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Papa Smurf

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File:Papasmurf2.jpg
Papa Smurf

Papa Smurf is a male fictional character from the Smurfs. He is the third oldest of the Smurfs (after Grandpa and Nanny), and their leader. He is 542 years old[citation needed] (while the other Smurfs are approximately 100 years old), but is quite energetic for his age. He can be easily distinguished from the other Smurfs by his red clothes and his bushy white beard (which was brown in his younger days). Don Messick provided Papa Smurf's voice in the 1980s animated series.

History

Papa Smurf (in French, "Le Grand Schtroumpf") is gentle, wise, and knowledgeable. He serves as the Smurfs' leader and as a paternal figure of which the Smurfs usually go to when they require counsel and he is always concerned about the Smurf's wellbeing and harmony. He is very altruistic and always ready to help somebody, whether he is a Smurf or human. Papa Smurf also has diplomatic skills in case they meet humans or other creatures, and usually manages to speak without using the "smurf" word.

In the original comic books by Peyo, Papa Smurf had a much more forceful personality, and had a short-temper (often seen getting angry with his smurfs when they did something wrong or were not obeying his orders).

Papa Smurf's duty is to ensure all the Smurfs of the village get along well, are nice to each other, and don't fight. When real chaos rises among them, Papa Smurf takes very drastic measures, often using magic, like switching bodies with Gargamel in order to pretend to attack the village ("Smurf Versus Smurf" issue) or even creating a whole other village of evil doubles of the original Smurfs ("The Smurf Menace" issue).

While Papa Smurf would sometimes prefer not to have to constantly fix problems, he came to realize it was his calling. One time he said that because he may not be able to be the village leader forever, every Smurf should have a brief experience of commanding the village, which was signified by him handing over his signature red hat and having the designated Smurf wear it and direct others on a construction project. The Smurfs were then at different points wearing the hat and being referred to as "Papa Greedy", "Papa Clumsy" or "Mama Smurfette". While Papa felt it important that each Smurf gain leadership skills, his true purpose was to be always guiding the Smurfs and fixing their problems and mistakes.

When he is not doing his leader or "father-knows-best" job, Papa Smurf indulges in his favorite hobby: magical chemistry, or alchemy. He often makes elixirs to help out Smurfs who get themselves into trouble. His house is a large laboratory containing several chemical devices, and he tries to create potions for the good of the Smurfs, yet sometimes fails - such as the time he accidentally created a substance that turned any living thing into a huge monster (see the album: "The Smurfs and the Cracoucass"). Impassioned by this activity, he occasionally leaves the village in order to get the needed ingredients.

In pop culture

  • Some people see him as caricature of Karl Marx and likened him to a generic communist leader.
  • Making a parody of NBC's constant creation of bizarre miniseries, Saturday Night Live used the Smurfs as an example. In this example, Sean Connery (parodied and portrayed by Darrell Hammond) portrayed the live-action Papa Smurf.
  • He was voiced by Imre Sinkovits in the Hungarian version of the cartoon. He was one of the most known actors of Hungary. His voice became a trademark for Papa Smurf.
  • He was one of the cartoon characters featured in Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.
  • On the CD Family Guy: Live in Vegas, Stewie claims to have met Papa Smurf, who states that he prevents Arabs, Asians, gays, black people and Jews from seeing the village. In turn, Stewie calls Gargamel and betrays the village's location to him.
  • In the Basic Underwater Demolition Training of the US Navy SEALs, the rafting divisions are segregated by height, with the shortest squad being known as the "Smurf Division". The unit's raft has a picture of a Smurf at the front of its raft, and the squad leader is often given the call sign of "Papa Smurf".
  • Marneus Calgar, Chapter-Master of the Ultramarines Chapter of Space Marines in the Warhammer 40,000 universe, bears the nickname "Papa Smurf" by players of the popular boardgame due to the Chapter's distinctive blue armor.

See also

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