"The Master Smurf" is a Season 4 episode from the Smurfs cartoon show.
Characters[]
- Greedy Smurf/Master Smurf
- Papa Smurf
- Titans
- Brainy Smurf
- Clumsy Smurf
- Smurfette
- Miner Smurf
- Gargamel
- Azrael
- Angel Smurf
- Devil Smurf
- Baby Smurf
- Mother Nature
- Painter Smurf
- Jokey Smurf
- Handy Smurf
- Hefty Smurf
- Farmer Smurf
- Harmony Smurf
- Mouse
- Grouchy Smurf (Does not speak)
- Unnamed Smurfs
Synopsis[]
Greedy becomes mean after putting on a magic crown that Miner found which gives him a power to control every living creature.
Plot Summary[]
As the story begins, Greedy is ringing the triangle outside his kitchen to signal his fellow Smurfs that the meal is ready. They all gather outside around the dining table as Greedy serves them hot soup and biscuits, which all the Smurfs enjoy. Handy says that Greedy is the hardest-working Smurf of all, and Hefty tries to calculate how many portions of meals Greedy has to make for 101 Smurfs three times a day before just simply giving up and saying that it's a lot of meals. Greedy says that he enjoys serving his fellow Smurfs almost as much as he enjoys serving himself.
After the meal, Greedy goes out into the forest and pays Miner a visit in his mines, saying that no Smurf should ever go without a meal. Miner blesses Greedy for his meal delivery, telling him that may his heart be as big as his appetite. Suddenly, Miner's pick uncovers something shiny in the form of a crown. Neither he nor Greedy have any idea what it is, but they do believe that they should take it to Papa Smurf immediately. Unfortunately, Brainy tells Miner that Papa Smurf took Baby Smurf to see Mother Nature and won't be back until dark. Miner decides to take the crown to Mother Nature, but Brainy advises against it, saying that such a crown is too heavy for him to carry. Miner realizes that Brainy is right, so he gives the crown to Greedy for safekeeping, which disgusts Brainy because the only reason Greedy can be trusted with a crown is that it isn't edible.
At Mother Nature's house, Miner told Papa Smurf about the crown he had found buried in the forest. Mother Nature seems to know what Miner is talking about: that there were two magic crowns, each of them worn by a Titan, who both fought against each other for supremacy. The crown would enable its wearer to make the person he wishes to control to obey any command, but since both Titans wore crowns of equal power, neither was able to overcome the other. Over the centuries, as the Titans became old, they eventually realized that their struggle was pointless as well as destructive to the entire forest. They both decided to cast away their magic crowns and spend their remaining days seeking out Titanesses. Miner sees a picture in Mother Nature's book about the Crowns Of The Titans and realizes that one of the pictures looks like the one he has discovered. Papa Smurf fears that Brainy could get a hold of the crown and cause trouble with it, so he has Mother Nature watch over Baby Smurf for a while as he and Miner return to the village to stop Brainy before it is too late.
Back in the village, Brainy tries to sneak the crown away from the window of Greedy's kitchen but is stopped by Greedy swatting his hand with a mixing spoon, promising to keep Brainy's hands away from touching it. Brainy asks Greedy if he's the least bit curious about trying on the crown, but Greedy tells Brainy that all he wants to be is a cook. After Brainy walks away disappointed, Greedy admits that he does feel a bit curious about what it would be like to be king. Devil Smurf then shows up to encourage Greedy to at least try wearing the crown, but Angel Smurf also appears to advise against it, saying that he promised Miner he wouldn't do that. Devil Smurf tempts Greedy further by saying that he only promised to not let any other Smurf touch the crown, and soon with the thought of himself being recognized as "King of the cooks", Greedy puts on the crown, which then warps his mind to the point where he now calls himself "Greedy the Master Smurf".
With the ringing of the triangle, every Smurf is summoned around Greedy's kitchen, wondering if Greedy has forgotten to serve them dessert. Greedy now announces that this day marks the beginning of "Greedy the Master Smurf" and that every Smurf will now do his bidding. The other Smurfs laugh at Greedy's announcement, with Painter saying that he should stick to "cook-king". But then Greedy demonstrates the power he now wields with the crown he is wearing by making Jokey open his own surprise present before the other Smurfs. Soon, every Smurf present is under the control of Greedy as he directs Handy to build a giant oven and the rest to go out and gather fruits and nuts by the millions and then build a monument onto himself, "The Master Smurf".
Out in the forest, Smurfette, Brainy, and Clumsy hear the sound of the dinner bell and head back to the village, wondering why Greedy is summoning them. Ahead of them, Papa Smurf and Miner return to the village to see Smurfs acting like their minds have been controlled by somebody. They see Greedy standing beside a giant oven being built by Handy and notice that he is wearing the magic crown. Greedy sees Papa Smurf and Miner as they ask what's going on and why he's wearing the crown, and Greedy responds by first putting Miner under his hypnotic control and then doing the same to Papa Smurf. Smurfette, Brainy, and Clumsy watch this happening while hiding safely behind a house, with Smurfette suggesting that they should go into the forest and hide out until dark.
Meanwhile, Gargamel is busy trying to rest on a hammock in the forest while trying to get his cat Azrael to give him some room on it when Greedy goes out with Farmer to deal with the evil wizard. Gargamel thinks he's dreaming at first, but then decides to chase after the Smurfs. Greedy stops Azrael from coming any closer by making him believe he is a scaredy cat, and soon Azrael flees at the sight of a harmless butterfly. Gargamel tries to capture the two Smurfs, but soon Greedy hypnotizes the wizard into acting like a dog, which makes him suddenly go on all fours and scratch his ears with his legs. Greedy throws a stick into the river and tells Gargamel to go fetch, and after he dives into the water to fetch the stick, the hypnotic spell wears off, and Gargamel realizes that it was the Smurf wearing the crown who did this to him. He swears that he's going to get to the bottom of this when his next step causes him to plunge deep into the river.
By nightfall, Smurfette, Brainy, and Clumsy return to see that the other Smurfs have built a giant statue of Greedy out of blocks of fruitcake. Brainy wonders how they will reach Papa Smurf's house without being seen, and Smurfette suggests they should act like they're under Greedy's control. Soon, they find Papa Smurf inside his house, holding a cup as he continually repeats "water". Thinking that Papa Smurf is dying of thirst, Smurfette has Clumsy go draw water from the well while she and Brainy look after him, noticing that Papa Smurf is helplessly under Greedy's spell. Clumsy manages to fool Hefty with his hypnotized act as he says that he is drawing water for their leader, and then when he returns with the water to fill Papa Smurf's cup, the village leader inexplicably pours the water onto himself.
Soon, the three Smurfs see that Papa Smurf is now able to think clearly for himself, saying that it takes a splash of water to free anyone of the magic crown's control. However, Papa Smurf says that they cannot free the other Smurfs because Greedy would just as soon put them back under his spell, so their best course of action is to escape to Mother Nature's house and find another way. As they try to quietly make their way into the forest, Greedy realizes that there are a few Smurfs not under his control and sends a group of Smurfs to go out and find them. Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Brainy, and Clumsy evade detection by hiding inside a bird's nest and then carefully make their way to Mother Nature's house, where the guardian of nature tells them that the only way to defeat the Smurf wearing the magic crown is to seek out the other crown, which will be very dangerous. She hands Papa Smurf a scroll with a magic spell that she wants him to recite so that the other crown does not control him as well.
Meanwhile, Gargamel is looking through his spell books to find out what kind of magic spell or item could have him under that Smurf's thrall when he sees that Azrael, still acting like a scaredy cat, jumps into a barrel of water and then suddenly chases after the mouse he sees. Gargamel realizes that the hypnotic spell isn't waterproof, so at least he has a defense against it. He soon sees through his telescope a large structure with Greedy standing on top of it eating portions of it. He tells that Smurf to not fall down and break his crown before he gets there as he laughs.
Papa Smurf and the other three Smurfs begin their search for the second crown by looking for the entrance to the underground maze on a mountain path, and they soon see a cave that looks rather foreboding. Back in the village, Gargamel has arrived wearing a special backpack device that showers him with water, challenging the Smurf with the crown to come down and face him. Greedy sees that he cannot control Gargamel as long as he's soaking himself with water, but even as Gargamel kicks at the giant statue until it collapses, Greedy simply says that fruitcake goes down easy. Soon Gargamel's spell soaker gets a leak, and with no water to protect him, Greedy commands the evil wizard to be a buzzard and fly away, which he obeys as he flaps his arms and goes out into the forest until he falls into the river.
Down in the underground maze, Papa Smurf and the other three Smurfs follow the directions on the map they were given until they come to what they see is a dead end. Brainy points out that the crown should be right in front of them, which makes Papa Smurf think that Mother Nature's map is all wrong. Suddenly the ground gives out under them, and they fall, only for Clumsy to see that they have fallen to where the other crown is located. Now they just need to return to the village and challenge Greedy to give up his crown.
As the Smurfs under Greedy's control in the village work on repairing the giant statue, Greedy receives word that Papa Smurf is returning with the three other Smurfs. Greedy is delighted to hear this and tells his devoted followers to come and watch him do away with Papa Smurf. Meanwhile, Brainy asks Papa Smurf if he could be the one wearing the crown so he could challenge Greedy, and Papa Smurf adamantly refuses to let him. But then they hear Gargamel's voice in the forest calling out for Azrael, and as the four Smurfs go and hide themselves, Papa Smurf decides now's the time for him to try out the crown. Before doing so, however, he remembers to recite the spell to keep him from being under the crown's control. Soon Gargamel appears and sees that Papa Smurf is also wearing a crown, and with it, Papa Smurf commands Gargamel to be a donkey, which the evil wizard ends up acting like. Devil Smurf appears to try tempting Papa Smurf with the power he now has wearing the other crown, but Angel Smurf also appears to remind Devil Smurf that Papa Smurf is too wise to fall for his temptation.
Smurfette, Brainy, and Clumsy are called out from hiding as they see that the other crown works and with it, Papa Smurf has gotten rid of Gargamel. But suddenly, Greedy appears to tell Papa Smurf that it's time to get rid of him, and soon the two Smurfs with the magic crowns are controlling each other, trying to get the other Smurf to capitulate as they hypnotize their opponent into being what they want them to be. After a while, Smurfette, Brainy, and Clumsy see that the battle with the crowns will be a perpetual stalemate, and Papa Smurf soon realizes it, though it also gives him an idea. He hypnotizes Greedy into acting like a bat, forcing him to hang upside down from a tree branch in the way bats sleep in the daytime. As Greedy hangs upside down from a tree branch, his crown falls off his head, and he soon regains control of his own mind, wondering what has happened.
Back in the village, with all the Smurfs freed from Greedy's control, Mother Nature gives Baby Smurf back to Papa Smurf as she takes the crowns away with her, to put them somewhere that no Smurf will ever find. Meanwhile, Greedy looks at the piles of fruitcake and wonders what he's going to do with all of it now that it's making him sick. Papa Smurf suggests that they will share the fruitcake with their friends during the holidays.
Trivia[]
- Greedy serves food to 101 Smurfs. If that number includes himself, there are 101 Smurfs in the village.
- Fruitcake would become Hefty's favorite holiday food in the "non-canoncial" Smurf presentation The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol.