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The Smurfs come from the woods - and from the imagination of a Belgian cartoonist named Peyo.

When he was 21, Peyo had created a newspaper comic strip called Johan, about a young man who waits on a king. Three years later (in 1952) Peyo began writing more adventures for Johan in a Belgian comic book for children, and it was in 1958 that Johan eventually met his first Smurf. Legend has it that Peyo had asked a French cartoonist to pass the salt during a meal, but unable to find the proper word had inadvertently said "Pass me the Schtroumpf." The word "Schtroumpf" was later given to the species of happy, blue forest-dwellers - which, when later translated into English, became "Smurf."

The blue characters became immensely popular, so Peyo created a comic studio and handed off most of the work to other artists. Smurf merchandise continued bringing in money for another 18 years. In 1976 the characters were spotted by an American media entrepreneur named Stuart R. Ross, who believed the characters could become popular and purchased several distribution rights including those for North American markets. Sure enough, the Smurf dolls he began distributing were a huge success, and one even found its way to the daughter of Fred Silverman, an NBC programming executive.

NBC added a Smurf's cartoon to their Saturday morning lineup in 1981, created by Hanna-Barbera, and the cartoon ran for the next eight years. It was nominated for Emmy awards and led to several prime time specials. 1983 even saw the U.S. release of a full-length movie called "The Smurfs and the Magic Flute," though this film was created in 1976, and only distributed to cash in on the TV show's popularity. Episodes of the TV show were later joined into feature-length titles like "The Baby Smurf" and "Here are the Smurfs." The show was cancelled in 1989 - nearly thirty years after the Smurf's were first created.

It's interesting to note that the Smurf's had already enjoyed international popularity before they were discovered in America. In 1977 a novelty act called "Father Abraham" had a #1 hit song in 16 different countries singing "The Smurf Song" with a chorus of high-pitched cartoon characters. ("Where are you all coming from?" "From Smurf Land where we belong...") Peyo died in 1992, but the popularity of the Smurf's continued, and they ultimately appeared in amusement parks, ice shows, and even video games.

So while you could argue that the Smurfs came from the imagination of Peyo, the phenomenon really came because of the seemingly insatiable demand from Smurf-loving audiences. Over three decades, it was really this huge popular acceptance that kept re-launching the Smurfs into different markets and different mediums.

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