Lovable blue gnomes---only three apples high---live an idyllic existence in a medieval forest, though their happiness is threatened by the wicked wizard Gargamel. `The Smurfs' can be traced back to 1958, when Belgian cartoonist Pierre `Peyo' Culliford created the mushroom-dwelling creatures. They debuted on American toy shelves in the late-1970s before appearing on NBC's Saturday-morning schedule. The show was a huge success, expanding from an hour to 90 minutes in 1982 and garnering two Emmys.