Many generations grew up with The Smurfs, that cartoon series that dealt with the adventures and mischief of a community of blue tiny creatures. The Smurfs appeared for the first time on October 23, 1958; they were a Belgian comic franchise by the local artist Pierre Culliford, known as Peyo.
In the ’80s, The Smurfs became extremely famous worldwide; stores sold millions of toys, key chains, t-shirts, plates, glasses, stuffed animals, clothes, and all kinds of merchandise. From a distance, it seems that these beings were not as innocent as they were painted: the Smurfs had to be under the constant care of Papa Smurf, who had to teach them to prevent his peers from lying, stealing, cheating, and even killing.
Many legends developed around the figure of these beings, some suggested that the dolls and stuffed animals inspired by the characters moved, and others even said that these beings were responsible for some murders.
The 7 Deadly Sins
For many observers, the story of The Smurfs has left a glimpse of a plot full of hidden and satanic messages. In total, there are about a hundred Smurfs but the ones that always stood out were Sweets, Lazy, Selfish, Smurfette, Tachón, Grumpy, Philosopher, and Papa Smurf.
Many relate them in direct relation to the seven deadly sins. In the case of Philosopher, he represents pride and envy when he repeatedly tries to impersonate Papa Smurf and knows more than him. Lust would be represented by Smurfette, without forgetting that there is only one “female” for 99 “males.” The other ones are obvious given their names.
Almost everything revolves and is resolved around Papa Smurf, who has the symbol of the five-pointed star on his armchair, widely used in the magical arts. According to experts in symbology, this cute little old man would be representing Satan and that is why he is dressed in red.
Gargamel
Gargamel is the villain of the story, but if we look closely, his attire is that of a Franciscan monk, and the features of his house look like those of a church in ruins, just as St. Francis of Assisi lived. Gargamel’s master was named Balthasar, wore a long violet robe, and looked very much like a bishop.
Gargamel’s cat was named Azrael, which means avenging angel, with whom he performed magic spells and curses all the time. However, it is believed that Gargamel was not an evil sorcerer, on the contrary, there is an obvious reason why he used to insist on wiping out the Smurfs, and that is that, beyond being good and kind, the little blue goblins were linked to the Devil and all his evil.
The True Story of Gargamel
Gargamel was a well-known priest of the 12th or 13th century who became part of the Dominican order and was in charge of carrying out the Inquisition in ancient Europe. He was born in a small village in Spain and came from a very poor family. He was abandoned at the age of four by his mother, who could not afford to take care of him.
She put him in a basket at the entrance of a convent, and when the religious found him, she adopted him. When he grew up, he became a priest of the convent and swore to protect his sacred home from any entity or being that would try to do them harm while helping those in need. As the years went by, all the men who took care of Gargamel began to pass away until he finally ended up alone in that huge and almost ruined place.
The sadness of being alone made him almost go mad. However, he began to feel better when he met his new companion for life, a small cat that wandered around the place looking for food. Gargamel adopted him and named him Azrael, who accompanied him until the end of his days.
Despite the friendly image of the Smurfs, they were supposedly evil spirits of the forest that brought evil to humanity and, therefore, it was Gargamel’s duty to protect the world from these demonic entities. On full moon days, the Smurfs used to perform rituals and spells to create a new being like them, and only through that lunar phase they could steal the souls of children.
Gargamel managed to succeed, and all his daily experiences were narrated in his book. In the end, this great and noble character was the inspiration for different comics, and of course, cartoons like The Smurfs.
Communist Smurfs
Another popular legend is that these cartoons have a strong communist ideology. Take into account that the Smurfs are self-sufficient to manage their community; they function without money in a collectivist society, each Smurf works for the good of all, and their leader, Papa Smurf, bears a passing resemblance to Karl Marx and loves the color red.
From this perspective, the greedy and ruthless Gargamel, represents capitalism, as his only concern is his own personal gratification. It is believed that the communist undertones of The Smurfs were part of a ploy to influence children during the Cold War.
Racist Smurfs
In response to these conspiracy theories, a book called Le Petit Livre Bleu (The Little Blue Book), by French scholar Antoine Buéno, was published in 2011. He claimed that Peyo’s little characters and their ideology represented Stalinists, anti-Semites, and racist leanings.
Buéno pointed out that certain characters and stories were racist and anti-Semitic. On more than one occasion “purity of blood” was an essential part of the Smurfs’ plot, in addition to Smurfette’s appearance emphasizing blond Aryan ideals. Buéno also cited the Smurfs’ nemesis, Gargamel, who is presented with a hooked nose and an unrepentant thirst for gold, as an anti-Semitic caricature.
Which of these theories do you think could be true, will you be able to see the Smurfs with the same innocence?
Story originally published in Spanish in Cultura Colectiva
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