Gargamel is a fictional character and the main antagonist of the Smurfs show and comic books. He is a wizard and the sworn enemy of the Smurfs. His main goals are either to destroy the Smurfs, eat them, or transform them into gold.
Gargamel is consistently portrayed as hunched over, clad in a tattered and patched robe, and sporting decaying teeth. He resides in a ramshackle hovel along with his scruffy feline companion, Azrael.[1]
Gargamel harbors an intense and unrelenting hatred for the Smurfs; however, he is not above pretending to befriend them if it serves his interests. Additionally, he frequently directs disparaging remarks, insults, and mistreatment toward Azrael, who typically responds in kind, often finding amusement in Gargamel's moments of humiliation. Nonetheless, certain episodes of 'The Smurfs' suggest that Gargamel may possess genuine affection for his cat, demonstrating a sincere concern for Azrael's well-being.
Conflict with the Smurfs
The character of Gargamel makes his debut in 'Le Voleur de schtroumpf' ('The Smurfnapper'), published in 1959. His primary aim is to capture a Smurf, which he requires as a crucial ingredient for a potion capable of transmuting base metals into gold, following the legendary alchemical pursuit of the Philosopher's Stone. This endeavor leads to a confrontation with the other Smurfs, who unite to rescue their kidnapped comrade. In the ensuing struggle, the sorcerer is soundly defeated and subjected to humiliation, vowing revenge with the declaration, 'From now on, the conflict would be personal!'
Gargamel's motivations regarding the Smurfs oscillate between a desire to consume them, transform them into gold, and engage in even more unconventional endeavors. There are moments of sheer rage where he exclaimes, 'I don't want to see them, I don't want to eat them, I don't want to turn them into gold; all I want to do now is destroy them!' His attempts to capture Smurfs are often both bizarre and elaborate, such as his creation of a 'blue magnet' specifically designed to attract blue objects. Gargamel maintains a vast library of spell books (grimoires), potions, and gadgets, all dedicated to his obsession with the Smurfs. However, regardless of the complexity of his plans, they inevitably culminate in failure, prompting his signature catchphrase: 'I hate Smurfs!'
Although there have been instances where Gargamel inadvertently stumbled upon the Smurf village's location, fate or various peculiar circumstances always intervened to thwart his progress. On some occasions, a spell cast by Papa Smurf diverted him away, while other times, he strayed too far while pursuing the Smurfs and found himself unable to retrace his steps. Gargamel even attempted to leave a pheromone trail leading from the village to his residence, but the Smurfs used cinnamon to obfuscate the scent and prevent his return.
In one episode, Gargamel finally achieve his goal to turn the Smurfs into gold, by turning Sassette, Grandpa Smurf, and Brainy Smurf into gold coins, but only for two robbers to steal them. Gargamel goes after them to retrieve his coins back, but he gets arrested by King Gerald (one of the Smurfs’ friends) and his guards. The Smurfs rescue Sassette, Grandpa, and Brainy and they return to their normal forms.
During one particularly obsessive search, Gargamel ventured into the deepest caverns, muddiest marshlands, and far out to sea. He was on the verge of giving up when, almost by chance, he stumbled upon the village—only for fate, as always, to conspire against him.
In rare instances (occurring only a few times in the series), Gargamel found himself aligned with the Smurfs. In the episode 'Fountain of Smurf', Papa Smurf was transformed into a Smurfling, and the sole means of reversing the transformation necessitated Gargamel's assistance.
Other times, Gargamel proved even his own evil has limits. In "The Smurfs Christmas Special," Gargamel had aligned himself with a mysterious wizard in his quest to destroy the Smurfs on Christmas. However, when his new ally reveals he plans to kidnap two children and take them to a mysterious universe where, he implies, he will greatly harm them (in revenge, after he was banished from the kingdom by the forest's marshal for various crimes), Gargamel refuses to cooperate any further, and ultimately assists the Smurfs in defeating the wizard.
Gargamel possesses a spell book known as the 'Great Book of Spells', which resides in the basement of his home. This book is a sentient entity capable of speech and bound by an arrangement, requiring it to provide Gargamel with one requested spell per month, specifically during the final phase of the full moon. The book adheres to the letter of the agreement but often interprets Gargamel's wishes literally, leading him through humiliating rituals and ingredient-gathering tasks. In later seasons, it is suggested that the book's intentions may not be malicious and it merely disapproves of selfish spell-casting, assisting the Smurfs with minimal fuss in resolving magical crises.
In his endeavors to torment the Smurfs, Gargamel has even created other Smurfs, most notably Smurfette. While Smurfette was eventually adopted by the Smurfs, Sassette Smurfling, created by the other Smurflings, was shaped from the same clay Gargamel had used for Smurfette. Sassette holds a unique perspective in the Smurf village, referring to Gargamel as 'Pappy Gargamel' and hoping to find some redeeming qualities in him.
In more modern adaptations, such as the two live-action films and 'The Lost Village', Gargamel's goal shifts to extracting the essence of Smurfs to attain ultimate sorcerous power and conquer the world.
Relationships
One time, Gargamel did almost get married. His "mummy" decided it was high time he took a wife and introduced him to a baron's lovely daughter (Andria), who did not really love him. He did not really have any feelings for the girl either, until he saw in her hope chest a definitive map to the Smurf Village and then proclaimed his love for her and accepted her hand in marriage. (Of course, he still did not love her, just the map to the Smurf Village.) Some Smurfs showed up at the wedding and wrought enough havoc to ruin the wedding completely, so finally the ceremony was canceled.
In the episode "Gargamel's Sweetheart", he does fall in love with Evelyn, a glamorous but evil witch who he tries unsuccessfully to impress with his claims of being a rich, powerful wizard, but he does catch her interest when he also claims to know how to turn lead into gold, and gets her to agree to help him catch the Smurfs to do so. Their efforts go unrewarded thanks partly to his bungling.
In 1988, the eight season of the series, Gargamel was forced to deal with Denisa, Balthazar’s niece. In "A Smurf for Denisa", he was forced to take care of her while Balthazar was busy. Later, Gargamel captures Sassette (who befriended Denisa), but Denisa gets angry at this and stops him. He then takes the two girls to his home, but while Denisa was away, he tries to eat Sassette, but she runs away after Gargamel captures Papa, Nanny, and the Smurflings. Sassette, Denisa, and Smoogle then go to Gargamel’s home, and while Smoogle makes a distraction, Sassette and Denisa rescue their friends. Gargamel tries to stop them, but he gets stopped by Balthazar, who zaps him. In "Denisa’s Greedy Doll", he uses Denisa’s doll to make into a voodoo doll, by using Greedy’s apron, but then Denisa arrives and takes her doll. Later, Denisa tries to get her doll back, but the doll falls right into Papa, who uses it to reverse the spell on Greedy to Gargamel. Denisa finally gets her doll back, and Gargamel captures the Smurfs, but when Denisa goes to visit Balthazar, the spell on her doll controls Gargamel. In "Denisa’s Slumber Party", he and Azrael (Scruple does not appear in the episode) are forced to babysit Denisa when she hosts a party (in which she also invites Sassette). But when Gargamel hears Sassette, Papa, Smurfette, and the Smurflings trying to rescue Denisa from a dragon, he captures Sassette and tries to get the other Smurfs, but only the get stopped by Denisa. To making things worse, he and Azrael accidentally break Balthazar’s crystal, and this makes Balthazar very angry and he zaps them.
Cartoon series
Being the earliest of the Smurfs' sworn enemies, it was inevitable that Gargamel would be a recurring character in the Hanna-Barberacartoon series. In the opening theme, he shouts out his hatred for the Smurfs and begins his desperate attempts to catch them.
Despite his never-ending hatred and frustration for the Smurfs, more than once has he had to rely on Papa Smurf to help save him from a more wicked enemy's plans (such as Balthazar) or to rescue him from a potion gone horribly wrong. Other times, they have had to team up to fight a common enemy. On another occasion, the episode "The Fountain of Smurf", Papa Smurf drinks too much water from a fountain of youth and becomes a smurfling. The Smurfs are forced to rely on Gargamel to come to their aid and help turn Papa Smurf back to his proper age. Gargamel and Azrael themselves fall into the Fountain of Youth, and become a child and a kitten again, respectively.
In later episodes, he acquired an apprentice named Scruple, who was frequently rejected from a boarding school for young wizards (which Gargamel himself had been expelled from in his youth) and only Gargamel was willing to teach him magic, and only because he was bribed by the wizards in charge of the school. Scruple seems moderately brighter and savvier than his master, though still inexperienced in the ways of magic. Although Scruple aids Gargamel in capturing the Smurfs, his main problem is with the students of the wizard academy who berate him for failing to qualify for admission. However, in the scheme of things, the smugness of the students proves to be a weakness for them, as Scruple has some success using Gargamel's magic to cause them problems. In one episode, Scruple finds the Great Book of Spells.
In 1989, the final season of the series, where the Smurfs are constantly traveling through time, different incarnations of Gargamel would appear, such as showing him as an Indian fakir, a Russian peasant, or a Spanish bullfighter. In one of the earlier episodes of the final seasons, where Gargamel is shown as an Egyptian pharaoh's aide, Papa Smurf believes that all these similar-looking men (and their cats) seen must be ancestors of the infamous Gargamel and Azrael of their present time.
The name "Gargamel" resembles François Rabelais' classic Gargantua and Pantagruel, where the giantess Gargamelle is the mother of Gargantua. This is appropriate since Gargamel is a giant compared to the Smurfs. The word gargamelle in French has become a slang term for "throat".
Yvan Delporte suggested the name "Gargamel"; he also proposed the name "Azrael", considering "angel of death" an appropriate name for the would-be killer of Smurfs. He also liked the rhyme with Gargamel.
Names in other languages
Different names have been used in different languages in the cartoon series:
Finnish: Velho, directly translated from English word "wizard"
German: Gurgelhals (literally "throatneck", implying strangling). From 1995 onward, the original name Gargamel is used in Smurf comics publications. In the TV series the original name Gargamel was always used
Hungarian: Hókuszpók, a wordplay on "hocus pocus", with "pók" also meaning spider
Icelandic: Kjartan
Italian: Gargamella (phonetic adaptation of the original name)
Arabic: شَرشَبيل (Sharshabeel)
Vietnamese: Lão Gà Mên (phonetic adaptation of the original name with "Lão" means old man)
Papa Smurf is one of the protagonists from the comic strip The Smurfs. Most Smurfs are said to be about 100 years old, but at the advanced age of 546, Papa is the oldest Smurf and the leader of all Smurfs. Despite his age, he is still quite energetic. Easily distinguishable from all the other Smurfs, Papa Smurf has a bushy white mustache and beard and is typically dressed in red pants and a matching red Phrygian cap, making him the only Smurf who does not wear white. He was introduced in Peyo's 1958 Johan and Peewit story "La Flûte à Six Trous", the first appearance of the Smurfs.
Smurfette is one of the protagonists from the comic strip The Smurfs. Smurfette was created by the evil wizard Gargamel, the Smurfs' archenemy, in order to spy on them and sow jealousy. However, she decides that she wants to be a real Smurf and Papa Smurf casts a spell that changes her hair from black to blonde as a sign of her transformation. She was the only female Smurf until the creation of Sassette. A Granny Smurf was also later introduced, although it is unclear how she was created. Thierry Culliford, the son of the comics' creator, Peyo, and current head of the Studio Peyo, announced in 2008 that more female Smurfs would be introduced in the stories. Smurfette has stereotypical feminine features, with long blonde wavy hair, long eyelashes, and wears a white dress and white high heels. She is the love interest of almost every Smurf.
The Smurfs is a 2011 American fantasy adventure comedy film based on the comic series of the same name created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo. It was directed by Raja Gosnell and stars Neil Patrick Harris, Jayma Mays, Sofia Vergara and Hank Azaria, with the voices of Jonathan Winters, Katy Perry, George Lopez, Anton Yelchin, Fred Armisen and Alan Cumming. It is the first live-action Sony Pictures Animation film and the first of two live-action animated Smurfs feature films.
The Smurfette is the third album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series. The story has also been made into an episode of the Smurfs animated cartoon show, where the only known significant difference is that Smurfette stays in the village for the rest of the show's run. Apart from the titular story, it contains another one called La Faim des Schtroumpfs.
The Smurfs is an American animated fantasy-comedy children's television series that originally aired on NBC from 12 September 1981 to 2 December 1989. Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, it is based on the Belgian comic series of the same name, created by Belgian cartoonist Peyo and aired for 258 episodes with a total of 419 stories, excluding three cliffhangers episodes and seven specials episodes.
Schtroumpf Vert et Vert Schtroumpf is the ninth comic album adventure of the Smurfs, written and drawn by Peyo with Yvan Delporte as co-writer. The story is considered a parody on the still ongoing language war between French- and Dutch-speaking communities in the authors' native Belgium. The plot is similar in a way to King Smurf, an earlier adventure, in that the usually harmonious community of Smurfs falls into disarray due to the failure of father-figure Papa Smurf to exercise his leadership.
The Smurfs and the Howlibird is the fifth album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series created by Belgian artist Peyo.
The Smurf Apprentice is the seventh album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series created by Belgian artist Peyo.
The Smurflings is the thirteenth album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series created by Belgian artist Peyo.
Smurf Soup is the tenth album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series created by Belgian artist Peyo.
Baby Smurf is the twelfth album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series created by Belgian artist Peyo.
Finance Smurf is the sixteenth album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series created by Belgian artist Peyo.
The Smurfs is a Belgian comic franchise centered on a fictional colony of small, blue, humanoid creatures who live in mushroom-shaped houses in the forest. The Smurfs was created and introduced as a series of comic characters by the Belgian comics artist Peyo in 1958, wherein they were known as Les Schtroumpfs. There are more than 100 Smurf characters, and their names are based on adjectives that emphasise their characteristics, such as "Jokey Smurf", who likes to play practical jokes on his fellow Smurfs. "Smurfette" was the first female Smurf to be introduced in the series. The Smurfs wear Phrygian caps, which came to represent freedom during the modern era.
The Aerosmurf is the fourteenth album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series created by Belgian artist Peyo. Apart from the titular one, it contains other four stories: The Gluttony of the Smurfs, The Masked Smurfer, Puppy and the Smurfs and Jokey Smurf's Jokes.
The Strange Awakening of Lazy Smurf is the fourteenth album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series created by Belgian artist Peyo.
The Smurfs 2 is a 2013 American fantasy comedy film loosely based on The Smurfs comic book series created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo. It is the second and final installment in the Smurfs live action film series and a sequel to the 2011 film The Smurfs, produced by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, The Kerner Entertainment Company, and Hemisphere Media Capital, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film was again directed by Raja Gosnell from a screenplay written by Karey Kirkpatrick and the writing teams of J. David Stem and David N. Weiss, and Jay Scherick and David Ronn, and a story conceived by the latter four. The entire main cast reprised their roles from the first film. New cast members include Christina Ricci and J. B. Smoove as members of the Naughties, and Brendan Gleeson as Patrick Winslow's stepfather.
The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol is a 2011 American animated short film based on The Smurfs comic book series created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo, and is an adaptation Charles Dickens's 1843 novella A Christmas Carol. The animated short was written by Todd Berger and directed by Troy Quane, and it stars the voices of George Lopez, Jack Angel, Melissa Sturm, Fred Armisen, Gary Basaraba, Anton Yelchin and Hank Azaria. The film was produced by Sony Pictures Animation with the animation by Sony Pictures Imageworks and Duck Studios. The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol was released on DVD on December 2, 2011, attached to The Smurfs film.
The Smurfs have appeared in five feature-length films and two short films loosely based on The Smurfs comic book series created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo and the 1980s animated TV series it spawned. They theatrically debuted in a 1965 animated feature film that was followed by a 1976 animated film titled The Smurfs and the Magic Flute. Twenty-eight to thirty years after The Magic Flute was released in the United States, a 2011 feature film and a 2013 sequel were produced by Sony Pictures Animation and released by Columbia Pictures. Live-action roles include Hank Azaria, Neil Patrick Harris, and Jayma Mays, while the voice-over roles include Anton Yelchin, Jonathan Winters, Katy Perry, and George Lopez. A fully animated reboot titled Smurfs: The Lost Village was released through Sony in April 2017. An animated musical film titled The Smurf Movie produced by Paramount Animation and Nickelodeon Movies will release in February 2025.
The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow is a direct-to-video American animated comedy adventure short film based on The Smurfs comic book series created by the Belgian comics artist Peyo. A sequel to The Smurfs 2 (2013), the short was written by Todd Berger and directed by Stephan Franck, and it stars the voices of Melissa Sturm, Fred Armisen, Anton Yelchin and Hank Azaria. The film was produced by Sony Pictures Animation with the animation by Sony Pictures Imageworks and Duck Studios. The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow was released on DVD on September 10, 2013. The film is loosely based on Washington Irving's 1820 short story "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow".
Smurfs: The Lost Village is a 2017 American animated fantasy adventure comedy film based on The Smurfs comic series by Peyo, produced by Columbia Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, The Kerner Entertainment Company, and Wanda Pictures, in association with LStar Capital, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. A reboot to Sony's previous live-action/animated hybrid films and the third and final installment in Sony's Smurfs film series, the film was directed by Kelly Asbury from a screenplay written by Stacey Harman and Pamela Ribon, and stars the voices of Demi Lovato, Rainn Wilson, Joe Manganiello, Mandy Patinkin, Jack McBrayer, Danny Pudi, Michelle Rodriguez, Ellie Kemper, Jake Johnson, Ariel Winter, Meghan Trainor, and Julia Roberts. In the film, a mysterious map prompts Smurfette, Brainy, Clumsy, and Hefty to find a lost village before Gargamel does. The film introduced the female Smurfs, who appeared in the franchise the following year.
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