Sure, The Smurfs may have their share of haters amongst serious animation professionals, but do we really want to see them devastated by an air raid? A new 25-second Unicef spot set to air in Belgium depicts just that as the Smurf village falls victim to the horrors of war.
Sources say the spot opens with the iconic, blue characters singing and dancing around a campfire when bombs begin to fall from the sky, leveling the village and leaving the Smurfs lifeless on the ground as the once-peaceful landscape burns. The jarring imagery is followed by the message, “Don’t let war affect the lives of children.”
The animated piece was approved by Smurfs rights holder IMPS and the family of late Belgian comic book scribe Peyo, who created the jolly gnomes in 1958. The controversial spot is part of efforts on behalf of the Belgian branch of Unicef to raise money for the rehabilitation of former child soldiers in Burundi.
Apparently, Publicis, the advertising agency responsible for producing the spot, wanted to show dismembered Smurfs left in the wake of the attack in order to really drive the point home. And while the final version is not that gruesome, it is not to be shown before 9 p.m. so as not to disturb young viewers.
The Smurfs hit the U.S. airwaves in 1980, introducing Saturday morning cartoon viewers to the adventures of Smurfette, Papa Smurf, Brainy Smurf and the rest of the diminutive gang. The show aired on NBC until 1990, spawning numerous specials and a feature-length film titled The Smurf’s and the Magic Flute. Paramount Pictures is now planning a trilogy of CG-animated movies to debut in 2008 via Nickelodeon Films.
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