"Smurf Soup" (original French title: La Soupe aux Schtroumpfs) is the tenth album of the original French-language Smurfs comic series created by Belgian artist Peyo.
Apart from the titular story, the original French version contains a section of several one-page Smurf gags called Schtroumpferies, which would later appear in the English comic book version of "Romeo And Smurfette" as Smurfery. The English edition of the comic book story released by Papercutz has "Gargamel And The Crocodile" and "The Clockwork Smurf" as its additional stories.
Characters[]
Smurf Soup[]
- Bigmouth
- Gargamel
- Papa Smurf
- Brainy Smurf
- Azrael
- Jokey Smurf
- Harmony Smurf
- Grouchy Smurf
- Lazy Smurf
- Poet Smurf
- Chef Smurf
- Stork
- Painter Smurf (Mentioned only)
- Sickly Smurf (Mentioned only)
- Unnamed Smurfs
Smurferies[]
- Papa Smurf
- Painter Smurf
- Sculptor Smurf
- Chef Smurf
- Farmer Smurf
- Vanity Smurf
- Architect Smurf
- Jokey Smurf
- Harmony Smurf
- Brainy Smurf
- Handy Smurf
- Unnamed Smurfs
Plot[]
Smurf Soup[]
Brainy and two other Smurfs wander through the forest. When they are near Gargamel's house, they see a giant arriving. The giant introduces himself to Gargamel as Bigmouth and tells him he's hungry. Driven by fear of the giant, Gargamel gives him some soup, but Bigmouth is still hungry and tries to eat Azrael. Gargamel stops him and, noticing that Bigmouth is willing to eat anything (even candles), decides to use him as a tool to get vengeance against the Smurfs by offering to get him some to make a soup. Luckily, the three Smurfs overhear this and go to the Smurf Village to warn Papa Smurf.
On their way to find the village, Gargamel and Bigmouth separate, and the latter follows a Smurf riding a stork to the village. There, Papa Smurf achieves a plan. He makes the Smurfs behave very politely to Bigmouth when he arrives and offer to make the Smurf soup he wants.
Papa Smurf makes many Smurfs distract Bigmouth (a band with music, Poet Smurf with an ode to Bigmouth, Brainy Smurf with some moral phrases, and so on) while he prepares a cream that prevents burnings.
The following day, Papa Smurf secretly calls four Smurfs. They apply the cream to themselves and then jump to the boiling water, where the cream (about which Bigmouth does not know) protects them. Papa Smurf sends Bigmouth after more wood to the fire, and while he's out, the four Smurfs leave the water, a formula is applied to it, and four Smurf hats and other articles of clothing are thrown about to fool Bigmouth into thinking the Smurfs dissolved. When Bigmouth returns and drinks the soup, he becomes a blue monster (due to the formula), and Papa Smurf tricks him into believing that was the side effect of drinking Smurf soup and that Gargamel knew it all along.
Right then, Gargamel arrives. He catches some Smurfs, but they aren't worried because they know Bigmouth is furious at Gargamel. When Gargamel sees the blue Bigmouth, he releases the Smurfs and tries to run, but the ogre catches him, demanding a cure. Everybody goes to Gargamel's house to see him try to make an antidote to cure Bigmouth, Papa Smurf carrying a little box with him.
All of Gargamel's efforts to make an antidote fail, making Bigmouth angrier, which causes him to destroy most of the wizard's lab. At last, Gargamel desperately pleads with Papa Smurf for help. Papa Smurf opens his box, takes a little sarsaparilla leaf, Bigmouth eats it and returns to normal. He then departs, leaving Gargamel again defeated with his castle a mess.
Meanwhile, as the Smurfs return to the village, Azrael tries to catch one of them. This Smurf calls for Bigmouth, and even though the giant doesn't answer, Azrael runs away in fear.
Smurferies[]
A series of one-page sketches including:
- Papa Smurf makes a cake, and none of the Smurfs help. He thinks they are deaf, so when he announces the cake, they all eat the cake while Papa Smurf says: "My word, they're cured!".
- Someone has stolen one of Baker Smurf's cakes, and Baker asks Papa Smurf to investigate. Papa Smurf questions all of the Smurfs and all of them have an alibi. So when Papa Smurf goes back to the bakery, he said only one had no alibi: Him!
- A Smurf is tired, and suddenly a Smurf with a black cap tells him to move over. The Smurf leaves a life-size chessboard with Brainy Smurf and a Smurf playing with other Smurfs.
- A Smurf hits himself with a mallet, and curses. Papa Smurf gets angry, and he makes the Smurf brush his teeth with soap. Out come curse words from the bubbles.
- Brainy gets hit by a mallet and is very angry. He goes by his mirror and chatters, when suddenly his reflection hits him with a mallet.
- Harmony Smurf sings "It's the Smurf, Smurf, Smurf", causing everyone to go in panic. It starts to rain and Farmer Smurf thanks Harmony for causing it to rain with his bad singing so Farmer can water his cabbages.
- Jokey Smurf paints himself with black paint and pretends to be a Black Smurf, scaring everybody. He laughs and says he'll wash himself off, until a Smurf says who stole his permanent black paint, that never comes off.
- Handy Smurf is carrying a strange device, and a Smurf asks how it works in a series of incoherent Smurf language speaking.
Publication and Other Media[]
- "Smurf Soup" was adapted as "Soup A La Smurf" for the Hanna-Barbera TV series. Smurfette, who was absent from the comic book story, appears in the animated version.
Trivia[]
- "Smurf Soup" is Bigmouth's first comic appearance, with next being in the "Smurfs Monsters" story "Bigmouth And The Lizards" in 2014. In the cartoon series, he becomes a recurring character.
- Unlike the cartoon series where Bigmouth usually speaks in the third person (or what's typically referred to as "Hulk speak"), in this comic story, he speaks normally. Also, he is labeled a giant instead of an ogre.
- This story marks the first implication that Gargamel wanted to eat the Smurfs for a food recipe, this would eventually become one of Gargamel's frequent motives in both the 1981 television series and 2021 television series.