In case you don't speak French, that headline reads "
The Smurfs are coming to DVD in November!" Yep, for the first time on DVD in Region 1, you will be able to buy
The Smurfs. Actually, you will be able to buy
Les Schtroumpfs...because this is a
French-language-only release of the series, for sale in Canada.
DEP Distribution is putting the release together, with a big marketing campaign planned to help spread the news (including a cross promotion with all Quebec-area McDonalds restaraunts).
November 2nd is the release date for
Les Schtroumpfs - V1. This 4-DVD set runs CAN $69.95 list price. You can
pre-order it at the Canadian arm of Amazon, where it goes for CAN $48.97 at the moment. If you and/or your kids speak French, then this is a good way to go;
there's no word yet on when we'll see an English-language release.
This 10-hour set is in the original 4x3 video format with remastered image, and the sound is Stereo 2.0 French. It includes 20 traditional stories (each "story" may be made up of single or multiple cartoons; some cartoons run a quarter hour (including commercials) and some run a half hour) split over the 4 discs. Following is the list of the French titles of the stories on each DVD (note that they are based on the titles of the Peyo comic books that the episodes where drawn from), and where I was able to I included the English titles afterward:
- DVD 1
- Le Schtroumpfissime (King Smurf)
- Le Farceur Schtroumpfe (Jokey's Medicine)
- Le Cosmoschtroumpf (The Astrosmurf)
- Le Faux Schtroumpf (The Fake Smurf)
- Bébé Schtroumpf (The Baby Smurf)
- DVD 2
- Le Magicien Schtroumpf (Sorceror Smurf)
- Le Mauvais Génie (The Magical Meanie)
- Le Cracoucass (The Smurfs And The Howlibird)
- Gargamel Le Généreux (Gargamel The Generous)
- L'Arbre À ÉCUs (The Smurfs And The Money Tree)
- DVD 3
- Les Lunettes Roses (Smurf-Colored Glasses)
- Un Schtroumpfs Pas Comme Les Autre
- La Soupe Aux Schtroumpfs (Soup A La Smurf)
- Le Schtroumpf Hanté (Haunted Smurfs)
- La Mouche Bzz
- DVD 4
- L'Agrandischtroumpf
- Le Schtroumpfeur De Pluie (Foul Weather Smurf)
- Le Schtroumpf Mécanique (The Clockwork Smurf)
- Pour Sauver Gargamel
- Le Long Sommeil
Please remember,
this release is NOT IN ENGLISH! But, perhaps it indicates that an English-language DVD release is in-the-works. We're trying to get info about that from the major Hollywood-based studio that we're told owns the rights to that, and see what the future holds for
The Smurfs. Stay tuned and we'll let you know what we find out, if anything. We owe our thanks to Marco Biscotti of the Home Theater Forum for bringing the French Canadian release to our attention. Here's the cover art of both the outer packaging, and a look at the inner "thinpak" cases that hold each disc:
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