
Lovable blue gnomes---only three apples high---live an idyllic existence in a medieval forest\, though their happiness is threatened by the wicked wizard Gargamel.\ 'The Smurfs' can be traced back to 1958, when Belgian cartoonist Pierre 'Peyo' Culliford created the mushroom-dwelling creatures.\ They debuted on American toy shelves in the late-1970s\ before appearing on NBC's Saturday-morning schedule.\ The show was a huge success.

