Papa Smurf is a
male fictional
character from
the Smurfs. He is the third oldest of
The Smurfs (after Grandpa and Nanny), and their leader. He is 542 years old[
citation needed] (while the other Smurfs are approximately 100 years old), but is quite energetic for his age. He can be easily distinguished from the other Smurfs by his
red clothes and his bushy
white beard (which was
brown in his younger
days).
Don Messick provided
Papa Smurf\'s
voice in the 1980\'s animated series. Papa Smurf (in French, \"
Le Grand Schtroumpf\") is gentle, wise, and knowledgeable. He serves as the Smurf\'s leader and as a paternal figure of which the Smurfs usually
go to when they require counsel and he is always concerned about the Smurf\'s wellbeing and
harmony. He is very altruistic and always ready to
help somebody, whether he is a Smurf or human. Papa Smurf also has diplomatic skills in
case they meet humans or other
creatures, and usually manages to
speak without using the \"smurf\" word. He can also be occasionally short-tempered. Papa Smurf\'s duty is to ensure all the Smurfs of
the village get
along well, are
nice to each other, and
Don\'t fight. When
real chaos rises among them, Papa Smurf takes very drastic measures, often using
magic, like switching bodies with Gargamel in order to pretend to attack the village (\"Smurf
Versus Smurf\" issue) or even creating a whole other village of
evil doubles of the original Smurfs (\"The Smurf Menace\" issue). When he is not doing his leader or \"father-knows-best\"
job, Papa Smurf indulges in his favorite hobby: magical
chemistry, or alchemy. He often makes elixirs to help out Smurfs who get themselves into trouble.
His house is a large laboratory containing several chemical devices, and he tries to create potions for the good of the Smurfs,
yet sometimes fails - such as the
time he accidentally created a substance that turned any living thing into a huge
monster (see the album: \"The Smurfs and the Cracoucass\"). Impassioned by this activity, He occasionaly leaves the village inorder to get the needed
ingredients.