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The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol

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A Christmas Carol

The Smurfs in the poster for the special

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The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol is a CGI/2D hybrid segment that was released with The Smurfs movie in a 3-disc Blu-Ray/DVD bundle. It is the second feature to take place in the Smurfs Live-Action Film Universe. The special takes place in the Smurf Forest and features Hefty Smurf as one of the primary characters. It is the first Smurf-related Christmas special produced since "'Tis The Season To Be Smurfy".

Characters

Story

Uh oh! Very Smurfy Non-canon warning: This article or section contains non-canonical information that is not considered to be an official part of the Smurfs Franco-Belgian comic book series, the 1980s Smurfs cartoon show series, or the 2021 Smurfs cartoon show series, and should not be considered part of the overall storyline of any of those media universes.

It is an adaptation of the classic A Christmas Carol that features a mix of CGI animation and traditional animation produced by DUCK Studios.

In the story, as Papa Smurf and some other Smurfs go through the village singing Christmas carols, they notice that Grouchy's house is the only Smurf house that hasn't been decorated. They go to visit Grouchy to find out what's wrong with him, and he tells them that he hates Christmas, slamming the door in their faces (thus dumping a pile of snow on Brainy). Papa Smurf goes to his laboratory to create a spell called The Christmas Spirit that will hopefully help Grouchy regain the Christmas spirit that he seems to have lost. Soon a blue glowing ball of light travels through the village and enters into Grouchy's house, where it strikes him and causes him to fall asleep, also causing the lights in his house to go out.

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Smurfette as the Smurf of Christmas Past

When he lights the candles to see again, Grouchy first notices that he appears more like a cartoon drawing. Then he sees Smurfette appear in his house flying around, saying that she is the Smurf of Christmas Past, and she is here to show him how he used to be during the holidays, how he was so happy. But then she shows him how the years went by and every Christmas Grouchy got more and more disappointed because all he wanted was a hang glider and instead the only thing he got was another Smurf hat. The final blow came when Jokey showed up with a present in the shape of a hang glider for Grouchy, but when he opened it, all it turned out to be was another of his fellow Smurf's "surprises". Frustrated by his not being listened to, Grouchy throws his actual gift on the ground and storms off, saying "I hate hats!"

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Brainy Smurf as the Smurf of Christmas Present.

The next Smurf to appear is Brainy, who calls himself the Smurf of Christmas Present, whose purpose is to show Grouchy what effect his refusal to participate in the celebration of Christmas would cause. As the scene unfolds, after Chef Smurf has brought out the decorations for the Christmas tree, Clumsy sees that Grouchy isn't present to put the star on the tree and so decides to do the honors himself. However, as Clumsy approaches the tree, he trips and falls on a box of ornaments, creating a chain effect that ultimately results in the Christmas tree being burned to a crisp. Then Grouchy is taken to Papa Smurf's house where he sees that the village leader has personally made each Smurf's own hat for a Christmas present. Papa Smurf mentions about making a special hat for Grouchy that he's sure his little Smurf is going to love, which makes Grouchy feel guilty for not appreciating what Papa Smurf has done for him.

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Hefty Smurf as the Smurf of Christmas Future.

Then the third and final Smurf to appear is Hefty, who calls himself the Smurf of Christmas Future, whose purpose is to show Grouchy what his actions will cause. He then sees that the village is empty and desolate, that there is no Smurf left in it. He finds out that the Smurfs have gone out into the forest on Christmas Day to get a new tree in the hopes that it would help Grouchy get his Christmas spirit back, and that they have never returned. He goes out to the West Forest, where the Smurf of Christmas Future says the other Smurfs have gone to and discovers that they have been captured by Gargamel, including Papa Smurf when he went out to find them. Grouchy realizes how selfish he's been before then the Smurf of Christmas Future disappears, telling Grouchy that it's look like they'll get to spend one last Christmas together, only for the evil wizard and his cat Azrael to show up to chase Grouchy around the laboratory. Grouchy tries to avoid them for as long as possible, but the bookshelf that he ends up standing upon collapses, and he finds himself falling into the fiery liquids of the cauldron...

And then in an instant, Grouchy is back in his house, realizing that the whole thing was a dream and that since it's still only Christmas Eve, he has a chance to change things. Upon Christmas morning, the Smurfs wake up to find Grouchy be the first Smurf to be up and about making the final preparations (even going as far as to baking a fruitcake). He admitted his selfishness on how he has been wanting Christmas to be all about what he wanted to get and not seeing that it's about being around a family that cares for him. Happy to see his little Smurf learn his lesson about the true meaning of Christmas, Papa Smurf gives Grouchy his Christmas present first, which Grouchy wholeheartedly accepts and hugs Papa Smurf as a way to apologize to him, to which he returns the hug. Then after Grouchy has put the star on the tree, he discovers that his Smurf hat was made for gliding, as he leaps from the middle of the ladder and the hat expands into the form of a parachute. He glides his way down to the bottom of the tree, only to land right into a snow Smurf, which makes him complain about the things he hates, but the one thing he hates most of all is that Christmas only comes once a year.

Uh oh! Very Smurfy Non-canon warning: Non-canonical information ends here.


Production

The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol went into development in December 2010, and was completed in nine months. The short was animated by Sony Pictures Imageworks, which did the CGI, and by Duck Studios, which animated the main, hand-drawn part of the film. The CGI are the same as in the 2011 film, while the hand-drawn part follows the original designs by the Smurfs creator, Peyo, with the help of some of the artists who worked on the 1981 television series. The short's director, Troy Quane, explained that the hand-drawn sequence "...gives us that dream-like moment where he's learning things from these ghosts," and it is "...a nice nod to the Smurfs history as a hand drawn comic."

Trivia

  • Gargamel has four-fingered hands instead of his usual five-fingered hands in most of his animated appearances.
  • This is one of the mainstream media Smurf stories that invoke the Exposed To The Elements trope mentioned on TV Tropes, as the Smurfs hardly wear anything heavier than a scarf and fingerless gloves to protect themselves from the wintry weather, not to mention, Grouchy being shown walking barefoot in the snow (albeit in a dream sequence).
  • Although considered non-canon to the comics and cartoon show in general, this is the first direct-to-video special produced by Sony Pictures Animation and the first new special to air in syndication outside of Saturday mornings.
  • The setting of the short is a bit confusing since Gargamel and Azrael are implied to be able to catch the Smurfs if Grouchy doesn't have a change of heart. However, this would be impossible since they were still stuck in New York in the present day and only came back in their time period in The Smurfs 2, which means they would not be able to cause any problems to the Smurfs.

Quotes

"Isn't Christmas about getting what you want? Well, I want a hang glider! Why do I even bother to celebrate Christmas if all I ever get is THIS -- the same old boring useless hat!? I mean, how many hats does a Smurf need?"
(The head of the snow Smurf he argues his case to falls off.)
"Oh, who asked you? I... HATE... HATS!!!"

- Grouchy after Jokey plays a joke on him on Christmas Day.

"You know what? I hate tasks. I hate stars, mistletoe, candy canes, stockings, and fruitcake! I... HATE... CHRISTMAS!"
(Slams the door shut and snow falls on Brainy making him look like a snow Smurf.)

- Grouchy after Papa Smurf telling him his important task was to put the star on top of the tree.

"How can someone hate fruitcake? It's delicious!"

- Hefty after Grouchy slams the door to his mushroom house.

"Fa la la la la, la la la, lame!"

- Grouchy

"I see that you've met Santa Claws!"

- Gargamel when he chases Grouchy around the laboratory, referring to Azrael.

"I suddenly... feel... sleep..."

- Grouchy as he falls asleep after a Christmas spirit strikes him.

Cast

See Also

External Link

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