"The Smurfs" were created in 1958 by Belgian cartoonist Pierre Culliford, known throughout the world as Peyo. "The Smurfs," originally called "Les Schtroumpfs" in French, were created for a Belgian series of comic books, first as minor characters. The villagers, known for their blue skin and small statures, spawned a line of statuettes, games, toys, theme parks and a hit TV series, which ran as part of NBC's Saturday-morning lineup from 1981-90.