"Hogatha's Heart Throb" is a Season 3 episode from the Smurfs cartoon show.
Characters[]
- Hogatha
- Gargamel/Fake Harlequin
- Azrael
- Harold
- Papa Smurf
- Smurfette
- Clumsy Smurf
- Jokey Smurf
- Feathers
- Harlequin (Mentioned/pictured)
Synopsis[]
Hogatha wants to meet a wizard named Harlequin, so Gargamel disguises himself as Harlequin to get the magic whistle from Hogatha.
Plot Summary[]
Hogatha the evil witch is waiting impatiently by the window of her castle for her vulture Harold to bring her the latest copy of Witch & Warlock's Weekly, ready to turn him into a roasted turkey with all the trimmings if he doesn't come back with it. But soon she hears him coming and sees that he has it in his beak. As she unwraps the scroll, her heart flutters as she sees the picture of the man of her dreams, the famous wizard Harlequin. She immediately pins it right next to the other pictures she has of him, imagining the magic they could make together if only she could get to meet him. She then decides to simply go straight to Harlequin's castle, since it's only a few leagues as the crow (or, in her case, the vulture) flies.
As Harold tries to get his mistress to her destination fast enough, Gargamel is down below in the forest setting up a trap for the Smurfs by pouring some adhesive on the ground where he knows the Smurfs will pass by. And soon some Smurfs do come passing by, which makes Gargamel and Azrael hide and wait for them. But then Clumsy stumbles as he sees Hogatha pass by riding on a vulture, who by now is getting fed up with how slow her form of transportation is. She tells her vulture to drop her off right there, but instead he drops her right off him and down into the forest where she lands on her rear end. Furious with Harold, she tells him to come back for her when he hears the whistle -- and double time, which makes him squawk out his reply.
As the Smurfs continue to watch safely from behind a bush, Hogatha stumbles into Gargamel's trap for the Smurfs, making him jump out at his catch when he realizes it's just the old witch. She chuckles at first before she angrily tells Gargamel to get her out of this mess, but Gargamel coldly tells her to get herself out. Deciding to get even with him, Hogatha transports herself out while she uses her magic to transport the wizard and his cat into the adhesive trap, which makes the watching Smurfs giggle.
Covered in his own sticky goo, Gargamel pleads for Hogatha to get him out with the promise that he will do anything. Hogatha tells him there's nothing an inept dolt like him could ever do for her, and besides she's on her way to meet Harlequin, a truly great sorcerer. Gargamel decides to take advantage of some kindness from her and makes claims that he actually is friends with Harlequin, which makes Hogatha run to Gargamel and free him from his own Smurf trap, saying that he must introduce her to the great wizard. With Gargamel wondering what's in it for him, Hogatha presents him her "magic whistle" that can attract Smurfs from miles around. Gargamel is so interested in the whistle that he wants to see it. Hogatha promises he will see it, but only after Harlequin pays her a visit that evening. Gargamel agrees to the deal, which makes the other Smurfs follow Gargamel in order to stop him from introducing her to Harlequin.
Hogatha is so excited at the prospect of meeting Harlequin that evening, she calls upon her pet vulture with her "magic whistle", who then takes her home to get ready. Meanwhile, Gargamel is plotting to get his hands on that whistle, and so goes into his chest to dig out a fake beard to make himself look like the warlock of Hogatha's dreams. The Smurfs watch from Gargamel's window, realizing that Gargamel doesn't even know Harlequin. Papa Smurf says that they must stop Hogatha from giving him the magic whistle, and they can get to Hogatha's castle fast flying on Feathers the crane.
Back in Hogatha's castle, she prepares for her soiree with Harlequin by setting up her dancing music box right next to her couch, happy to know that it still works. She then also remembers her "magic whistle" for Gargamel, which is really her bird call -- her attempt to fool the numbskull wizard. Speaking of which, Gargamel's impersonation of Harlequin is now complete, with his cat bearing stripes just like the one the famous wizard owns. The only thing left to do is to show up and go through with the date.
After her final preparations, which includes scenting herself with Essence Of Skunk oil, Hogatha starts getting impatient waiting for Harlequin and promises to turn Gargamel into a worm if her dream date doesn't show up soon. But then she hears the gong banging, meaning that someone is at her door. She opens and finds that it's Harlequin (Gargamel in disguise), arriving very promptly. Pleased to finally have him, Hogatha lets him in, unaware of who he really is. As the Smurfs try to get to her castle in time, the witch offers her dream date some refreshment from his long journey, which he enjoys until she reveals that it's "snail mead". He nearly spits it out but disguises his disgust by saying that it's delicious.
The Smurfs arrive to watch from her window as Hogatha is ready to serve him more refreshment, but "Harlequin" seems ready to take off. Hogatha won't let him depart that quickly, so she draws him to the couch where she wants to "talk some sorcery". As she does, Azrael hisses at Harold. Then Hogatha decides to do some dancing, and as she turns on her music box, she takes her dream date around the room dancing, paying little attention to his feet stepping on hers. This makes the watching Smurfs laugh at this scene. Soon "Harlequin" steps on Azrael's tail, causing him to jump up to Harold's perch, then is scared off the perch by Harold, bumping into Hogatha's music box and causing it to spin out of control before it breaks. Hogatha at that point smothers "Harlequin" with kisses that make the watching Smurfs want to vomit, and then faints to her couch, so overcome by being so close to her dream date that she pulls the fake beard off "Harlequin's" face, revealing him to be Gargamel.
Realizing that part of his disguise is now gone, Gargamel takes the "magic whistle" and departs, still disgusted by the kisses Hogatha has given him. The Smurfs decide to depart before Gargamel uses the whistle. Back in her castle, Hogatha sees that Harlequin is now gone, but she feels certain that he will come back. She goes to her mirror, commenting about her being able to attract Harlequin with her charm, her beauty, and her beard... when she suddenly notices that "her beard" is "Harlequin's" stuck to her face. This makes her realize that he is really Gargamel, and this gets her so mad, she stomps on the fake beard, ready to do the same to the wizard once she finds him.
Now at a safe distance from Hogatha, Gargamel decides to use the "magic whistle" and blows it. The Smurfs, who are still flying back to the village on Feathers, finds that their feathered friend is responding to the whistle. Gargamel, seeing no Smurfs coming yet, tries the whistle again. This time it attracts more birds, as well as Hogatha's pet vulture, which she is riding on to track down Gargamel. He is ecstatic when Feathers shows up with some Smurfs, but not so pleased when he sees a whole flock of birds come flying straight toward him -- with Hogatha and Harold leading them -- and so runs off, leaving the "magic whistle" behind. Papa Smurf then realizes that it's actually Hogatha's bird call, causing his little Smurfs to laugh with him.
Back at her castle, Hogatha watches with wicked delight as she tortures Gargamel and Azrael by having them be her dancing figures on top of her new music box.
Quotes[]
"And you thought YOU were Clumsy!"
- - Jokey to Clumsy as they watch Gargamel as Harlequin constantly stepping on Hogatha's foot
"Oooh, what a man! But why should I be surprised? After all, I have charm, I have beauty, I have a beard... A BEARD?!? Oh no... it was Gargamel! Where is he? Where is that impostor?"
- - Hogatha after Gargamel as Harlequin leaves and his fake beard is still stuck on Hogatha's face
Trivia[]
- Brainy, Hefty, and Greedy do not appear in this episode.
- This is the first episode not to feature Brainy. This makes Papa Smurf the only character to appear in every episode until "Breakfast At Greedy's".
- It is possible that Harlequin was named for the publisher of romance novels.