"The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

In June 2006 Warner Bros joined a chat hosted by the Home Theater Forum to talk about their products, and answer questions from HTF members. Paul Miller asked about The Smurfs, and got a positive response:

[Paul Miller] As a fan of 80s cartoons, is there any chance of The Smurfs coming to DVD anytime soon?

[WARNER BROS] We are working on The Smurfs and hope to release it in 2007.


The are 421 Smurf episodes. Six are Specials. Lets do all we can to make Warner Bros. bring "The Smurfs" DVD's come out in SEASON SETS not Volumes Sets. Volume sets suck. It's better if they keep the seasons episodes together. Rather then spliting up the seasons in Volume Sets.

Warner Bros.

E-mail address: whvcustserv@emsi.echomail.com
Phone Number: (800) 364-6928

Call and E-mail Warner Bros everyday to make this happen.

"The Smurfs Episodes list in under...
http://www.tv.com/the-smurfs/show/33....html&season=0

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

From Cartoon Brew:

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

someone said there was a picture of the box art in the new Popeye set

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

According to the trailer at: http://zvbxrpl.blogspot.com/2007/07/...opeye-dvd.html , the release is the complete first season containing 26 episodes. This season 1 list from tv.com is:

1 The Astrosmurf 9/12/1981 8101 Reviews 9.88
2 Jokey's Medicine 9/12/1981 8102A Reviews 9.12
3 Vanity Fare 9/12/1981 8102B Reviews 8.57
4 St. Smurf And The Dragon 9/19/1981 8103 Reviews 7.83
5 The Magical Meanie 9/19/1981 8104A Reviews 8.02
6 Sorcerer Smurf 9/19/1981 8104B Reviews 9.12
7 Bewitched, Bothered And Be-Smurfed 9/26/1981 8105 Reviews 8.54
8 King Smurf 9/26/1981 8106A Reviews 7.73
9 The Smurfs And The Howlibird 9/26/1981 8106B Reviews 9.35
10 Soup A La Smurf 10/3/1981 8107 Reviews 9.25
11 All That Glitters Isn't Smurf 10/3/1981 8108A Reviews 9.55
12 Dreamy's Nightmare 10/3/1981 8108B Reviews 9.11
13 Romeo And Smurfette 10/10/1981 8109 Reviews 9.33
14 The Magic Egg 10/10/1981 8110A Reviews 9.55
15 Smurphony In 'C' 10/10/1981 8110B Reviews 9.19
16 Sideshow Smurf 10/17/1981 8111 Reviews 9.18
17 Supersmurf 10/17/1981 8112A Reviews 9.19
18 Paradise Smurfed 10/17/1981 8112B Reviews 8.95
19 Sir Hefty 10/24/1981 8113 Reviews 9.79
20 The Baby Smurf 10/24/1981 8114A Reviews 8.36
21 The Fake Smurf 10/24/1981 8114B Reviews 9.14
22 Painter And Poet 10/31/1981 8115 Reviews 9.04
23 Haunted Smurfs 10/31/1981 8116A Reviews 6.80
24 The Purple Smurf 10/31/1981 8116B Reviews 9.08
25 The Fountain Of Smurf 11/7/1981 8117 Reviews 7.92
26 The Magnifying Mixture 11/7/1981 8118A Reviews 8.99
27 Foul Weather Smurf 11/7/1981 8118B Reviews 9.93
28 The Hundredth Smurf 11/14/1981 8119 Reviews 9.68
29 The Adominable Snowbeast 11/14/1981 8120A Reviews 8.92
30 Gargamel The Generous 11/14/1981 8120B Reviews 9.28
31 The Smurfette 11/21/1981 8121 Reviews 9.64
32 Now You Smurf 'Em, Now You Don't 11/21/1981 8122A Reviews 9.89
33 Spelunking Smurfs 11/21/1981 8122B Reviews 9.13
34 The Smurfs' Apprentice 11/28/1981 8123A Reviews 8.60
35 Smurfed Coloured Glasses 11/28/1981 8123B Reviews 9.09
36 The Clockwork Smurf 11/28/1981 8124 Reviews 8.50
37 Fuzzle Trouble 12/5/1981 8125A Reviews 9.04
38 Smurfette's Dancing Shoes 12/5/1981 8125B Reviews 7.97
39 The Smurfs And The Money Tree 12/5/1981 8126 Reviews 7.76
Special The Smurfs' Springtime Special 4/8/1982 Reviews 6.33

Hopefully they will include the Smurf's Springtime Special as a bonus feature.
I hope they include these because there were quite a few prime time Smurf specials through out the series.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

What is the name of the episode where Zombie Smurf is spreading an undead virus by biting other Smurfs on the tail? I remember that being one creepy and weird episode.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

I don't know, but if you're talking about the episode where they turn purple, it's definitely the best Smurfs episode ever.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

That's the episode! I noticed that it is part of the first season episodes listed on the post above. On a related side note, I read from TV.com, if the sound is played backwards, the purple smurfs seem to say "panic".
http://www.tv.com//the-purple-smurf/...pisode_title;1

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

According to:

http://www.tvshowsondvd.com/newsitem.cfm?NewsID=7768

It seems that the info on the trailer has been changed. It will now only be Season 1 Volume 1. This will contain "19 cartoons", which amounts to half of the season. The good news is that it will contain the Springtime special as a bonus as well as a Smurf video.

The release date is Dec. 4 and the MSRP is $26.99.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

Bummer! If they go by airdate order, we'll have to wait for Volume 2 for The Purple Smurf.

By the way, if there are 256 episodes, it would take about 12 volumes to get the entire series. Think that will happen? I sure hope so.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

I am confused...there were only 13 episodes in the the first season. If you look at the airdates, there were 3 "stories" per episode. Huh?

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

Scott, if I remember correctly, the Smurfs ran for 90 minutes every Saturday morning (at least in the early days). You would get three adventures every Saturday morning.

One of the things about that kind of rotation that even kids noticed, is that we would get repeats very frequently.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

D'OH! I'm so stupid! I remember the show running for 90 mins. Didn't each episode have end credits and then the show came back on? I almost remember the bumpers as well.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

Will they have the original openings? On Boomerang they call them "Smurfs Adventures," which appears to be a syndicated opening, and often they show PAL-sourced versions which sound a half-tone higher.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

A definite buy for me. I wonder why they went from a S1 to a S1V1 release?

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

Maybe we will luck out and they will release the complete S1 (for the hardcore fans) on the same day as S1V1 (for the casual fans and impluse buyers). One can hope.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

Columbia House has the set up for pre-order, but they are listing the entire first season, not s1v1. Here's the link:

http://dvd-movies.columbiahouse.com/...chTerms=smurfs

I hope that this is true. The msrp is 44.95 for the 4-disc set. That's a lot better than 26.95 for half of the season.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

Well, I'm pleased I never bought into this series. I was waiting to see if WB would continue this series in good form. They haven't! The 2nd season isn't a complete season, and it isn't half a season. It's five episodes from season 2 on one disc. So four more releases like this one and we will have the complete season 2...Yeah. Who are the intended buyers for a foolish stunt like this? A 6 year old with a weeks allowance? Does Warner Brothers know they are alienating their core audience? We want season sets(or half seasons) neatly packaged and slim. We do not want gazillion releases to comprise one season.
Holy crap, if this is the hot new way to release tv shows on dvd, I'm out for good. My mind's blown.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

I totally agree with you Bryan. I had intended on collecting this series next year but after hearing about this latest release, I'll definitely pass. I can live with 1/2 season releases if need be, but this is ridiculous. I wanted to own this show..........but I don't want it that badly.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

This is perhaps a new low for any studio. I sincerely hope somebody loses their job over this.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

I'm also disappointed with the 1 disc-5 episode set up. I could live with the half-season releases, but this is a huge step down.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

It's a new low alright. I'm shocked, but not half as shocked as the studio will be when that disc doesn't sell. Oh well, it's their money. WB is a big studio, I suppose they can waste good money any way they please.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

And you know they're going to blame the show if it tanks and not this BS.

Somehow half-season sets don't seem so bad anymore. How ironic. We complain about one insult, then we see what is inarguably a bigger insult that leaves us grateful for what we had before.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

Of course. Almost positive it will be abandoned after that.
More toward the release of this single disc travesty, I'll start a thread to boycott this garbage.

This a slap to the face of the fans who plunked down hard earned cash for the first two volumes. It's just not logical from any standpoint to release a series this way. Given the next release, or none at all, I'll take nothing.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

I think the problem is that fans didn't plunk down hard earned cash for the second volume.

I'd guess the scramble to a different format is due to the unexpected drop after the first set far exceed expectations.

This isn't a case of milking the fans, it's trying to salvage the series for as long as possible.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

The Smurfs lasted 9 seasons and almost 300 episodes. At 5 episodes a release, it'll take literally years to release the whole thing, and the point at which Warner gives up and decides to terminate the series will just come much sooner.

Here's an idea: Exactly HOW is unloading 13 or so episodes onto a double-sided disc not a viable option?

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

I'm going to hope WHV gives some answers as to their reasoning for this. From what I heard/read the two previous sets sold extremely well, so them pulling this makes no sense. I guess we, the fans, are in the proverbial catch-22 here. If we buy the set it might make WHV think that it's a new viable way for them to release season sets to make a better profit. If we don't buy the set then they would say it didn't sell well b/c of what it is or whatever other crap they would put out other than thinking of themselves to blame. Sigh....

Is there still time to complain to WHV about this where it might actually make a difference?

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

The inevitable drop in sales from the first release to the second should have been anticipated by the studio. Couldn't they cut the costs elsewhere? Double sided discs with no extras, and minimal promotion would save them a bunch of money. They could also give season one volume two some time to breathe. I realize most sales happen early after the release date, but if they released half of season 2 late next year I'm sure it wouldn't sell poorly.
Something I've been thinking about a lot lately is this: Diamond Select Toys bases practically everything they make(mostly comic book figures, and statues) on pre-sells and order books from comic book shops. If it doesn't do well in those aspects the figure never goes into production. If there were a way studios could do this with tv releases, it might help the gauge the interest of a series.

I don't hate WB for doing this, but they can't possibly expect it to do well.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

Not a drop like this. I'm pleasantly surprised they're even continuing the series after V2. Studios are quick to kill series when they hit certain numbers these days.

I don't personally like cutting down the amount of content, but I applaud WB for trying a different approach instead of killing the series. If it was me, I would've given it one more "full size" release and if it continued to badly drop, I would've looked into alternate ideas.

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

I'm guessing WB won't waste another nickel on Silverhawks, considering it bombed out of the gate.

David,
Do you think BCI would see Smurfs through the end if they had the rights?

Re: "The Smurfs" TV series coming to DVD in the U.S.A.

You see, that's why you should work for WB's