As “The Smurfs” is about to hit theaters (July 29), many may have been wondering something: What’s with the translation?”
The Smurfs were the brain-child of Belgian cartoonist Peyo, who used the pen name Pierre Culliford. They were first introduced as a series of comics on October 23, 1958, and their original name (in French) was Les Schtroumpfs. When the cartoon was translated into Dutch as Smurf, and when translated into English, the name remained the same.
But what about Los Pitufos?
When the Smurfs came to the Spanish-speaking world in Strong magazine, editor Alfons Moliné had trouble with the translation of the world “smurf”, and in comparing the tiny characters to a another small cartoon, one of the most famous folktales of Catalan origin, Patufet, he came up with the translated name of Los Pitufos.
Since 1969, when Moliné first came up with the name, Spanish-speaking countries has carried on the name, and now, as the first live-action Smurfs movie is about to be released, featuring George Lopez and Sophia Vergara, you can view the trailers for “Los Pitufos” or “The Smurfs.”
(The Spanish-language announcer makes the trailer below, even better. Well, we think so anyway.)
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Photo Credits: Patufet - one of the most famous folktales of Catalan origin, and the origin of the Spanish
