What are “Smurfs”, you say? And how did they get to Belgium? Belgium has a rich comic book history. Lucky Luke, Tin-Tin (called “Kuifje” in the Flemish version) and many more all come fro Belgium. There is even a tourist walk around Brussels where visitors can discover various walls decorated with well-known comic book characters from Belgium.
The Smurfs, the little blue characters with white hats, are loved all over the world, although they are not always called “Smurfs”. In Germany they are the Schlümpfe, in Italy the Puft and in Spain the Pitufos. They were created as a side character by Belgian artist Peyo (pen name of Pierre Culliford) in 1958 and were first known by their French name - Les Schtroumpfs. “Smurf” is the Dutch translation.
These days you can find Smurfs in advertising, tv, the ice Capades, video games, theme parks, toys and - now 4 times - in film. In the film which hit theaters in 2011, Katy Perry played the voice of Smurfette. In the animated film from 2017, Smurfette was voiced by Demi Lovato. In this most recent version the tradition of voicing Smurfette by a leading pop singer has been fulfilled by Rihanna.
In the US most kids from the 80’s will remember The Smurfs from the Hanna-Barbera Saturday morning cartoon. In all of the different media - comic book, tv series, cartoon, film - the word “smurf” is used generously throughout and can mean all sorts of things. It can be used as a verb (“Don’t smurf it up”) or a noun. What it might actually mean to say “I’m surfing to the smurf”, however, is up to the speaker and the listener.
