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"I'll get you, I'll get all of you if that's the last thing I ever do!"

Gargamel is the main antagonist of the Smurfs comic books, the 1980s Smurfs cartoon show, and the 2021 Smurfs cartoon show. In the comic books, he has first appeared in "The Smurfnapper", one of the stories of The Black Smurfs comic book album. In the 1980s cartoon show, he has appeared up to Season 8, being the show's main villain, although several similar villains (presumably ancestors) appear in Season 9.

Character

Gargamel is a conniving, evil human wizard, driven by a desire for riches and power as well as a bottomless thirst to capture Smurfs. This fixation started long ago when he dreamed of putting a Smurf into his cauldron to make a philosopher’s stone, which turns lead into gold. After being repeatedly frustrated and humiliated by the Smurfs, his preoccupation has hardened into an obsession. In fact, he couldn’t even tell you exactly why he hates them anymore, just that they make his blood boil, and that he wakes up in the morning scheming about how to locate their hidden village and obliterate them all.

He is the greatest threat to the Smurfs’ existence. They know that he is extremely dangerous and try to avoid him at all costs, fleeing or hiding whenever he appears. The Smurfs are also lucky in that Gargamel is sloppy and tends to overreach in his ambition, creating super-complicated traps and outrageous strategies for catching them. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t.

Personality

Gargamel is a loathsome individual who is prepared to commit many sinister and cruel acts to achieve his goals. Despite this, often, he is bumbling and fails his schemes for petty reasons that can be avoided. However, he can be downright ruthless on occasion, such as enjoying the time to torment the Smurfs, threatening to burn Puppy alive, and even attempt to harm the defenseless Baby Smurf. He has even gone out of his way to simply make sure to ruin the happiness of others. However, despite his dark and evil heart, there have been a few occasions where Gargamel has shown a small amount of genuine emotion, most notably with Azrael, who Gargamel has shown real care for on rare occasions despite abusing him and even goes against Lord Balthazar to guard his cat, claiming that Azrael is all he really has and is quite possibly his only real friend. Also, when he was once forced by Balthazar to behead Puppy with a guillotine, he pleaded with his godfather to find a different way before submitting to Balthazar's intimidation. He primarily likes to be evil due to many complicated reasons.

Gargamel's unkindness and wicked nature seem to stem from a harsh life and upbringing. One example being that Gargamel hates having his birthday on Halloween because every year nobody wishes him a Happy Birthday or gives him a present, and all Gargamel really wants is for somebody to remember his Birthday. His mother often mistreats him and tries to make him eviler, while also resenting him for flunking Wizard's School. Deep down, Gargamel is aloof and insecure due to being ugly and even admits that no one has ever genuinely said they loved him. In the 1980s cartoon show episode "They're Smurfing Our Song", Gargamel is revealed to possess a small amount of goodness somewhere in his heart, as shown when he was moved to tears by Sassette's kind and loving words as even the force of evil within him could not withstand Sassette's love as she was the first person to ever say they loved him indeed. When affected by Woody's magic pan flute, Gargamel's inner goodness was brought out due to finally feeling happiness after so long and he revealed to Papa Smurf that he had not been his true self in a long time due to his many years of hate and even owed him an apology, and Papa Smurf accepted his apology, knowing full well that everyone had good in their hearts somewhere. The spell of happiness that brought out his goodness was only temporary, but according to Papa Smurf, the memory of the event would remain with Gargamel forever.

What Does He Need the Smurfs For?

Gargamel's motive for capturing all the Smurfs varies, depending on the episode or the media he is presented in. His motives are:

  • To transform them into gold, for the creation of the philosopher's stone
  • To devour them
  • To eliminate them

However, the 1980s cartoon show clearly indicates in some episodes that he wishes to do all of the former three, as noted in his song:

Oh, I'll fry a few and pickle a few and serve a few real cold,
Then I'll toast a few and roast a few and use the rest for gold.

But regardless of his intentions, Gargamel just plain hates the Smurfs. In the original comic book stories, Gargamel kidnapped one of the Smurfs during their first initial encounter with him and intended to use the Smurf for making gold when the other Smurfs ambushed the wizard in his castle and rescued the abducted Smurf. When trying to use one of his formulas on himself to go find and capture the other Smurfs, it ended up shrinking him to Smurf size. As he found out that the Smurfs had switched his giant-growth formula with his shrinking formula, he swore he would get his revenge on them and has been terrorizing them ever since. His catchphrase in several episodes is "I hate those Smurfs!" when they foil a plan.

In the 1980s cartoon show, Gargamel's hatred for the Smurfs is explained in the episode "Gargamel's Time Trip", where a younger Gargamel, while still in wizard's school, came across some Smurfs in the forest. He walked past the oak tree when his kitten Azrael sniffed and spotted something hiding behind the bushes. The "something" in question turned out to be a Smurf, and soon Azrael tackled the Smurf to the ground, allowing Gargamel to get a better look at his catch. After searching through his wizard's book, he found out what it was and realized it was a Smurf, a necessary ingredient in the formula for turning base metals into gold. With this, he realized he would be a shoo-in at the school's science fair. He decided to go home with his prize catch, but Papa Smurf tripped him, rescuing Brainy and apologizing to the wizard for hurting him while standing on a tree stump. Gargamel then tried to catch him and the other Smurfs as they stood on the tree stump, but as the Smurfs jumped away from the stump, a large boulder fell on Gargamel, crushing him and hunching his back. He then furiously promised that he would find the Smurfs no matter what and have his revenge. Unbeknownst to Gargamel though, the boulder was actually dropped by his future self who had traveled back in time to crush the Smurfs, hence making Gargamel's hatred for the Smurfs his own fault. He also has attempted to kill the Smurfs on numerous occasions as well.

Skills

While Gargamel isn't the strongest villain, he is a highly competent wizard. He has many books of spells and knows how to do them right. His Great Book Of Spells can be used when there is a full moon for things beyond his normal repertoire. In contrast to his skills in the mystic arts, Gargamel at times is clumsy, foolish, or gullible.

While he is generally regarded as a wizard, his methods seem to imply he is more of an alchemist like Papa Smurf. Two of the most renowned "holy grail" objectives historically sought in alchemy folklore are:

  1. Transmuting elements into gold (a process known as Alchemy, though the word is never used) (Gargamel seeks Smurfs to create gold)
  2. Creating artificial lifeforms called golems or homunculi via chemical means (Gargamel created Smurfette and has transmuted himself into a baby Smurf).

Relationships With Others

Azrael

Gargamel's cat, Azrael, is also one of his only companions. Usually, Gargamel will treat him poorly, like serving him cat slop in "Mind The Cat". Azrael will use whatever power he can rarely get against Gargamel, such as becoming a bear via Leaf's magic wand in "Leaf's Under The Weather" and chasing him away and controlling a hypnotized Gargamel in "Mind The Cat".

Despite their strained dynamic, Azrael shows various loyalties to Gargamel. Despite his treatment, Gargamel's the best owner Azrael has ever had, and should anyone (other than the Smurfs) ever mess with Azrael, Gargamel will temporarily forget about his Smurf obsession and go to war.

In "The Tear Of A Smurf", Gargamel shows that he cares for his cat. He is first seen being angry at Azrael because he didn't catch the Smurfs, but he misses him when he finds out the cat's gone.

The Smurfs

In General

Being the main antagonist, Gargamel is shown to despise the Smurfs, making several spells and wanting the Smurfs for transforming them into gold, eat them, and/or destroy them.

However, the Smurfs will occasionally help him out when he is in trouble, such as complying with Papa Smurf to change Gargamel and Azrael from stone in "For The Love Of Gargamel" and curing him from his sickness in "House Call". Despite these moments, Gargamel displays zero gratitude for it and goes back to hunting the Smurfs.

Smurfette

Gargamel was accountable for the creation of Smurfette, who was changed into a real Smurf by Papa Smurf. Currently, Smurfette hates Gargamel and vice versa. The wizard often captures Smurfette alongside other Smurfs before they are saved.

Due to his hatred of Smurfette, Gargamel has consistently tried to turn her back into her original evil self, as seen in "Smurfette Unmade" and The Smurfs 2. However, the power of her heart and resistance has thwarted Gargamel's plans each time.

Baby Smurf

Baby Smurf is even one of the extreme few to bring out the good side in Gargamel. In "Baby's First Word", Gargamel held Baby hostage for hours, but Baby made a father out of him. Gargamel spent the time feeding him, playing with him, changing his dideys, and even putting him to sleep. Also, in "The Incredible Shrinking Wizard", Gargamel actually rescues Baby from being eaten by Azrael. However, in "Smurfette Unmade", Baby Smurf was chosen by Gargamel to be the test subject of his gold-making formula.

Sassette Smurfling

Sassette likes Gargamel a bit more than the other Smurfs, thinking of him as her 'father' during her debut episode. She calls him "Pappy Gargamel" at some points, though in "Smurf On The Run", her affections for the wizard cooled when by holding the Topaz of Truth he unwittingly revealed to Sassette his true evil nature.

In "They're Smurfling Our Song", Sassette's kind and loving words as even the force of evil within him could not withstand Sassette's love as she was the first person to ever say they loved him indeed. When affected by Woody's magic pan flute, Gargamel's inner goodness was brought out due to finally feeling happiness after so long and he revealed to Papa Smurf that he had not been his true self in a long time due to his many years of hate and even owed him an apology, and Papa Smurf accepted his apology, knowing full well that everyone had good in their hearts somewhere. The spell of happiness that brought out his goodness was only temporary, but according to Papa Smurf, the memory of the event would remain with Gargamel forever.

Mummy

Gargamel's mother has appeared in several episodes. Gargamel and Azrael are afraid of her and her cooking because it's so disgusting. She wants her son to be a very great wizard but has shown to be very disappointed in him at times.

Mummy is Gargamel's mother. However, they do not share a positive relationship, as Mummy often berates him and gets mad at him regularly. Mummy is also not afraid of expressing her annoyance on Gargamel's obsession on capturing the Smurfs, shown in various episodes such as "Cover Story" and "Mirror, Mirror On The Armoire", where she consistently comments on his bumbling.

At very rare times, she is shown to have care for Gargamel. In "The Smurfs Show", she tries to warn Gargamel about the trap that the Smurfs have made for him, and in "Mommy's Masterpiece", before she and Gargamel are defeated, she was planning to let Gargamel capture Painter, Papa Smurf, and Smurfette after Painter finished painting her portrait, seeing how badly Gargamel wanted the Smurfs.

In "Gargamel's Time Trip", Gargamel goes back in time to see a younger and gentler version of his mother holding her infant son in his castle (hers at the time), hoping that he will someday be a successful wizard and that he would care for her in her old age. As the adult Gargamel sadly admits to Azrael, his mother never forgave him for doing badly at Wizard's School, implying that's why she would move out of the castle in later life.

Bigmouth

Bigmouth often barges into Gargamel's castle or fights him in the forest, eating the wizard's food or chasing him when he accidentally causes Bigmouth to drop something. Most of Bigmouth's seen strength comes from his interactions with Gargamel as he can catapult him all the way to the other side of the forest, as shown in "Ogre Love".

In the 1981 TV series, Bigmouth had been known to help Gargamel on occasion until the events of "Bigmouth's Friend", Bigmouth realized that Gargamel was no friend of his after the wizard told him off. This new hatred of Gargamel continues in several episodes such as "Bringing Up Bigfeet" (in which he sends him flying back to his castle when he tries to capture the Smurflings, who were taking care of his and Bignose's baby nephew, Bigfeet) and "The Fastest Wizard In The World".

Leaf

Like the Smurfs, Gargamel is an enemy of Leaf. However, she does not seem to get as scared as they do, likely due to the fact that they are the same size and have similar magic abilities. Despite this, Gargamel will go to great lengths to steal her wand, as shown in "The Yummyus Pie" and "Leaf's Under The Weather".

In "Gargamel Goes Gaga", when Gargamel accidentally eats a small cake absorbed with a love potion, he falls in love with Leaf. She does not reciprocate the feelings and tries to get away from him.

Scruple

The relationship Scruple has with Gargamel is rather tenuous, since neither of them like being stuck with each other and are constantly bickering. He does help Gargamel out at times when it comes to trying to capture Smurfs, usually just because he's being dragged along. He refers to his master as 'Gargy' and often has an almost fourth-wall sense of the flaws in Gargamel's many plans. On occasion, when Scruple does have a useful suggestion that Gargamel takes seriously, Gargamel takes credit for having thought of it.

Andria

Gargamel has a fiancée that his mother and Madame Lavinia has scheduled him to wed named Andria in "Wedding Bells For Gargamel" However, he was only interested in an item the Smurfs had put into her hope chest, which turned out to be a map to the Smurf Village. As he caused havoc trying to get his hands on the map, which the Smurfs were trying to get back, the wedding was canceled.

Family Members

Argus

Gargamel had a cousin named Argus who appeared in the Smurfs cartoon special, "The Smurfic Games". His cousin only appeared in that special, and it seemed like he was good friends with Papa Smurf. He dies, though, and he claims that he's not fond of Gargamel.

Lord Balthazar

A common relative shown throughout the 1980s cartoon show is Gargamel's godfather, Lord Balthazar - a more evil wizard who looks down on him. Lord Balthazar is easily angered by Gargamel and his stupidity. He also didn't believe in Smurfs until he saw them in his castle at one point. Gargamel is sometimes asked to take care of Lord Balthazar's castle, but this mostly ends up with Gargamel getting in deep trouble.

Denisa

In Season 8 of the 1980s cartoon, Gargamel is shown to have a god niece named Denisa in Season 8, who appeared in 3 episodes. She is the niece of Balthazar and comes to Gargamel's hovel to play. Both Gargamel and Scruple find her annoying. Her only role was to probably be a human friend for Sassette and to be another headache for Gargamel.

Marmagel

The 2021 cartoon show episodes "Smurfy Mother's Day!" and "Cover Story" reveal that Gargamel has a cousin named Marmagel, who Mummy believes does everything superior to him.

As far as his own offspring, Smurfette, Sassette, Mermaid Smurfette, Vexy, Hackus, and Dufus the giant is considered this, either by Gargamel or by the characters themselves, depending on the media.

Uh oh! Very Smurfy Non-canon warning: This article or section contains non-canonical information that is not considered to be an official part of the Smurfs Franco-Belgian comic book series, the 1980s Smurfs cartoon show series, or the 2021 Smurfs cartoon show series, and should not be considered part of the overall storyline of any of those media universes.

In the movies

The Smurfs

Gargamel appears as the main antagonist in the 2011 Smurfs movie. His sole purpose of going after them is to extract Smurf essence from them so he could become the most powerful wizard. He finds the Smurf Village completely by accident, discovering that there is a magic field that renders it invisible to outsiders, and proceeds to go through the field to chase after them. Gargamel pursues them into the Forbidden Falls where a magic portal opens up to transport the Smurfs years into the future to exit in New York City. Gargamel and his cat Azrael follow them through the portal but end up losing them as the Smurfs follow Patrick Winslow to his apartment in order to rescue Clumsy. However, Azrael coughs up a bit of Smurfette's hair, which Gargamel then uses by creating a Smurf essence extractor from machines in the Belvedere Castle's basement to make a drop of that essence which he puts into a ring so he could find the Smurfs. During his first attempt to find the Smurfs, Gargamel comes across Patrick's boss Odile, who is willing to offer the wizard anything in exchange for the power of Smurf essence which she sees used to restore her mother's beauty and youth. However, as Gargamel pursues the Smurfs in FAO Schwarz with a stolen leaf blower, he gets captured and taken to Rikers Island. The wizard escapes by having a moth accidentally summon a swarm of flies that lift him up in a cloud over the barbed-wire fence and take him back to Belvedere Castle, where he makes another drop of Smurf essence. This time he tracks the Smurfs down to Mr. Wong's Mystical Emporium, where he finds a dragon wand and, after powering it with Smurf essence, uses it to capture Papa Smurf and hold him prisoner, transforming the Smurf essence extractor into a Smurf exfoliator with the intention of using it to extract Smurf essence from every Smurf. Gargamel uses the wand in his battle with the Smurfs, but the wand is snagged out of his hands and winds up in Clumsy's, who uses it to blast the evil wizard far away, causing him to land in a pile of garbage bags. By the end of the movie, Gargamel is stuck in the present with his cat Azrael. In the novel based on the movie, Papa Smurf sees in a vision in the following year's Blue Moon Festival that Gargamel is in Las Vegas!

The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol

In the animated feature The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol, Gargamel appears during Grouchy's visit by the three Smurfs of Christmas, apparently having returned from his trip to the present-day world (or the story could have taken place before the movie), to capture the Smurfs on Christmas Day when they went out looking for a new tree in order to lift up Grouchy's spirits after the old tree was burned to a crisp because of Clumsy's ineptitude. Gargamel and his cat Azrael then give chase to Grouchy when he shows up in the evil wizard's laboratory, with Gargamel continually being tripped over in his pursuit. However, it turns out that this was only the future that Grouchy was seeing to show that he has a chance of changing how he feels toward helping his fellow Smurfs on Christmas.

The Smurfs 2

Gargamel returns as the main antagonist in The Smurfs 2, this time as a world-famous magician entertaining crowds with his magic, which is powered by Smurf essence. He creates the Naughties in order to capture Smurfette so that she would reveal the formula Papa Smurf used to change her into a real Smurf, with the intention that once he changes the Naughties into Smurfs, he would extract Smurf essence from them and thus be able to create a hundred more Smurfs for the same purpose. However, even though the Naughties were changed into Smurfs, Gargamel's plans for Smurf essence extraction was foiled with the help of Patrick Winslow and Victor Doyle, and the large magic wand that he tried to use against them became too powerful for him to fully control, thus sending him and Azrael back to the time period that they came from -- going back to being broke and poor and back to his old hovel.

The Smurfs: The Legend Of Smurfy Hollow

In the animated feature The Smurfs: The Legend Of Smurfy Hollow, that is set after the events of the second film, Gargamel appears as the main antagonist who shows up in Smurfy Hollow to collect the Smurfs that his traps have captured -- namely Brainy, Gutsy, and Smurfette -- only to find Smurfette being the only Smurf still left in the trap when he gets there. He and the Smurfs soon get chased by the Headless Horseman, who pursue them until they reach the old-covered bridge. Gargamel, believing himself to be safe inside the bridge, antagonizes the Headless Horseman, who responds by throwing a flaming pumpkin into the bridge, causing Gargamel and his cat to fall into the river and be carried downstream where they go over a waterfall together.

Smurfs: The Lost Village

In Smurfs: The Lost Village, Gargamel seeks after the Smurfs in order to extract their Smurf essence to become the most powerful sorcerer. While here he is still the creator of Smurfette, he doesn't regard her as a true Smurf and thus finds her worth only as the one who will help him find and capture Smurfs. Also, besides Azrael, he has a pet vulture named Monty.

When Smurfette discovers a Smurf hat dropped by a Smurf-like figure from the other side of the wall, Gargamel takes a strand from it and uses his magical cauldron to ascertain the hat's origin, to discover that it comes from a group of Smurfs located somewhere in the Forbidden Forest. Eager to find those Smurfs, Gargamel ventures into the Forbidden Forest with Azrael and Monty, hoping to reach and find those other Smurfs before Smurfette, Brainy, Clumsy, and Hefty do. Although delayed by ending up in the part of the forest where he was attacked by carnivorous "bottom-feeder" fish, Gargamel soon discovers the village of Smurf Girls and uses his Freeze Balls to capture them all, including Smurfette's friends from her own village.

With the captured Smurfs, Gargamel extracts enough essence to enhance his magical powers and to give himself more head hair in the process. Smurfette arrives to pledge her allegiance to her true master so that he could capture the remaining Smurfs from Smurfette's village. Gargamel tries to use his power to restore Smurfette back to her previous evil self, but Smurfette ends up absorbing Gargamel's power instead, forcing him to extract more Smurf essence to balance out the effect. Eventually, there is an explosion which catapults Gargamel far away from his castle and being chased by piranhas, saving the Smurfs and Smurf Girls, though at the cost of Smurfette reverting back to a pile of lifeless blue clay but they manage to bring her back. In the end credits, it's revealed Gargamel, Azrael, and Monty survived.

In the video games

Smurf: Rescue in Gargamel's Castle

Gargamel does not appear in Smurf: Rescue In Gargamel's Castle despite his name being in the subtitle.

Smurf Paint & Play Workshop

Gargamel appears as one of four playable characters in Smurf Paint & Play Workshop.

The Smurfs (1994)

Gargamel appears as the final boss in the 1994 Smurfs video game.

The Smurfs Dance Party

Gargamel is the same design for the live action The Smurf movies. His pictograms features a blue band to hint on the glove color.

The Smurfs 2: The Video Game

Gargamel is an antagonist in The Smurfs 2: The Video Game, using his own powers and his naughties as weapons against the Smurfs.

The Smurfs: Mission Vileaf

He appears in the game as the main antagonist. He creates a monstrous plant known as the Vileaf, which spreads its seeds and contamination across the forest. Later, Hefty Smurf heads to Gargamel’s hovel with the Smurfizer to heal the Vileaf. He discovers that Gargamel is attempting to enhance the Vileaf, destroys the wizard’s spell book to thwart his plans. He then rescues a number of captured Smurfs before heading up to the attic to find the Vileaf. He successfully heals the plant, putting an end to Gargamel’s Vileaf scheme.

The Smurfs 2: The Prisoner of the Green Stone

Gargamel is a central character in the game. Handy and Storm learn that the Green Stone is in the possession of Gargamel. They along with Brainy and Dimwitty, enter Gargamel’s hovel, Handy succeeds in obtaining a piece of the stone. However, a mysterious creature emerges from it before disappearing into a portal. Gargamel, roused by his uninvited guests, bemoans this development. He reluctantly agrees to a truce with the quartet of Smurfs, with Handy using his stone fragment to weaponize the SmurfoMix.

Later, Papa Smurf reveals that he and Gargamel have determined that Stolas, though currently free, is still tied to the Green Stone that has been acting as his prison. Though Storm feels that there may be an alternative, Papa Smurf and Gargamel are determined to reimprison the creature and undo the effects of his escape.

Despite aligning with the Smurfs, Gargamel is still intent on resuming his experiments with the recreated stone, which the Smurfs are aware of and prepare to escape him later.

At last, Handy brings him to bay, and over Gargamel’s protests uses the SmurfoMix to free Stolas. Storm then uses the Green Stone’s last fragment to trap Gargamel in a crystal. The Smurfs clean up the remainder of the wizard’s contamination, and soon are celebrating with their new friend Stolas.

Appearances

see Gargamel/Appearances

Trivia

  • He is strongly hated by Grouchy Smurf.
  • In the 1980s cartoon show, he was most recognizable for sounding like Dick Dastardly from the Hanna-Barbera shows Wacky Races and Dastardly & Muttley In Their Flying Machines, since they're both voiced by the late Paul Winchell.
    • In the 2021 TV series, his voice interpretation is based on his voice in the French dub of the 1981 TV series.
  • Gargamel has arachnophobia. This is shown in "Cover Story".
  • His favorite food is brussels sprouts with ketchup.
  • Gargamel has a counterpart named Caramel in an alternate universe, which is seen in "The Pluffs!". Caramel is kind-hearted and helps Brainy and Blossom from the normal universe to return to their own world.
  • In the live-action movies, Gargamel has an overbite and a fuller set of teeth compared to his normal depiction of having a single tooth in his mouth, a trait also shared by his comic book twin brother Gourmelin. In The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol, Gargamel also has a single lower tooth, and in The Smurfs: The Legend Of Smurfy Hollow, he has some back teeth shown in the close-up of his face as he laughs at Smurfette.
  • Coincidentally, his English and Dutch voice actor share the same first name; in the Dutch dub he is dubbed by Paul van Gorcum.
  • Smurfette was the first to call Gargamel the diminutive "Gargy". The second and most frequent user is Scruple.
  • Exclusively in the 1981 TV series universe, he and Jokey share the same birthday -- Halloween! (As stated by the episode "All Hallows' Eve")
  • At one point in the Chinese bootleg comic "Sun Wukong vs. Gargamel", he said that he liked eats hot pot - a fact that's not considered canon in any of official Smurfs media.
  • Two other evil wizards (who have only appeared once, though, in season 2) - Count Gregorian and Mordain - are possibly voiced by the late Paul Winchell (though they are not relatives of Gargamel). Another evil wizard (again, who has only appeared once, though, in season 1) - Bacchus - is possibly voiced by the late Paul Winchell (nor is he a relative of Gargamel).
  • Gargamel has several Schleich figures. He is only a bit larger than the Smurfs in these figures.
  • His name derives from Gargamelle, who is the mother of Gargantua, in the Gargantuan and Pantagruel novels from the 16th century.
  • Several companies also sell a Gargamel costume.
  • In the 2011 movie, Gargamel seems to understand what Azrael is saying.
  • In most of his animated appearances as well as in the comic books, Gargamel has five-fingered hands. In The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol, he has four-fingered hands.
  • In the European book, The Strange Smurf, Gargamel transforms into a Smurf to infiltrate Smurf village, but is without a tail and must make a fake one. The ruse is discovered when his fake tail comes undone and is discovered by Papa Smurf. Gargamel hijacks Papa Smurf's lab to counteract the formula, only he becomes a little Gargamel instead of a big Gargamel, and leaves Smurf Village in embarrassment.
  • Gargamel has once fell in love with a woman in the comic book "The Smurfs And The Sorcerer's Love".
  • The only thing Gargamel hates more than the Smurfs are seagulls. The only thing he hates more than seagulls is snakes.
  • Gargamel has appeared without Azrael three times: once in "Bigmouth's Friend", the second in "Grandpa's Nemesis", and the third in "Denisa's Greedy Doll".
    • Gargamel also appears without Azrael in "My Smurf The Hero" although that shouldn't be counted as that turned out to be Scaredy's dream.
  • Season 8 was the last season that the Smurfs would ever face Gargamel in the proper medieval European timeline, before 17 of them face off with his various ancestors in the following infamous ninth season of time-travelling adventures.
  • In Season 9 of the 1980s cartoon show, ancestral relatives of Gargamel have been encountered by the Smurfs in different time periods, ranging from a pharaoh's servant (with an ancestor of Scruple named Scrupses), a Roman chef, to even a Dutch wizard. However, he is mentioned in "Hefty Sees A Serpent" and "Hearts 'N' Smurfs".
  • In the comic books, Gargamel has two cousins, Sagratamabarb and Barbapapa, a twin brother named Gourmelin, and three lookalike nephews. A crossover comic with Sophie Karamazout also featured a modern-day descendant, Edgar Gamel, who continues his ancestor's pursuit of the Smurfs. A father is mentioned in the Sony Pictures' live-action film series.
  • Once, Gargamel tried to turn Papa Smurf into a toad and Gargamel was covered with warts for months.[1]
  • Christopher Lloyd, Nathaniel Parker, Robin Williams, Robert Downey Jr., Ryan Reynolds, James Garner, Jim Carrey, Armand Assante, and Michael Palin were considered for the role of Gargamel in the 2011 Smurfs movie.

References

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