Grandpa Smurf (original French name Vieux Vieux Schtroumpf) is a main character of the Smurfs cartoon show, who has appeared on the show from Season 6 to the end, and a minor character of the Smurfs comic books.
Character
Grandpa Smurf was originally the Papa Smurf of the current Papa Smurf when he was just a Smurfling. He previously made a 500-year journey around the world in an attempt to find the purest samples of the four primal elements in order to restore power to the Long Life Stone. Grandpa is introduced in the episode "Smurfquest", where he finally returns to the Smurf Village from his long journey.
He is identified by his yellow Smurf hat and overalls, and by a very long white beard with a long drooping moustache (which is much shorter in the comics), in addition to white head hair that has grown around the back of his head. He usually carries around a walking stick, and though he's sometimes slightly hunched over holding his back, he's very spry for a Smurf who is twice Papa Smurf's age.
Role In The Village
His knowledge of the world is a valuable asset to the other Smurfs, not to mention various items he keeps stored away in his beard, such as a magical traveling hot-air balloon.
Personality
As his name implies, Grandpa Smurf currently acts as a grandfather figure to any creature he encounters. He's kind, full of wisdom, occasionally cranky and stubborn, and always ready to tell a good tale.
He refers to any Smurf younger than he is (including Papa) as a "whippersmurfer" and also has his own catchphrases, including "Smurfaroski!" and "Smurfatooti!".
Grandpa is an expert in telling very animated stories, the subject of the tales usually being his many adventures around the world. While his stories are sometimes disbelieved or overshadowed by Nanny's, the Smurfs are often engaged in what he has to share. This storytelling skill becomes both a blessing and a curse in "A Long Tale For Grandpa", as Grandpa telling a story is to blame for the massive delay in stopping the Rera Aphids from eating their way to the village, but later the same habit spares him and the others the gruesome fate of being eaten by a Grundel.
Grandpa is quick to blame himself for serious situations he could've prevented, often becoming guilt-ridden. He avoids telling Papa or the other Smurfs that he failed to collect the element samples at first, using his time to observe Smurf Village on its (presumed) final day or so of peace. When the Smurfs quickly build Grandpa his own house and give him housewarming gifts, he becomes very emotional. He then tells them they "never should've done [that]", as he believes he doesn't deserve anything of the sort. When he finally opens up to Papa and tells him the heavy news, the two form a group and retrieve the elements together, returning mere minutes before they could all perish. After the elements are added to the stone, Grandpa ages so rapidly he collapses, only to be revived by the stone's fast replenishment and the tears of mourning Smurfs.
Grandpa also blamed himself for the loss of Nanny Smurf after she disappeared along with the vile Castle Captor. When the castle reappears and he finds Nanny again, he admits that losing her was the "biggest failure of [his] life", despite the two pinning the blame on each other at first.
Unlike Papa Smurf, Grandpa is not always the wise one. There are rare instances in which he is prone to partaking in the reckless actions of the Smurfs, such as not warning the others about the magic toy Baby Smurf is riding on throughout "Baby's Marvelous Toy" and was a part of the many Smurfs that swapped in the magic wishing well and jumped down it to save Sassette's doll in "Swapping Smurfs".
Despite being stubborn, Grandpa can become very self-conscious over some aspects of himself, especially being an elderly Smurf. On more than one occasion, Grandpa doubts himself after the Smurfs accuse him of having a faulty memory or being frail in his old age. It's easy for him to (temporarily) agree with such accusations and wallow in sadness, as seen in episodes like "The Royal Drum" and "The Smurfstalker". By the end of those adventures, however, the others are proven wrong, and Grandpa saves the day once again.
Relationships With Others
Papa Smurf
Grandpa and Papa Smurf are particularly close, like father and son. He serves as his mentor and offers criticism on his leadership when needed, such as in "Smurfquest", where he stops Papa from lecturing Sassette by reminding him there was a time where he misbehaved as a Smurfling. He and Papa also share the trait of keeping important information (or reveals) a secret if it could end very badly for any Smurf emotionally or otherwise. Grandpa was also the first Smurf that told him about Wild Smurf's disappearance as a baby.
Sassette Smurfling
Grandpa has a grandfather-granddaughter relationship with Sassette, who affectionately calls him "Grampy". Sassette is often the Smurfling with the most faith in Grandpa, rushing to his defense when her fellow Smurfs treat him unfairly.
Nanny Smurf
Grandpa also has a very close relationship with Nanny Smurf, and coincidentally she even calls him "Grampers". In their first scene together, Grandpa claims he searched "every inch of [the] area" Castle Captor was in for over a hundred years, but never saw it again. After Grandpa swipes a "surprise" box away from Nanny, she makes an unhappy remark about not even getting a box of smurfberry candy after 500 years, as she loves receiving gifts and assumed it was one for her. This could imply that they were romantically involved before they were separated, but it's never clearly stated or shown otherwise.
It's unknown just how long Grandpa and Nanny knew each other before she was imprisoned inside Castle Captor. However, given that Grandpa was determined to not tell anyone (even Papa himself) of her existence and to make the rescue mission his alone, this makes it very likely that he never planned on revealing such history. That is, until he was finally able to save her himself, with the added benefit of having the current Smurf Village to introduce her to.
Nemesis
Grandpa has an archenemy in the appropriately named Nemesis, as revealed in "Grandpa's Nemesis". Long ago, after Nemesis turned evil in his quest for immortality, the two became enemies through his attempts to chase Grandpa and demand the location of the Long-Life Stone from him. During their previous encounter, Grandpa indirectly caused Nemesis' terrifying magical disfigurement and him becoming trapped in a bog under a mass of boulders for years to come. The former ultimately ruined Nemesis' life, driving him to make it his goal for the elderly Smurf to never be free of him. Nemesis refers to Grandpa as "Old Blue", both before and after the accident.
Grandpa has a deep fear of his old foe and what he's capable of, namely after having a recurring nightmare flashback of the day he became disfigured. This seems to have been Grandpa being warned of Nemesis' return ahead of time, as he soon breaks free of his rocky prison due to an earthquake. Despite being wrongfully accused of "seeing things" throughout the episode, Grandpa does have a brief hallucination of Nemesis when he looks at the box containing the Long-Life Stone. Later in the story, he and Nemesis finally meet again, and he defeats him using Mother Nature's earth wand.
Brainy Smurf
Brainy is usually quick to question Grandpa's knowledge, like when Nemesis returned to try stealing the Long-Life Stone and destroying him in "Grandpa's Nemesis". This is due to Brainy being a bigger fan of Papa Smurf and disliking the fact that Grandpa is so sure of himself and his memories despite his age, assuming a few of his most wacky stories can be debunked as delusions or tall tales until the elder eventually proves otherwise.
Appearances
Trivia
- His character was voiced by Jonathan Winters, who also voiced Papa Smurf in the 2011 movie and the 2013 sequel.
- It is unknown who ruled the village between Grandpa Smurf and Papa Smurf, as when Grandpa left, Papa was just a Smurfling. However, since at that time, Papa Smurf was the only Smurf and was raised by Palladore, and there might not have been a Smurf Village.
- Grandpa claims he would've gotten back to the village fifty years earlier, if it weren't for a storm.
- He calls Hefty "Beefy" and "Brawny" before finally learning his name.
- Grandpa appears to be a very wise magician in addition to adventurer.
- Grandpa lives in a dark turquoise roofed house on the eastern side of the village.
- He also appears to have skills in carpentry akin to Handy, as when the other Smurfs accuse Wild Smurf of causing an accident where the bleachers at Smurf Theatre broke in "The Fastest Wizard In The World". While Grandpa never appeared in that episode, Papa Smurf says it was not Wild's fault, as the bleachers were in disrepair and that "Grandpa built [them] when [Papa] was just a Smurfling".
- His age in human years is between 85-90 years old.
- Grandpa Smurf on the cartoon show was the final Smurf who meets Peewit, since Wild Smurf and Nanny Smurf never knew him.
- Grandpa (as well as Wild) was absent in the episode "Smurfette Unmade", where Smurfette turned evil again, meaning both he and Wild never knew of Smurfette as un-smurfy.
- He, Sassette, Farmer, Handy, and Nat are the only Smurfs to wear overalls, though Nat didn't have overalls as an adult and Farmer didn't have one in the 1981 TV series.
- He, Papa, Baby, Smurfette, Brainy, Clumsy, Hefty, Handy, Greedy, Grouchy, Lazy, Vanity, Jokey, Painter, Wild, Sassette, Snappy, and Smoogle are the only characters who time traveled during Season 9 with the Time Scrolls.
- Grandpa has his name in five episode titles which are "A Long Tale For Grandpa", "Stealing Grandpa's Thunder", "Grandpa's Nemesis", "Grandpa's Walking Stick", and "Grandpa's Fountain Of Youth".