Breaking the fourth wall

Papa Smurf giving his fourth wall breaking aside glance in "Papa's Day Off".

Breaking the fourth wall refers to a situation in which a character reveals his or her awareness of the audience (this can also be called metatheatre) or the fact that he or she is in a fictional story. The technique has been used for millennia: it was standard practice in Greek comedy. For instance, at one point in the Greek playwright Aristophanes' play Peace, the hero Trygaeus (who is being lifted into the air by a crane situated offstage) tells the crane-handler to be more careful.

There have been several instances where a Smurf character "breaks the fourth wall":

Comic Books

• There's a bit of fourth wall breaking in the Smurfs comic books, usually at the end of the story.

1980s Cartoon Show

General

• Grouchy may be doing this (it's not clear), saying what he hates to the audience.
• Brainy appears to be frequently breaking the fourth wall when he has something to say after one of his throw-outs, but it is not certain whether it is an actual case of this or just his voicing his personal thought to himself.

Season 1

• "King Smurf"
  • Jokey nearly breaks the fourth wall when he ponders on the situation that his being put into prison for pulling a prank on King Smurf was not a joke.
• "The Fake Smurf"
  • Hogatha breaks the fourth wall, telling the viewers that she still has eight lives left.
• "The Baby Smurf"
  • Azrael laughs to the audience when he sees Gargamel with a Smurf tail, which was remaining from his Smurf potion.
• "The Fountain Of Smurf"
  • Papa Smurf gives the viewer a wink when Brainy says that no Smurf makes a fool out of him.
• "Gargamel The Generous"
  • Brainy smiles at the audience when thrown out of the village in the end.

Season 2

• "Smurf Van Winkle"
  • Lazy talks to the audience twice.

Season 3

• "All Creatures Great And Smurf"
  • Papa Smurf winks to the viewer.

Season 4

• "Stop And Smurf The Roses"
  • Brainy is thrown elsewhere into the forest and sign languages "Ouch" to the viewer.

Season 5

• "Papa's Day Off"
  • Papa Smurf slips a look toward the viewer, simply answering that he couldn't imagine when Smurfette asks Papa Smurf what they would do without him.
• "The Grouchiest Game In Town"
  • When Grouchy wins for the first time, he says he hates winning, but he smiled and took out a flag and waved it in front of us.
• "Happy Unhappiness Day To You"
  • When thrown out of the village, Brainy mutters to himself that he thought that Unhappiness Day was all over while looking at the audience. However, this may just be him talking to himself.
• "Mutiny On The Smurf"
  • Brainy angrily looks at the audience as his smurfberry juice has been shattered due to him hogging it.

Season 6

• "Grouchy Makes A Splash"
  • At the end, when Hefty told Grouchy to get out of the water, he says he hates getting out of the water, then smiles and whispers to us that now he can swim.
• "A Loss Of Smurf"
  • Vanity has done so at the end of the episode.
• "Farmer's Genie"
  • Papa Smurf says to the audience that Farmer and Gourdy could be the start of a beautiful friendship.
• "Master Scruple"
  • Farmer tells the audience he is one lucky Smurf.
• "Jokey's Cloak"
  • Jokey says to the audience "Sometimes getting is just as funny as giving" and laughs when Wislow the gnome gives him a prank.

Season 7

• "The Smurfstalker"
  • Getting thrown out of the village; Brainy says "I didn't know Grandpa was that strong".
• "Gargamel's Sweetheart"
  • Papa Smurf looks at the audience briefly when Sassette says that Tailor must really love his job.
• "Smurfing For Gold"
  • Gargamel says he hates the Smurfs and then looks at the viewers angrily.
• "Vanity's Closest Friend"
  • As he gets thrown out of the village, Brainy tells the viewers that sometimes having a closest friend can be a headache.
• "Vanity's Wild Adventure"
  • Wild looks at the audience and is happy as he is given a Vanity-pictured tie.
• "Papa For A Day"
  • Grandpa Smurf winks to the viewer.
• "Sassette's Hive"
  • Papa Smurf says to the audience "Looks like now when Sassette talks: Smurfs listen." while talking to the audience.
• "Prince Smurf"
  • Hefty looks at the audience when Smurfette sees him in a costume and takes him to the ball.
• "Smurfing Out Of Time"
  • Papa Smurf winks at the viewer.
• "Smurf Pet"
  • Brainy tells the audience "See what I mean?" as he is thrown out of the village when he asks to come along on Grandpa Smurf's trip because no one has spent more time in the air other than him.
• "The Smurfy Verdict"
  • Azrael looks at the audience and meows "I hate Smurfs!".
• "Poet The Know-It-All"
  • Baby Smurf looks at the audience when hearing Poet's poem.
• "All The News That's Fit To Smurf"
  • Brainy smiles at the audience when thrown out of the village in the end.
• "Gargamel's Quest"
  • Brainy looks at the audience as he is pranked by Jokey.

Season 8

• "Lost Smurf"
  • Grandpa Smurf says to the audience "Nanny will get a big bang out of "Jokey Smurf".
• "Pappy's Puppy"
  • Puppy happily barks to the audience as he eats Greedy's cake.

Season 9

• "The Monumental Grouch"
  • Grouchus Smurfus winks to the audience.
• "No Reflection on Vanity"
  • Vanity speaks to the audience while saying that he had to borrow a crystal from Papa Smurf.
  • Grandpa Smurf speaks to the audience when the penguin arrives with the frozen Baby Smurf.

Movies & Specials

• The Smurfs:
  • Narrator Smurf does this as he provides narration for the beginning of the movie's story.
  • During the end credits when they show Gargamel and Azrael still in New York City, Gargamel looks over to the camera saying, "What are you looking at?", before zapping the camera with what's left of his wand.
• Smurfs: The Lost Village:
  • Clumsy broke the 4th wall at the beginning by bumping into the screen accidentally.
  • When Brainy is reading a book while riding on his smurfway, he turned to the screen and says, "Excuse me?" when Papa Smurf jokingly called him "Nerdy Smurf".

2021 Cartoon Show

Season 1

• "Adventures In Smurfsitting":
  • Clumsy and Dimwitty look at the audience after they get covered in soot from Jokey's gag box.
• "The Smurfs Show"
  • A Smurf calls himself a "generic Smurf" referring to how background Smurfs get less attention.
• "Smurfing Places"
  • Gargamel (as Papa Smurf, who he switched bodies with) looks at the audience when Dimwitty shows him a carrot instead of the maps he asked for.

Trivia

• Not every case of a Smurf appearing to look us in the eye is a case of 'breaking the fourth wall'. Also, it's indefinite if Baby Smurf broke the fourth wall or not at the very end of "Chip Off The Old Smurfs".