"Jokey's Funny Bone" is a Season 4 episode from the Smurfs cartoon show.
Characters[]
- Jokey Smurf
- Papa Smurf
- Vanity Smurf
- Baby Smurf
- Brainy Smurf
- Hefty Smurf
- Handy Smurf
- Smurfette
- Tailor Smurf
- Greedy Smurf
- Clumsy Smurf
- Grouchy Smurf
- Lazy Smurf
- Harmony Smurf
- Feathers
- Gargamel (Mentioned only)
- Unnamed Smurfs
Synopsis[]
When Vanity gets a lot of attention after breaking his toe, Jokey tricks the other Smurfs that he broke his "funny bone".
Plot Summary[]
In the Smurf Village, Papa Smurf is watching Baby Smurf take a bath and having fun splashing water around, getting the village leader all wet, when Jokey comes to him with an emergency, saying that he can't get his presents to open. Papa Smurf decides to offer some assistance but ends up falling for the usual surprise which makes Jokey laugh, saying that he hasn't gotten Papa Smurf to open one in years. He goes off laughing and skipping, thinking of who he's going to pull a surprise on next.
Meanwhile, Vanity has Hefty in his house to help him arrange all the mirrors so that Vanity can see himself no matter where he looks. They are both about to move a big heavy mirror when Jokey cries out for Hefty's help, saying that Gargamel's got him. Hefty rushes out to find where Gargamel is so he could rescue Jokey and let the evil wizard have it, but Jokey springs out from behind the bush to laugh at catching Hefty off-guard. Unfortunately, Jokey's prank has caused Hefty to leave Vanity trying to carry the big mirror by himself until it falls on his foot, breaking his little toe and putting him in such great agony.
Papa Smurf visits Vanity to examine his toe and assures him that it will be all right, that he can fix Vanity's little toe with a minor operation. Brainy is eager to be the one who will do the operation, but Papa Smurf insists that he is capable of doing it himself. He has Hefty and Handy carry Vanity on a stretcher to his laboratory right away for the operation.
A little later on, Vanity feels himself hurting, but not because of his toe or the operation. Rather, it's because Hefty is giving him a massage to make him feel all better. In fact, most of the Smurfs have gathered inside Vanity's house, glad to see Vanity has made it through the operation without a problem, and they're now making sure he's on his way to a full recovery as they shower him with so much attention. Jokey, on the other hand, watches the scene from outside the house, jealous of all the attention Vanity was getting. He only wishes that he was sick so that he could get the same attention for himself. And then he comes up with a brilliant plan for getting the attention.
After Papa Smurf leaves on Feathers to gather some wild smurfberries for Vanity, Jokey puts his plan into motion by setting off one of his own surprises right next to himself. The explosion catches every Smurf's attention as they rush to see Jokey collapse, saying that the joke was so funny that he must have fractured his funny bone. Brainy shows up to assure his fellow Smurfs that he is an expert in dealing with funny bones, and so has Clumsy and Greedy deliver Jokey inside to a bed for a complete examination. After the examination Brainy diagnoses that the fractured funny bone has spread to Jokey's entire body. But when Jokey pulls out a list of goodies that he wants Greedy to make, Brainy tears the list up, saying that a Smurf in his condition shouldn't be eating them.
Then Greedy shows up with a pot of garlic mush and a clothespin over his nose. Jokey isn't too eager to eat the mush, but Greedy forces it into his mouth, and soon the mush has Jokey's face turning bright red. Brainy diagnoses that Jokey now has a fever, and so he has some Smurfs rush into the house to douse their fellow Smurf with water. Then Brainy diagnoses that Jokey now has a chill, so he has Handy build a machine to spin Jokey around on to get his circulation going. Jokey continues to insist that all he really needs is some flowers and candy, but his fellow Smurfs are willing to go the extra mile to help him recover from his fractured funny bone. Meanwhile, Vanity is hearing Jokey going through agony and voices his sympathy while relaxing on his bed.
Soon, all that spinning is making Jokey have a headache, which makes Brainy diagnose that the fractured funny bone has reached his head, so Greedy gets a bandage roll and wraps Jokey up in it until it covers his entire body. Now Jokey says that he can hardly breathe, which makes Brainy suggest that it's now time to operate. Jokey doesn't like that idea and makes a run for it, insisting that he's not really sick. Brainy now assumes that Jokey has gotten hysterical, and so the Smurfs chase after him, hoping to get him to the operating table quickly. In Jokey's flight from his fellow Smurfs, Lazy sees him and thinks that he's a mummy and so flees from Jokey while he's being chased. Jokey ends up going down a hill in a wheelbarrow which scoops up Lazy, who is now yelling that the mummy has got him and carries them both right into the river. The other Smurfs catch up with their patient, with Handy telling Jokey that he can't go swimming in his condition, and Brainy rubbing his palms together, saying it's now time to remove the funny bone.
Back in the village, Jokey is strapped down to the table, ready to be operated on. Jokey says that if they remove his funny bone, then he will lose his sense of humor. Brainy realizes with horror that Jokey needs his sense of humor. Fortunately, Clumsy agrees to give Jokey his funny bone, and so both are dressed in patient gowns with transference helmets attached to their heads while Brainy is dressed in a surgeon's mask and gown. He asks for instruments to do the operation with, and Harmony brings in his musical instruments, which Brainy takes some of, eager to make medical history with the first funny bone transplant. But then Papa Smurf walks in, wondering what's going on. Brainy tries to explain what he was about to do, only for Papa Smurf to say that there's no such thing as a funny bone. Jokey confesses that he made the whole thing up because he wanted to get flowers, candy, and attention. Papa Smurf tells Jokey not to feel bad, because every Smurf needs to have attention now and then.
Smurfette promises that Jokey will get all the attention he wants, and so he has her, Brainy, Vanity, and Papa Smurf all gather around while he gives them each a surprise present. They open their presents, and as usual they explode, leaving Jokey to laugh and to say that his funny bone feels a whole lot better. Papa Smurf sighs and tells Jokey that sometimes a little attention is the best medicine of all.
Quotes[]
Vanity: (after fracturing his toe) "Oh, Papa Smurf, will I ever be the same?"
Jokey: (being spinned by Handy's machine) "Help! Help!"
Vanity: "Oh, poor Jokey, I know exactly what he's going through!"
Trivia[]
- When the episode was still available on HBO Max, the remaster of this episode has the episode title card, but the theme song starts over about two seconds in. Then, after the repeated theme song, the title card shows but is slightly repeated by a half a second.