The Smurfs and the Magic Flute

The Smurfs and the Magic Flute
North American theatrical release poster
Directed byJosé Dutillieu[1]
Screenplay byPeyo
Story byPeyo
Yvan Delporte
Based onThe Smurfs, by Pierre "Peyo" Culliford
Produced byCharles Dupuis
Raymond Leblanc
StarringSee cast below
CinematographyFrançois Léonard
Edited byNebiha Ben Milad
Michèle Neny
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byMercury Films (Belgium)
Target International Pictures (UK)
Atlantic Releasing Corporation (USA)
Release dates
  • 24 December 1975 (1975-12-24) (Belgium)
  • 24 December 1975 (1975-12-24) (Switzerland)
  • 19 April 1979 (1979-04-19) (United Kingdom)
  • 25 November 1983 (1983-11-25) (United States)
Running time
74 minutes
CountryBelgium
LanguageFrench
Box office$19 million[2]

The Smurfs and the Magic Flute (French: La Flûte à six schtroumpfs, lit. The Flute of Six Smurfs) is a 1975 Belgian animated film starring the Smurfs, directed by their creator, Peyo. Although the film premiered in 1975 in Belgium[3] and Switzerland[4], it was not released in the United Kingdom until 1979, and in the United States until 1983, in the wake of the characters' newfound popularity.[5]

The film is based on the 1958 comic book of the same name, originally a part of the Johan and Peewit series (created by Peyo in 1952), and notable as the first appearance of the smurfs in media. Accordingly, although the Smurfs play a major part, they do not appear until 35 minutes into the film.

The film was not produced by Hanna-Barbera, the creators of The Smurfs television series, but by Brussels' Belvision Studios and Éditions Dupuis. The voice talent from that show was not present in either English version. Instead, the work was handled by a non-union crew whose members had previously appeared in anime dubs for U.S. television for the American dub, while a non-union British crew was used for the UK English dub.[1]

A presentation of independent film company Atlantic Releasing in the United States, The Smurfs and the Magic Flute grossed over US$19 million. The film's success led to the creation of Clubhouse Pictures, Atlantic's children's film division.[6]

The English dub[which?] of the film was presented in Dolby Stereo sound.

  1. ^ a b Beck (2005), p. 254.
  2. ^ "A Rally For G Ratings Clubhouse Gets Bandwagon Rolling For Family Entertainment". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 1 October 2011.
  3. ^ Hugues Dayez, Peyo (2016). Les Schtroumpfs - L'Intégrale, vol. 4. Brussels: Dupuis. p. 16. ISBN 978-2-8001-6720-6.
  4. ^ "Annonce du cinéma Studio à Neuchâtel pour les jours de fête de noel 1975 (Page 14)" (PDF). RERO DOC: Bibliothèque Numérique. 24 December 1975. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  5. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 201. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  6. ^ Beck (2005), p. 255.