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"Smurf The Presses" is a Season 8 episode from the Smurfs cartoon show.

Characters

Synopsis

Reporter leads Gargamel to the village thinking that he has changed his ways.

Plot Summary

SmurfThePressespromo

One day in the Smurf Forest, the Smurfs have gathered together for the annual smurfberry picking contest, of which Brainy has been made the judge, with Hefty commenting that he's only made the judge because he's a lousy contestant. Slouchy notices that Brainy has set up a lot of rules for the contest which he is just eager to go over with his fellow Smurfs. Reporter shows up and asks Brainy if he has any smurfberry picking advice for his readers, and Brainy answers that they should read Brainy's Guide To Speedy Smurfberry Picking, with Hefty adding that they will then know what not to do. Jokey decides to get the contest started with a bang, and so he plants one of his surprises below Brainy's chair as he goes, "On your mark... get ready... smurf!", at which point it explodes and knocks Brainy down from his high seat. Brainy tells Jokey that it wasn't funny, but Jokey says he'll be the judge of that.

Meanwhile, Gargamel leads his apprentice Scruple out into the forest to demonstrate his new invention for catching Smurfs -- a belt that has up to eight extendable arms with hands that will allow him to catch as many Smurfs at a time. As he goes looking for his prey, Reporter sees the Smurflings in action as they work with each other to try collecting as many smurfberries as possible, with Snappy and Sassette reaching the high branches with stilts and dropping the berries they collect into the bucket that Slouchy is carrying. Brainy scoffs at Reporter's efforts and thinks that he should be covering a more worthwhile story like Brainy's life story, to which Sassette says that Reporter can print it in the funny papers. Reporter then sees Wild swinging back and forth on a vine to collect smurfberries with his companion Chitter collecting them (and eating some of them). Reporter asks Wild if he thinks he will win the smurfberry picking contest, and Wild briefly stops his swinging and says "yeah".

Reporter then asks Brainy who he thinks will win the contest, and Brainy says that without him there would be no favorite, assuming that he alone would be the winner. The Smurflings protest this idea, saying that any Smurf could win the contest. But as Reporter writes what he thinks would be a great title for his article, Gargamel interrupts the contest with his multiple arms to grab as many Smurfs as he can. The Smurfs try to run, but they can't escape the hands that reach out to them and grab them so Gargamel could fill his bag full of Smurfs. Then Hefty gets Gargamel's attention by throwing an acorn at his head, saying that the evil wizard hasn't caught him yet. Hefty lures Gargamel toward a hollowed log, where at the other end he ties up two of the wizard's mechanical hands, leaving him to struggle with getting his arms out. Gargamel calls for his pupil to help him out, and as they both pull together to get the wizard's extendable arms loose, Hefty decides to untie his hands, causing the two humans to roll back and barrel right into Azrael while allowing Hefty enough time to liberate his fellow Smurfs.

Back in the village, Reporter interviews Hefty about his "single-handed" rescue of the Smurfs, which makes Brainy scoff at his fellow Smurf's constant reporting of the same "boring" news, saying that he wants to hear something about Gargamel that they don't already know. Papa Smurf tells Brainy that there's nothing wrong with Reporter's stories, and if he hurries, he might still be able to write about the smurfberry picking contest. As the Smurfs return to the forest to resume their contest, Reporter takes Brainy's words to heart and decides that he might as well get the inside scoop on Gargamel so that he will have a real front-page story.

Sometime later, in Gargamel's castle, the evil wizard and his apprentice are still in the embrace of the mechanical arms which Gargamel is trying is hardest to pry them loose from, only to catch Azrael's tail by mistake and send the cat leaping out the window, crying in pain. Reporter looks fearfully at the daunting task of getting close to the source of his news article but decides that a good reporter doesn't let anything stand in the way of getting a good story. As the Smurf reporter climbs up onto the windowsill, he overhears Gargamel saying that he would like to have breakfast with the Smurfs as he breaks himself free from his many arms. Reporter assumes from this that Gargamel wants to be friends, but as he starts writing up his story, Azrael spots him, and Gargamel has the Smurf right in his grasp. Reporter simply tells Gargamel that he wants to do a front-page story on the wizard, but Gargamel replies that once he's done with that Smurf, he's going to be in the food column, finishing with a laugh.

Soon, Reporter finds himself in a cage, watching as Gargamel prepares to make his captive Smurf his next meal, with Reporter saying that he'll never get the chance to write about Gargamel being friends with the Smurfs. Gargamel decides that this would be a perfect way to capture the Smurfs and so has Reporter believing that his desire to be friends with the Smurfs was a secret shame he kept hidden because of what the other wizards would say, with Scruple adding that they would probably say he was lying. Gargamel says the only reason that Reporter is in the cage is so that he doesn't get hurt. Reporter seems eager to return to the village to have this story be published, but Gargamel wants to go with Reporter so that he could tell the story himself, promising that he won't ruin his image by hurting any Smurf. Reporter says that he's going to get the story of a lifetime, while Gargamel whispers to Scruple that soon he'll have the meal of a lifetime.

Out in the Smurf Forest, as Brainy and Papa Smurf see the buckets of smurfberries filling up, Papa Smurf says that the smurfberry picking contest is back in full swing, though Brainy says that it's slim pickings this year because he's not taking part in it. Then Reporter shows up saying that he's got a big scoop that is sure to put the smurfberry picking contest on the back page, which is followed by Gargamel saying that he has an even bigger scoop as he appears with a net. Reporter tries to allay his fellow Smurfs' fears by saying that Gargamel is here for a reason, but Gargamel reveals that his real reason is that he's hungry. As the Smurflings make a run for it, Gargamel scoops up as many Smurfs as he can, including Hefty and Wild. Reporter reminds Gargamel of his promise to not hurt any Smurf, to which Gargamel replies that he lied, "and you can quote me on that".

Back in Gargamel's lair, the wizard is ready to add the final ingredient so that he will enjoy a Smurf bouillon. Reporter moans that his front-page story has just turned into bad news, with Gargamel saying to him that this is one headline he'll never write. Reporter decides to appeal to Gargamel's vanity by saying he'll never get to write the story with the headline "Brilliant Wizard Outsmarts Smurfs", which catches Gargamel's attention, saying that it will make him the toast of the town, though Scruple says it will more likely make him the laughingstock. Gargamel takes Reporter out of the cage so that he can write the story that will make the wizard a household name, warning the Smurf that there should be no tricks or he'll be writing up a new recipe for him. Brainy thinks that Reporter has gone crazy, but Papa Smurf simply trusts that he knows just what Reporter is doing.

As the Smurfs, Scruple, and Azrael watch Reporter write down what Gargamel was dictating from his life story, the evil wizard says that someday he hopes to get what he deserves. After filling his quill with more ink, Reporter says that he will give Gargamel what he deserves right now, and then stomps on the quill and squirts the wizard's face so much ink that he falls over on his chair. Reporter dumps the rest of the ink on the floor and runs over to the table where the Smurfs are still in their cage, with Snappy saying that Reporter has turned his newsbreak into a jailbreak. Gargamel then tells Scruple and Azrael to get those Smurfs, but as they try to chase after them, they slip and slide on the ink spilled on the floor, causing them as well as Gargamel to slide into the closet where the Smurfs lock them inside. Reporter then comments that the pen truly is mightier than the sword.

Back in the village, where the Smurfs are now safe, Reporter tells Papa Smurf that his latest story almost became his last story, and Papa Smurf tells Reporter that not all stories can be trusted, with Sassette adding "especially not Pappy Gargamel". Brainy says that Reporter should only print useful information, such as his Quotations books, but Papa Smurf says he doesn't think, because Reporter did save them from Gargamel, which makes the Smurflings think that Reporter should write a story about his own life. Reporter thinks that it would be better for everyone to share the headline in his next story, to which Papa Smurf agrees.

Trivia

  • Nat is the only Smurfling not to appear in this episode.
  • In airing order, this is the final episode to feature the current world Gargamel, Azrael, and Scruple.
    • This is also the final episode to feature Reporter and Chitter.

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