Smurfs Up...where are they now?

Who could ever forget the smurfs?

First coined at the dinner table by a friend asking creator Peyo if he could "passe-moi le schtroumpf", in english "pass me the smurf". He was actually asking for salt but he and many million others got a lot more than that!

Born in 1958 the smurfs were originally secondary characters in a story about Johan & Peewit published in "Le Journal de Spirou", but just as with The Simpsons first appearing in the Tracey Ullman Show, the smurfs became stars in their own right.

In case you had a deprived childhood:

• The Smurfs live in mushroom houses somewhere in the forests of medieval Europe
• They are 3 apples tall and love to eat smurfberries
• They live in harmony with mother nature and every smurf has their own individual task to help the community. Here is a list of smurf characters and the role they played in the community
• Papa Smurf, 542 years old, is their leader and looks after the communities welfare

The best thing about the smurfs was their own unique language, just as many people in our world use swear words in every sentence the Smurfs used the word "smurf" extensively. How funny it would be if humans said the word "human" in place of swear words, "human off", "human you" or "human yeah"!

The smurf language has become pop culture and has not seen it's day. Family Guy featured an episode of the Smurfs on The Griffins TV -

Smurf 1: Hey did you have a good time last night?

Smurf 2: Smurf-tacular!

Smurf 1: Yeah, I saw you leave with Smurfette

Smurf 2: Oh man, as soon as we got out of the bar she started smurfing me

Smurf 1: Shut the Smurf up. Right in the smurfing car-park?

Smurf 2: Smurf yeah

Smurf 1: Oh that is freaking Smurf!

So apart from the smurf language, where are The Smurfs now?

The 256 episodes of the smurfs are still being watched in over 30 million countries, over 10 million copies of the Smurfs CD's have been sold in the last 3 years "and with the new style and the increasing range of Smurfimedia coming out, the little blue men are sure to have plenty of surprises for fans in the years to come". The biggest surprise...a 3 part Smurfology coming to cinemas near you in 2008! Paramount and Nickelodean will be putting on the show with a script from Herb Ratner and producer Jordan Kerner. The 2008 release will commemorate 50 years of smurfing around!