The Smurfs: “The Smurf Odyssey” (1989)

English / 23 min / Season 9, Episode 7B

An exceptionally detailed plot summary can be found here: https://smurfs.fandom.com/wiki/The_Smurf_Odyssey

“The Smurf Odyssey” is part of the final season of The Smurfs TV show, which deviated from past seasons by featuring time-travel episodes, including several set in the ancient world, such as “Hogapatra’s Beauty Sleep,” “Trojan Smurfs,” and “Gnoman Holiday.”

This episode, in which the Smurfs help a reluctant Hermes, son of Zeus and Hera, as he attempts to complete a coming-of-age quest so that he may prove himself worthy of his divinity, is a remix of various epic narratives. It is actually structured more explicitly around the story of Jason and the Argonauts, in particular the version of the story told in the 1963 Don Chaffey film that featured the creatures of Ray Harryhausen, rather than Homer’s Odyssey. Retrieving the fleece is the main aim of Hermes’ quest, and along the way the gods on Olympus watch his progress in a reflective pool of water, like in the film. They travel on a ship with a talking “spirit guide” named Sylvia, recalling Athena in the film; they also encounter a hydra and in a direct nod to the film, they battle a legion of skeletons that come to life from stalactites that fall to the ground in a cave!

Their encounter with a Cyclops is the only Odyssean element featured in the episode, but this Cyclops turns out to be a lonely scaredy-cat who is in need of friends. After befriending the Smurfs, the Cyclops (whom they affectionately call Loomis?) helps them out in their fight against the skeletons.

The final task of the quest is to sail to Gorgon Island and face the monsters that turn people to stone who are guarding the fleece. This aspect draws on the legend of Perseus, of course, and the Pegasus also plays a prominent role throughout the episode. Hermes finally shows off his bravery and heroism when he rescues the Smurfs who have been turned to stone and takes the fleece, and happily he is rewarded with divine status by his father at the end of the episode.