is an even more touching (or sappy, depending on your state of mind) second finale to come. After the children are reunited with their uncle and grandpa, the Smurfs arrive back home to find their village a total ruin. They try to make the most of Christmas anyway, and when Harmony Smurf starts playing his long awaited trumpet solo (an instrumental version of the song that means instant death to emissaries from hell), goodness really does make the badness go away, and the entire village is restored to it's usual state. Christmas miracles truly do happen when you're kind-hearted and blue.

8 out of 10