
"The Last Whippoorwill" is a Season 6 episode of the 1980s Smurfs cartoon show.
Characters[]
- Nat Smurfling
- Insects
- Papa Smurf
- Tailor Smurf
- Clumsy Smurf
- Farmer Smurf
- Greedy Smurf
- Smurfette
- Mother Nature
- Poachers
- Ziggy
- Jonesy
- Whippoorwills
- Hunters
- Hunters's Horses
- Jonesy's Father
- Jonesy's Animals
- Jokey Smurf
- Brainy Smurf (Cameo)
- Unnamed Smurfs
Synopsis[]
Insects invade the Smurfs' village, but hunters banish all the whippoorwills that eat those insects. Now there's only one whippoorwill egg left and the Smurfs must get it back from a boy who took it.
Plot Summary[]
In an early morning, two hunters see a little bird and want to eat it. However, the hunters end up fighting over the bird. They hit the bird's nest, causing its egg to fall. The hunters argue until the bird retaliates and starts running after them. The hunters then hear people coming and run away. A couple of poachers, with the lead poacher claiming the side of the forest his. Just then, a little boy named Jonesy sees the bird egg and keeps it as his before his father calls him back. The bird that chased away the hunters comes back but sees that its egg has been stolen. It flies away.
Later in the Smurf Village, Farmer goes to his fields to enjoy another smurfy day, but sees that insects are eating his smurfberries and tries to get them away. Elsewhere, Greedy tries to get the pesky insects away from his cake, but to no avail and they end up gobbling it whole.
Tailor is in Papa Smurf's lab with Clumsy and Nat as he complains about his material being eaten by the insects, but Papa Smurf is unsure what to do. Just then, he gets more visitors, including Greedy, Farmer, and Smurfette, with Greedy claiming that it's a "nat attack", much to Nat's disapproval. Smurfette complains about the bugs ruining her garden and Farmer complains about the same bugs eating his smurfberry crop. Papa Smurf sees that nature has "fallen off", which makes Nat suggest that they go to Mother Nature to see the problem. The seven Smurfs go to Mother Nature's house before the bug infestation gets worse.
In Mother Nature's house, she explains to the Smurfs that poachers have driven the only bird capable of laying whippoorwill eggs away, meaning the insects will continue to invest the village. Nat asks Mother Nature if she can do something, but she says she can't stop mankind from poaching eggs. She then says that a little boy stole the last whippoorwill egg. Nat is determined to find the little boy, which Mother Nature says is in the place of the Duke of Bedford Chateau. Papa Smurf tells his six Smurfs that they will go there and bids Mother Nature farewell as she tells them to be careful.
Meanwhile, the two hunters dig a bird trap and plan to cover it with twigs. The seven Smurfs are nearby as Clumsy sees that all of the trees are gone, and Nat sees that the little animals are also gone. Papa Smurf tells them to quiet down, saying that humans might be around. His worry becomes true as the two hunters dig dirt unknowingly on the Smurfs. The hunters hear their groans, causing the Smurfs to run away before they catch them. One of the two hunters see that there's nothing there before falling in his trap, while the other hunter believes that the place is haunted. The hunter dismisses his idea.
The Smurfs arrive at the Chateau, where they hide from any humans and go into Jonesy's house room and search across the room for the whippoorwill egg. Papa Smurf additionally searches for it. However, all the Smurfs can find are dust and dirtiness. Nat then finds several animals in cages and is upset that human children don't realize the horror they give the animals when they are caught and Papa Smurf says if they fail to find the egg, they will become these animals. Clumsy then leans on a bag, which falls and unveils the egg, pleasing Farmer and the other Smurfs as they now plan to run back into the forest. However, Papa Smurf sees Nat, who is releasing all of the animals. However, he gets caught by Jonesy, who is angered to see that his "pets" are out of their cages. He sees the Smurfs with the egg, hitting them but inadvertently causes them to successfully take the egg. Nat also runs to Papa Smurf and the seven Smurfs make their way into the forest. They run while the little boy chases them.
Elsewhere, the village isn't doing any better as the Smurfs run away from the insects. Jokey runs into his house, worrying about if Papa Smurf will get back soon enough to make the insects disappear.
The seven Smurfs continue running from the boy until they trip over a stick and allowing the boy to take the egg - until he falls into the bird trap that the hunters had set up earlier. Just then, as Papa Smurf realizes that it's an animal trap, the hunters hear it and the Smurfs run away. The hunters see that it's just a small little kid. Jonesy is angered and the hunters get him out of the trap. Jonesy says the two are in trouble and says he'll tell the Duke on them. This worries the two hunters, and they capture him, much to his pleads. The Smurfs see that their egg is being taken with the boy. Nat is enraged as he says that the boy's capturing serves him right, but also says that the poachers should be taught a lesson as well. Papa Smurf then gets an idea to save him and shares it with the six other Smurfs.
At the night, the boy yells that he wants to go home, much to the neglect of the poachers who enjoy a dinner. The two poachers then hear a ring on the doorbell and open the door, only to find nobody. While they are distracted, Farmer and Tailor run into the house and the door closes, worrying the little poacher that the area is haunted. The two poachers then walk around while Nat tells an owl to hoot while they walk by. The poachers then get scared while Smurfette commands a bear to growl, scaring them even more. They run to a bush, where a moose grabs them by the shirt and throws them away to another side of the forest, where Clumsy, Farmer, and Tailor make ghost noises, scaring the hunters away while the Smurfs cheer.
The Smurfs then make their way to the poachers' house, where they promise to free the boy as long as he stops capturing animals and give them the whippoorwill egg back. Jonesy tells them that he will no longer capture them, now feeling how they felt. They release Jonesy and he gives them the egg back, thanking them. Papa Smurf says it's time to bring it back to the village.
Later, the Smurfs are back at the insect-infested village with Jonesy and Mother Nature while the latter carries Farmer and Tailor as they put the egg into the bird's nest. The bird comes back as the insects leave the village. The bird goes into the nest as the Smurfs cheer. Mother Nature explains that with the Smurfs' help, they were able to save the whippoorwills from going extinct. Just then, the egg hatches and out comes a baby bird as the Smurfs are happy. Mother Nature says this turned out to be a happy ending after all - and a happy beginning, as Papa Smurf adds.
Trivia[]
- Nat is the only one of the Smurflings to appear in this episode. It is not shown where Snappy, Slouchy, and Sassette (and by extension, Baby) took shelter in from the insects.
- Throughout the episode, the tall poacher's name is heard to be Ziggy, but the short poacher's name is never heard at all, only being called insults.
- In the syndicated version, two scenes are cut:
- The scene where Greedy tries to get the insects out of his cake.
- The scene where all of the Smurfs are shown running away from the insects in panic, as well as the scene where Jokey comes into his house, worrying about Papa Smurf's disappearance.