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"Lost In The Ages", the syndicated episode title for Part 3 of this episode, redirects here.

"The Smurfs That Time Forgot" is a three-part Season 9 episode from the Smurfs cartoon show. It is that season's premiere episode and is the first part of the story arc which also includes "Cave Smurfs".

Characters

Synopsis

A group of Smurfs travel back in time to return a little dinosaur back to his home. As they arrive to prehistoric times, a caveman named Grog captures Clumsy.

Plot Summary

In the present time...

It is the dead of winter, and Snappy, Hefty, Brainy, and Clumsy are up in the mountains fetching a frost fern for one of Papa Smurf's experiments when Snappy gets too loud and Hefty shushes him, warning that he could start an avalanche. Of course, Brainy overdoes it by telling Snappy, "QUIET!" -- which ends up burying the four Smurfs in snow. As they dig themselves out of the heap, they hear a heartbeat and ice cracking nearby. It is a baby dinosaur that wakes up, scaring Brainy and sending the other three Smurfs cowering in fear until Snappy bravely befriends the awakened creature.

Back in the village, Papa Smurf is mixing up his frost-free formula while Farmer is busy covering the smurfberry bushes with blankets when the three adult Smurfs come back with the frost fern needed to complete the formula. Snappy comes home as well, this time riding on the back of a baby dinosaur, which sends the Smurfs scurrying this way and that and rocking things inside some Smurfs' houses. Soon the baby dinosaur comes to a complete stop, and as Snappy asks Papa Smurf if they could keep the dinosaur, the village leader looks toward Brainy, Hefty, and Clumsy waiting for an explanation.

Crinkles
Crinkles wakes up from his sleep...
Cowering
...which sends the four Smurfs scurrying for safety.
Nothungry
The Smurfs can't get Crinkles to eat his food.
Timescrolls
Snappy looks at the Time Scrolls in the hidden chamber.
Timewhirlwind
The time whirlwind takes them away!

Snappy starts playing fetch with the dinosaur that he now calls Crinkles, sending him throughout the village to chase the ball, but also causing him to damage various Smurf houses along the way, including Greedy's kitchen, where he is busy cooking up a pot of chili. But later on, the playing around begins to exhaust Crinkles, so Snappy turns to Papa Smurf for his help, and he suggests that maybe he needs something to eat. Unfortunately, even with all the food the Smurfs manage to put in a giant bowl for Crinkles, the dinosaur doesn't seem too hungry for it. Grandpa Smurf tells Snappy that the dinosaur needs to be home with his own kind, munching on prehistoric plants. This inspires Papa Smurf to call upon the only being who can send Crinkles back to his own time -- Father Time.

Papa Smurf sends Hefty and Clumsy to Father Time's workshop to ask for his help, but unfortunately all they get is a message from him saying that he's "taking some time off" and that he will "be back in time" -- meaning that he's currently unavailable. This doesn't fare well for the Smurfs or for Crinkles, who seems to be getting weaker, and if he doesn't return to his own time soon, then he's doomed. It is then Grandpa Smurf tells Papa Smurf that they will need to use whatever it is that's been hidden underneath his cellar, because it's their only hope now. He shows the rest of the Smurfs by using a crank that spins his house out of the way, revealing a winding staircase leading down into a chamber with three doors that only Grandpa could open.

Through the three doors, the Smurfs see a room full of crystals, plus a bunch of scrolls placed in cubbyholes. Grandpa tells them that these are the Time Scrolls that are used to travel through time, and as the elderly Smurf selects the one that will send Crinkles back to the prehistoric era, Handy is using his crane to lower Crinkles into the chamber. Papa Smurf tells his little Smurfs to leave the cellar, with Grandpa warning them that time travel is too dangerous for a bunch of "whippersmurfers". As they leave, Grandpa gets the time crystals ready to be assembled, but as he uses the magic key to arrange the crystals in the required order for the destination, Handy's crane is getting strained by Crinkles' weight. Soon the rope breaks, and Handy and more than a dozen other Smurfs grab hold of it so they could lower Crinkles safely without damaging the crystals or the chamber. Nanny and Farmer join in, but they are too late: Handy and the dozen or so other Smurfs fall into the chamber with Crinkles just as the time crystals generate a magical whirlwind that sucks them in along with Grandpa Smurf and Papa Smurf. The Time Scrolls are also pulled out of their cubbyholes and shredded to bits as the whirlwind rises up above the cellar and then vanishes with Crinkles and his tagalong Smurfs, dumping the remains of the Time Scrolls on the ground.

As Nanny and Farmer along with the remaining Smurfs look down into the cellar at the remains of the Time Scrolls, hoping that things won't be over for Grandpa and those that went with him, Father Time shows up, receiving Hefty's message that he left behind. He looks into the cellar and sees that Grandpa has used the time crystals, which he tells the remaining Smurfs are very powerful magic crystals, but he assures them that as long as Grandpa has the ruby key, they should return home safe and sound. Or so he hopes.

In the prehistoric era...

Clotheschange
Sassette and Painter arrive with their clothes changed.
Stickysituation
Clumsy and Brainy in a very sticky situation.
Nopetsinclass
The teacher punishes Grog for having his pet in class.
Uptothecliff
Snappy and Grandpa barely make it up to the cliff.
Grogsprisoner
Clumsy is now Grog's prisoner.

Soon, the magical whirlwind vanishes, dumping Grandpa, Papa Smurf, and all the Smurfs that were sucked into the whirlwind with them in what would appear to be the Smurf Forest thousands of years ago. As Grandpa gathers the time crystals, the other Smurfs notice that their clothes have changed -- the male Smurfs seem to be wearing Smurf hats and loincloths made of animal skins, and Smurfette and Sassette tunics of the same material. Smoogle, however, remains unchanged. Grandpa tells them that, with the use of the time crystals, it makes its travelers wear whatever is the latest fashion in that era. Soon, they also spot Crinkles, briefly hiding behind a plant that he suddenly eats.

Papa Smurf tells the others that, now that they have brought Crinkles back to his own time, all they have to do now is reunite him with his parents. But soon they get an unfriendly greeting from a couple of very big dinosaurs, which sends the group of Smurfs scurrying for safety. In their flight, they end up running on top of a tar pit that they slowly sink into. As the Smurfs cry for help, Crinkles comes running toward the tar pit, eager to help them. Snappy warns his animal friend not to get stuck in there. Instead, Crinkles backs up and butts a big enough rock into the pit to make most of the tar go away. This leaves the Smurfs with less sticky stuff to deal with, but they end up with a big squabble over who's to blame for getting them into this situation in the first place.

Papa and Grandpa decide that the best course of action would be what they originally planned to do -- take Crinkles back home alone. So, with the help of Crinkles, Papa Smurf gets the attention of his little Smurfs to tell them to stay where they are, and to remind them that their being here was just an accident. Snappy then calls Crinkles, and the two of them head off with Papa Smurf and Grandpa following behind.

Meanwhile, in some prehistoric community of humans, a caveman teacher leads his young students in some lessons about dinosaurs when one of them, Grog, decides to play a nasty prank on a fellow girl student named Unga. This attracts the attention of the teacher, who then kicks the pet Grog wasn't supposed to have in the class outside the cave. Grog is sent to sit in a corner wearing a primitive dunce cap and wasn't permitted to go with the class on their field trip. As the girl student teases Grog before she leaves, he decides to go on his own field trip and takes his pet sabretooth cat along with him.

Back where the other Smurfs are waiting, they are trying to make themselves as comfortable as possible while waiting for the three Smurfs to return, with Handy vainly trying to start a fire with damp prehistoric firewood. Clumsy tells them about Grandpa's story about being able to start a fire using rocks and, despite Brainy's disbelief, decides to go out and find some. While he does, Papa Smurf, Grandpa Smurf, and Snappy are galloping along the trail Crinkles is following when they stop and realize that both Crinkles is lost, and another kind of giant dinosaur has found them. Snappy gets Crinkles going to outrace the big lizard, but they soon find themselves in a dead end with no way out. Papa Smurf tries to use a hidden pouch of magic powder to create a lizard creature that could scare off the big dinosaur, but the dinosaur ends up scaring the lizard into oblivion.

With the two elder Smurfs out of ideas, Snappy comes up with one of his own, which requires getting to higher ground. Using the remainder of his magic powder, Papa Smurf gives Snappy wings to fly himself and Grandpa to the ledge, barely managing to make it before its power runs out. Now above the dinosaur, Snappy jumps on top of the big dinosaur, closing one of his eyelids, while Grandpa does the same closing the other, thus causing the big lizard to go out of control until Crinkles bumps him into knocking himself out with a rock. Snappy and Grandpa safely drop out of the way before the dinosaur drops cold, allowing the three Smurfs and Crinkles to escape.

Meanwhile, Grog tries to have fun on his own field trip, attempting to capture a lizard to scare his fellow student Unga with, when he notices a "blue lizard" walking around gathering up rocks, which turns out to be Clumsy. He races back to the Smurf camp with his rocks when he trips over a branch, losing most of the rocks but two, with which he accidentally starts a fire. Clumsy is impressed, and so also are Grog and his cat, who capture him and force him to make the flame appear again with the promise that they will let him go if he does. Clumsy tries to do it again but ends up striking his hand and causing one of the rocks to strike the cat's face, angering him. As Clumsy backs away from the cat, he accidentally causes the fire to start with the rocks again. But Clumsy doesn't get to go far before Grog takes him back to his class, proving that his promise to the gullible Smurf was worthless, and hoping that his discovery will make him the head of the class.

The story continues...

Lostintheages1
The teacher asks Grog how he got "the dancing lights".
Lostintheages2
Grog hides his secret behind "the dancing lights".
Lostintheages3
Crinkles' parents show up.
Lostintheages4
A very happy family reunion.
Lostintheages5
Grog is going to have "blue lizards" on a stick.
Lostintheages6
Grog and his cat Mangy see the "cavalry" is coming!
Lostintheages7
Grandpa Smurf is about to become a dinosaur snack.
Lostintheages8
The magic key is lost forever!

In a cave, the caveman teacher with his class huddle over a fire that they wonder how it got started. Grog, formerly on his own field trip, turns around and tells his captive Clumsy to "make sticks glow or else" before shoving him back inside his tunic. Appearing before the teacher again, he draws out a stick that suddenly bursts aflame, which amazes the teacher and his other students, making the teacher wonder how Grog has done that. Grog tells the teacher that if the teacher does what Grog says, maybe he will tell him.

Meanwhile, as Papa Smurf, Grandpa, and Snappy continue to ride with Crinkles, who now sounds happy, Smurfette, Handy, and Brainy leave their camp to go find Clumsy when they discover a wisp of smoke up ahead. Smurfette finds foot tracks nearby, indicating that Clumsy was here where the smoke was, but he didn't leave there alone.

Back in the cave, Grog is sitting back being tended to like a king by his fellow students when the teacher returns, somewhat muddied. Grog asks the teacher why he took so long gathering bog berries, and as the teacher answers, Grog's cat devours the berries from the teacher's hand. He now asks Grog if he will teach him the secret of "the dancing lights", but instead of doing so, Grog tells him to go get more bog berries, and also tells the rest of the class to fetch some other fruits for him. As they depart, Grog pulls Clumsy back out from his tunic and thanks him for his help, but Clumsy still remains tied with a vine around him, and Grog maliciously tells him that he will never let him go.

In the continuing search for Crinkles' family, the three Smurfs encounter another point of losing the trail, making Crinkles weep and making them wonder if they will ever find his family when they see the ground begin to open up. Papa Smurf realizes, as the rip in the ground approaches them, that there's nowhere to go but down, when they see some nearby trees getting knocked down. It turns out to be Crinkles' parents, which causes the baby dinosaur to joyously gallop down and snuggle them with the three Smurfs along for the ride. Seeing that their job is done, Grandpa says it's time for them to return to camp, and with Crinkles' parents following behind, the grateful baby dinosaur gives his passengers a ride back.

Meanwhile, Brainy, Handy, and Smurfette sneak their way into the caveman community using a bush for cover while following the human tracks to a cave he supposedly took Clumsy into, when they run into Grog's sabretooth cat, who stops them in their tracks. Grog, still relaxing, hears a cry outside, and sees his pet bring in a bush with three more "blue lizards". He tells his cat that he can eat the other three when Clumsy tells Grog that he will show him how to cook if he lets the other three go. Clumsy then demonstrates with a single bog berry still left on a branch, which Grog tastes and makes him decide that he won't let his cat eat the three Smurfs raw, but rather cook them. The nearby fire lets off some sparks, some of which burn away at Clumsy's vine leash, which frees him only to find himself chased by Grog and his cat. Smurfette, still bound with Brainy and Handy, tells Clumsy to run and get some help.

But soon, Clumsy sees help coming -- help in the form of three dinosaurs coming his way. It is Crinkles with his parents, and Papa Smurf, Grandpa, and Snappy are riding along. The fearful Grog then turns tail and runs back into the cave with his cat as the dinosaurs give chase, crashing through the entrance and following him into the tunnel. Crinkles butts Grog with his horns and sends him into the fire, putting it out with his rear end, while Snappy grabs the three captured Smurfs on a stick and then heads back out with the dinosaurs. Papa Smurf tells the other Smurfs that they thought they were following a fire that would lead them straight back to their camp.

Soon, Grog's teacher and his classmates return with the fruits they have gathered for him when they see the furnishings inside their cave all wrecked. The teacher demands an explanation from Grog, who tries to tell him that the "blue lizards" who had come with their "big friends" had wrecked the class cave, but Grog's teacher and his fellow classmates don't buy it -- they only see a big dunce (referring to Grog), who then feels something warm where he was sitting. Grog realizes that his tunic is now on fire, and soon with his cat flee to a nearby lake where they sigh in relief as the fire in their rear ends is put out.

It is nightfall, and all the time-lost Smurfs are gathered together again back at their camp. Papa Smurf tells Snappy it is time to say goodbye to Crinkles so he can go home now, which Snappy tearfully does along with the rest of the Smurfs, watching as he departs with his family. Lazy wakes up from his nap and wonders when they are going to go home, and Grandpa, pulling out his magic key, tries to wave them before the time crystals, telling him he will have them home soon. But then the big dinosaur they have outwitted earlier comes back to wrap Grandpa in his tail, ready to devour him. This makes Grandpa lose the key from his grip, sending it dangling on a branch over a lava pit. Brainy says they must do something to save the key, but Hefty is more concerned with saving Grandpa.

The Smurfs flee for safety as the big dinosaur attempts to eat Grandpa, but Snappy gets daring and tries to use a fire stick to give this lizard a hot foot when he gets knocked over to where he finds Crinkles again, happy to see him. Some Smurfs launch fire sticks at the big dinosaur, who easily swats them away before stepping on their catapult, sending them fleeing. Soon, Smurfette, Sassette, and Baby Smurf are trapped by the big dinosaur's tail, and he's ready to have them for dinner when Crinkles appears again with Snappy. He runs right under the big dinosaur, causing him to flip over and loose Grandpa from his grip, letting some other Smurfs catch him. They ask Grandpa if he's all right, but he's less concerned about himself and more about the key that's still dangling over the lava pit.

Soon, they form a ladder for Grandpa to try getting the key off the branch. He struggles to reach the key and snatch it, but the branch it rests on breaks, sending it to be dissolved into the lava pit. Brainy tries to assure the elderly Smurf that they still have the time crystals, but Grandpa and Papa Smurf tell their shocked little Smurfs that, without the magic key to put the crystals back in the right order, they may be stranded in the prehistoric era forever.

TO BE CONTINUED...

Trivia

  • The title of the episode is based on that of the novel The Land That Time Forgot by Edgar Rice Burroughs.
  • This episode was originally featured as a three-part episode and was later broken into two separately titled episodes when it was aired in syndication. Parts 1 and 2 were combined into a single episode, retaining the original title, while Part 3 became "Lost In The Ages".
  • This episode marks the final appearances of Nanny, Harmony, Farmer, Father Time, and the unnamed Smurfs.
    • Though this episode marks the final appearances of the unnamed Smurfs, Smurfs that are slightly harder to identify like Jokey, Grouchy, and Lazy possibly appear in episodes that feature unidentified Smurfs, including "The Smurf Odyssey" and "Greedy's Master Pizza".
  • Jokey was the only time-traveling Smurf not to have lines. "Shamrock Smurfs" officially reveals that he is a Smurf trapped in time.
  • This episode places its setting in a version of the prehistoric past where dinosaurs and humans coexisted with one another, similar to that of Hanna-Barbera's popular cartoon show The Flintstones, but with its form of stone-age technology far less advanced than that of the series.
  • This is the only Season 9 episode where all seventeen time-traveling Smurfs and Smoogle appear together.

Goofs

  • Grandpa could not have anything hidden in a secret cellar. Handy built him a new house as soon as he returned to the village. Grandpa could not have left anything in the cellar for 500 years.
  • Grandpa would have access to the secret cellar. Papa Smurf is the wise Smurf and a wizard. Grandpa is generally “fun” and not particularly wise (see, e.g., “Baby's Marvelous Toy” and “Swapping Smurfs”). And Grandpa had left on a very long journey around the world and he could have died during his journey.
  • When the Smurfs are going back in time with Papa Smurf and Grandpa after accidentally falling into Grandpa Smurf’s basement, Baby and Wild end up traveling back in time, but they are nowhere to be seen near Grandpa's basement, yet they somehow traveled back in time with the others.

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