Music provided the next big step also, when the Dutch singer Vader Abraham
released the first Smurf single. It was a massive hit in Belgium and Holland,
followed by the rest of the world.
Soon, figurines, plushes, toys, (hit) records and above all the TV shows brought
them right around the world. In 1981, the celebrated cartoon duo Hanna &
Barbera (who created Tom & Jerry and later the Flinstones and Yogi Bear)
started work on a TV series for the NBC network in the USA. No fewer than
256 episodes were produced, which are currently showing in roughly 30 countries.
Although their creator Pierre Culliford - better known as Peyo - is no longer with us since Christmas 1992, the Smurfs have never been so popular. Over 10 million copies of Smurf CDs have been sold in the last 3 years alone. The books, activity books, figurines and toys are amongst the most popular in the world. The TV series is regularly re-issued as video collections in dozens of languages, as well as CD-i and in storybook form.
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.
