"The Great Smurfette" (original French title La Grande Schtroumpfette) is a comic book story that was created and published by Studio Peyo in 2010. It was later published in English by Papercutz on October 12, 2021 under the title "Smurfette In Charge" with "The Smurfs And The Book That Knows Everything" as its backup story.
Plot Summary[]
As the story begins, Smurfette finds herself without a working pump to water her flower garden. Handy goes to look at the pump and finds out what's wrong, but refuses to tell Smurfette, saying that it's a bit hard to explain, though he does promise that he will fix it. Then Smurfette meets a few Smurfs in overalls that are ready to paint the dining room. Smurfette offers to help, but they refuse to let her, saying that it's not her place. Then she meets Hefty and another Smurf who are going out into the forest by the great ravine to pick wild strawberries. Smurfette offers to join them, but Hefty and the other Smurf tells her that it would be too dangerous for her, saying that it's not her place.
Papa Smurf also notices the condescending talk his little Smurfs were projecting toward Smurfette, treating her as if she basically had no right to participate in the same activities that they do just because she's a Smurfette. He decides on a plan of action in the hope that it would raise her level of equality among her fellow Smurfs. At supper, he announces that he will be leaving to visit Homnibus to do some research and that he will need a leader to replace him while he's gone. He doesn't announce who it will be until the following day, leaving the other male Smurfs to think that he's considering choosing one of them. However, on the day that he leaves, he announces that Smurfette will be his replacement, which causes the male Smurfs to react with a bit of shock, wondering if Papa Smurf is starting to lose it with this particular decision. But Papa Smurf is resolute in his decision and he expects his little Smurfs to honor it as he departs.
At first, the male Smurfs treat Smurfette with a bit of condescension and disrespect as they try to get used to a female Smurf being in charge of the village. But then, when Greedy gets his head stuck in the window of the storehouse, Smurfette comes by with laundry soap and soaps up Greedy's head, allowing him to easily slip out and thus sparing him of possibly losing his head with Handy's and Hefty's offered suggestions. Greedy gratefully thanks Smurfette with a half-eaten box of candies the next day. Later, at the dam, the Smurfs have difficulty reaching a spot with leaks that they need to seal, so Smurfette comes up with the most unusual solution: she has Hefty lowered to the spot while wearing a canvas diaper, which initially embarrasses him. Then, a wild boar runs through the village, and Chef and Brainy flee for safety with Brainy carrying Baby. Smurfette goes to find out what's causing the boar to enter the village, and it turns out that one of her piglets has gotten into the storehouse. Soon the mother and child are reunited and happily leave the village.
The male Smurfs are so impressed with Smurfette that they decide to honor her with something special before the party: a red dress and hat and the title of "The Great Smurfette". Smurfette is flattered, but decides that she isn't going to wear it, saying that she prefers not to be like Papa Smurf. At night during the party, Smurfette slips out into the wilderness where she meets Papa Smurf, who secretly traveled there to do some night sky watching. She tells him the news about the Smurfs now treating her with respect, which makes Papa Smurf happy to hear it. He promises that he will return to the village in the morning.
The following day, though, Smurfette doesn't find him at home nor at the place in the wilderness where he was camping. She does find Papa Smurf's bag somewhere along the river as well as large footprints and a bit of cat hair -- clues that Papa Smurf was taken by Gargamel and Azrael. As she heads for the castle, Gargamel receives word that the Order Of Sorcerers was paying him a visit for an examination and inspection, and that no spellbooks were to be used in the examination. Realizing that he doesn't know any of the spells by heart, he turns to Papa Smurf to ask for help in studying for the examination. Papa Smurf refuses to help Gargamel, but when Smurfette is captured while she was spying on them, he reluctantly offers the help with the promise that Gargamel would release her when the examination is over.
Back in the village, the male Smurfs wonder where Smurfette is as they are unable to find her anywhere. While they extend their search into the forest, Papa Smurf spends the entire day chained to Gargamel's lectern trying to help the evil wizard with his studying. By morning, the Smurfs visit Homnibus so that they could retrieve Papa Smurf, only to find out that Homnibus hasn't seen Papa Smurf in months, leaving them wondering where he could have gone. At the same time, with Gargamel desperate to pass the examination, he asks for Papa Smurf to give him signals so he would know what to answer. Papa Smurf says that it's cheating, but before they could do much more about it, the two representatives from the Order Of Sorcerers show up, and soon with Papa Smurf carefully placed so that the representatives couldn't see him during the examination, the elderly Smurf helps Gargamel pass the examination with flying colors.
The representatives are interested in the "blue elf" and offer to take him as a bid so that the Grand Master Of The Order would look favorably on Gargamel's review. Gargamel instead offers the other "blue elf", Smurfette, in place of the first, telling Papa Smurf that he is honoring the promise. As the representatives head back to the Order, they get lost along the roads of the forest, and Smurfette uses this an opportunity to escape from them by leading them into a marsh where a nonexistent unregistered mage named Pustula lives. She finds a stork on top of the old mill to ride home on, where she tells the other Smurfs about Papa Smurf being captured by Gargamel. Hefty decides to take charge of the rescue operation and has his fellow Smurfs come up with an elaborate blitzkreig attack. Smurfette, feeling that she wasn't being listened to, finally puts on the red hat and dress, showing that she's still the leader of the village for the time being and that her authority still needs to be respected, telling them that she has a simple plan for rescuing Papa Smurf.
While Gargamel prepares Papa Smurf's final meal, he hears Smurfette calling out to him from outside. Surprised to see that Smurfette has fled from the Order representatives, Gargamel gives chase to her, which gives the other Smurfs the chance to enter his hovel. As Azrael chases after Handy, Hefty opens the latch to free Papa Smurf from the cupboard, then Handy lures Azrael into the cupboard where he is locked up. Gargamel finally captures Smurfette and brings her into his hovel, but as Smurfette pulls out a compact from her purse, innocently telling the wizard that she needs to powder her nose, she blows a bit of pepper that was in the compact into Gargamel's eyes, blinding him. This gives the opportunity for all the Smurfs to safely escape to the village.
En route, the male Smurfs are praising her with the title "The Great Smurfette", and Papa Smurf says that she deserves the new dress. Smurfette refuses, saying that it's a bit heavy on her, and thus changes back into her regular white dress and hat upon her return. However, because the suspension bridge is now broken since Smurfette didn't authorize an inspection on the bridge, she will have to wait until later for Handy to fix her broken water pump.
Trivia[]
- This comic book story deals with the topic of sexism. It is also the second time that the Smurfette is the central character in a comic story, the first being The Smurfette (1966).
- The Great Smurfette also appears in the game The Smurfs Epic Run.