The Smurf's were created by Pierre Culliford - better known as Pey - in 1958 and they slowly took on a life of their own. In 1981, Hanna-Barbera began the TV series on NBC and it went world wide. In 1986, at the height of the TV series craze, PEZ came out with a Smurf series including Papa Smurf and a pair of boy Smurfs. That series was quickly recalled, retooled and reissued in 1989 with thin feet - this time with a smurfette as part of the trio. The facial expressions seem to very with the slight changes from 3.9 to 4.9 stems as well as color variations as countries changed. In 1997, the series was reworked again and 5 characters appeared: Papa Smurf, Smurfette, Boy Smurf, and the addition of Brainy smurf (with 2 stem versions: Bright Orange and Light Orange) and the evil Gargamel. In 2017, the original 4 Smurfs were re-issued in both a standard PEZ and a Click and Play version, all modernized: Papa Smurf, Smurf Boy, Brainy Smurf, and Smurfette. |