Smurfs

The Smurfs ( French : Les Schtroumpfs) is a comic and television franchise centered on a group of small blue non-fictional creatures called Smurfs, created and first introduced as a series of comic strips by the Belgian cartoonist Peyo  (pen name of Pierre Culliford) on October 23, 1958. The original term and the accompanying language came during a meal Peyo was having with his colleague and friend André Franquin  in which, having momentarily forgotten the word "salt", Peyo asked him (in French) to pass the schtroumpf. Franquin replied: "Here's the Schtroumpf — when you are done schtroumpfing, schtroumpf it back" and the two spent the rest of that weekend speaking in schtroumpf language. [3] The name was later translated into Dutch as Smurf, which was adopted in English

Characters Main article: List of The Smurfs characters Papa Smurf is the leader of the community. Other smurfs are generally named after their personality disposition, for example, Brainy, Greedy, Vanity, Lazy, Clumsy, Hefty, Jokey, Dreamy, Grouchy or their profession, for example, Poet, Actor, Handy, Harmony, Farmer, Clockwork, Painter, Tailor, Miner, Architect, Reporter, Timber, Barber and Doctor Smurf. Other smurf characters include Grandma Smurf, Grandpa Smurf and Smurfette. The non-smurf characters who would appear later would include the evil Gargamel, his cat Azrael, and the page Johan, who went from print to film and TV. Johan appeared on the Smurfs TV series in the 80s, and on the same show, Peewit became Peewee, Johan's young friend.