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"Vanity Fare" is one of the first three episodes of Season 1 from the 1980s Smurfs cartoon show.

Characters[]

Locations[]

Synopsis[]

Vanity runs away after Hefty breaks his mirror and gets trapped by Gargamel's magic mirror.

Plot Summary[]

Vanity Fare - Smurfs

Gargamel's waiting on the other side of the mirror.

In Gargamel's castle, the evil wizard is preparing a formula to put into his magical mirror, and soon he pours it into the ram's horn. The mirror glows, and as Azrael stares into it, his master tells him what it's supposed to do -- that it's supposed to capture Smurfs that look into it. Soon the cat is transported through the mirror into a distorted other world and claws for his way out of it. Gargamel sees that the mirror works, and then he pulls his cat back out, scolding him for looking into the mirror because that was meant for Smurfs to do. With his latest Smurf trap ready, Gargamel carries it with him into the forest.

In the Smurf Village, the Smurfs are playing smurfball rather roughly, causing the ball to get out of their hands and land in some Smurf eating a smurfberry dessert, splattering it all over him. Vanity, who plays the goalie, is too focused on looking at his own reflection than on the action of the game, so he misses the ball as it bounces off him. Another scuffle ensues, then the ball goes over to Brainy who kicks, then to Smurfette who head-butts it, then to Clumsy who ends up kicking it high over his head before it bounces off it. Jokey then offers Clumsy one of his "surprises", which causes him to focus on it rather than the ball. Again, Vanity also pays no attention to the ball as it goes into the net, but then the ball breaks the mirror. Hefty scolds Vanity for his distraction, allowing Clumsy's team to win a point, but Vanity no longer cares about playing as he goes off into the forest with his broken mirror.

Near a scenic waterfall, Gargamel places his magical mirror, saying that it's the perfect place to capture Smurfs, and now all they need to do is wait inside the mirror. Azrael is rather hesitant to go through the mirror again, but Gargamel grabs his cat and forces him to look into it along with himself, causing them both to be transported into it. Meanwhile, Vanity is fussing over his broken mirror when he comes across the magical mirror and decides to ditch his own mirror to take a look at himself in this one. As he does, the mirror transports him into a dark scary realm that makes him wonder what kind of place it is. Then Gargamel tells Vanity that he is in the wizard's magical mirror. Vanity tries to escape, but he is blocked off by Azrael, who sends him running straight to Gargamel, and then straight toward the mirror entrance only to find no escape. Gargamel is pleased to have his first captive Smurf, but as Azrael wants to have a taste of that Smurf, his master tells him that they must wait for other Smurfs to come and rescue them, and then they will dine on Smurf stew.

In Papa Smurf's laboratory, the village leader finds a fixer spell in one of his books and reads that all fixer spells should be cast in absolute quiet for the best results. But just as he was about to begin, Smurfette calls out for Papa Smurf, which makes him scold her for barging into his laboratory while he is busy. Smurfette says that Vanity has gone into the forest yesterday afternoon and has been gone all night. Papa Smurf realizes that they must form a search party, and so he has Brainy do the honors of announcing a decree for all Smurfs to meet Papa Smurf at his house for an emergency meeting. With everyone there, the village leader tells them that Vanity has been gone all night and that he needs Smurfette, Brainy, and Clumsy to do a sky search through the forest on Feathers while he takes the rest of the Smurfs into the forest to search it high and low for Vanity.

As the Smurfs set off in their search for Vanity, he is already inside Gargamel's magical mirror helping the evil wizard stir the ingredients that he will soon be a part of. Vanity cringes at the thought of being the main ingredient in Gargamel's stew, but as he lifts the spoon out of the pot he slips and almost falls in, only to be rescued by Gargamel, scolding the Smurf for attempting to threaten him.

Brainy now sees that it is getting dark and suggests that they should head back to the Smurf Village, but Smurfette says they have to keep looking for Vanity because they won't go back home without him. Then she spots something shiny below, as does Clumsy, and so they swoop down to investigate. Clumsy sees a big mirror near the falls, and Smurfette finds Vanity's broken mirror, which means he must have been there. Brainy tries to prevent Clumsy from going over to the big mirror to look into it, but soon he vanishes into it. Clumsy tries to pound on the glass for some Smurf to rescue him from inside the mirror before a giant tree grabs him and takes him away. Smurfette realizes that the mirror must have taken Vanity as well and decides to go in after them. Brainy refuses to go with Smurfette inside the mirror, but she forces him to look into the mirror as they both head inside it.

Within the scary realm of the mirror, Smurfette and Brainy call out for Clumsy, whom they find hiding behind a rock. They start running when Smurfette sees a giant tree coming after them, only to run into Azrael, who was only briefly awakened when they bumped into him. As the three Smurfs fearfully back away, they see Gargamel holding Vanity, preparing to put him in the stew pot. The evil wizard takes a whiff of the simmering contents before his nose also picks up the scent of more Smurfs. He tells Azrael to get ready, but then Vanity slips out of Gargamel's grasp and punches him in the nose before making a run for it. He joins the other three Smurfs in trying to escape the terrible twosome, but there's no way for them to leave the dark realm of the mirror. They find themselves trapped between the entrance and their pursuers. Gargamel tells Azrael to stand back as he pulls out a club to smash the Smurfs with it. Instead, he misses them and ends up breaking the glass of the mirror entrance, opening a small crack for the Smurfs to escape through.

Papa Smurf finds the four Smurfs escaping the mirror in the forest, glad that he has found them. Vanity warns the others that it's Gargamel and that they should run for it. Inside the mirror, Gargamel is looking for where his prey went before he is transported back outside with his magical mirror in ruins. Frustrated by his loss, Gargamel pounds his head on a tree, saying that he hates the Smurfs, while Azrael does the same.

Back in the village, the Smurfs celebrate the return of Vanity, which he gladly accepts. Then Jokey gives Vanity a "surprise" present which turns out to be a new hand mirror... except that the mirror makes Vanity look all hideously distorted. Vanity fearfully runs off into the forest while the other Smurfs laugh.

Video Releases[]

Trivia[]

  • In airing order, this episode makes the first physical appearance of Handy Smurf, and the first speaking appearance of Hefty Smurf.
  • The title of the episode is a play on the name of a festival called the Vanity Fair, which takes place in John Bunyan's novel The Pilgrim's Progress. It is also referenced the UK pop group of the same name.
  • Jokey Smurf is voiced by Ronnie Schell instead of June Foray in this episode, despite having the latter actress in "The Smurf's Apprentice".
  • The smurfball scene was shortened in the syndicated version. The scene included Smurfette head-butting the ball and Vanity appearing in a cloud of dust saying, "Careful, my mirror!".
  • A couple voices are noticeably deeper in pitch, such as Papa Smurf's.
  • Some DVD releases of The Smurfs: Complete First Season, The Smurfs: Just Smurfy 1, and The Smurfs: Complete Season 1 carry the syndicated Smurfs Adventures repackaging of this episode, as opposed to the rest of the episodes, which were uncut, although this episode has also used the modified intro and credits for foreign markets.
  • In some foreign markets, this episode is paired with the second part of Smurfette's origin episode.
  • In the Japanese dub, the episode's Japanese name is "鏡よ、鏡!" (Kagami yo,-kyō!) which translates to "Mirror, Mirror!".
  • A children's book adaption of this episode was released internationally, titled "The Smurfs And The Magic Mirror". It is one of few Smurfs Classic books that have not yet been released in the US.

Goofs[]

  • During the smurfball game, when the ball hits Greedy's pudding, his hat is a normal Smurf hat.
  • When the Smurfs celebrate Vanity's return, Harmony blows his horn. In the background, it appears to be morning. However, in the shots before and after this, it is nighttime.

Videos[]

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