| The Smurfs: Light and Dark | |
| Author | Numbuh 404 |
| Starting Date | June 2010 |
| Number of Seasons | 5 |
| Number of Episodes | 100 |
The Smurfs: Light and Dark (AKA the Light and Dark series or the "LD Stories") is a patchwork fanfiction storyline written and illustrated by Numbuh 404 that serves as a continuation of the original cartoon show. It incorporates some story and character elements originally found in the comics as well as introducing new characters throughout the series.
Series Information
"Do you wanna know what your problem is? To write a Smurfy story, you must have peril. Adventure! Colorful characters like myself, Brainy Smurf."-- Brainy to Poet in "Poet's Storybook" (Season 7, 1987)
This epic tale begins with the re-introduction of the time-travelling Smurfs last seen in Season 9 of the cartoon show. They find themselves entering the 20th Century in a big, bustling city where nobody believes Smurfs are anything but a wishful fantasy. Luckily, they discover a human with immaculate knowledge of their dilemma -- and by chance, their teamwork leads to the Smurfs' successful return to their own timeline.
From then on, a colorful array of new characters begins to appear including a new Smurfette, a headstrong runaway girl with a mysterious past, a young squire with a beautiful voice, and an immortal queen with cutthroat demands for one's freedom. All this and more follows the return of familiar characters like Johan and Peewit, Gargamel and Azrael, Mother Nature and Father Time, Enchanter Homnibus -- and, of course, those legendary little blue creatures living in a hidden mushroom village.
Overview
The main characters are generally imported from their mainstream media counterparts at some point from the cartoon show (such as Brainy having been "King Smurf" or Princess Savina being a redhead), but some hold elements from Peyo's original comics (such as Sassette having freckles or John Beaufort and Johan having fought together to reclaim the Beaufort castle).
Desired Animation Style
While the author gives due praise to Sony's visual affects and 3-D animation style of the Smurfs: The Lost Village film, this is not the desired animation style for this series. Peyo drew his original comic stories with pen and paper, which was followed by Hanna-Barbera's hand-drawn animation and cel painting for the now-iconic 1981-1989 cartoon show. Due to this author's passion for traditional animation and having studied the craft under former Disney legends such as Don Bluth, the Light and Dark series is intended to be produced in 2-D animation. Preferably, the animation would be hand-drawn (which remains a modern practice for overseas studios in Korea working for Fox Animation, Cartoon Network, and Warner Bros. Studios projects) with digital coloring and some 3-D modelling for landscapes and specialty props to create a blend of traditional and modern studio production methods.
Writing Style
In both types of stories, major or minor, the default setting is present tense with flashback sequences being written in past tense.
- General Episodes -- Camera angles, transitions, and basic descriptions of setting, time, and character appearances are given. These episodes are summarized with some key dialogue at times and no headers when switching to other character perspectives in the storyline, taking inspiration from how common treatments are written for studio productions when pitching.
- Season Specials and Finale Stories -- The focus skips around between characters (groups or individuals) with cut scenes that are indicated by a triple-dot header (". . .") followed by a new paragraph starting with any other involved characters. There are also physical descriptions of each character upon their debut into the series unless they are simply mentioned or only appear once. The Smurfs are not described unless they undergo transformations or costume changes from their mainstream appearances. These stories are written like standard novels.
Deleted Elements
There were many ideas that went into the making of this series since its conception, but some were cut due to story changes. To see the list of characters and episode ideas that never came to be, please CLICK HERE.
Sequence of Events
This series takes place within a five-year timeframe with character arcs and plot-driven stories being locked in at specific days and/or months to preserve streamlined continuity between each season and their respective episodes.
- Season 1 -- January to August (Year 1)
- Season 2 -- August to January (Entering Year 2)
- Season 3 -- January to July (Entering Year 3)
- Season 4 -- August to July (Entering Year 4)
- Season 5 -- August to July (Entering Year 5)
Human Characters
There are many types of human characters throughout the series. Only the most prominently featured are listed below, but to view the full list of other protagonists, supporting, tertiary, or one-shot characters, CLICK HERE.
Heroes
| Heroes |
- Sir Johan -- A young knight under the Good King who is often accompanied by his best friend, Peewit, on a series of adventures. His valiance and relentless efforts to bring justice to anyone who is suffering is what leads him to the many friends and foes he comes to know throughout the series.
- Peewit -- The faithful comedic sidekick to the main heroes of the series. After Johan landed him a job as the Good King's court jester, he has been a loyal friend with a heart almost as big as his stomach, and he likes to think he has a penchant for alchemy.
- Falla Cye -- She is a teenage girl who supposedly ran away from a kingdom south of the Good King's castle and was thought to be the culprit behind a robbery in Boarsford. With help from Johan and Peewit, she proves her good name and is assigned by the King to help bring the real bandit(s) to justice.
Villains
| Villains |
- Gargamel -- Ever since he first saw the Smurfs, he has been determined to prove their existence to the Dean of Wizards at the same school he and his lowly apprentice, Scruple, were expelled from. After years of miserable defeat, he and his cat, Azrael, are willing to do virtually anything to destroy the Smurf Village -- regardless of the consequences.
- Scruple -- He is a child who recognizes that his former professors assigned him as Gargamel's apprentice simply to avoid having to expel him on the school records. Fearful of following in his master's footsteps, the boy is desperate to return to school and graduate; he might believe in his future if someone else believed in him, too.
- Hogatha -- She is a vain witch with an insatiable desire to have real hair, ultimate wealth, and a man to make her his queen. While not generally a threat to the Smurfs, she has sought to use them for personal gain in the past. She has teamed up with Gargamel more than once, although they can hardly stand being near each other.
Magical and Mythical Characters
There are many types of mythical, supernatural, or otherwise non-human characters throughout the series. Only the most prominently featured are listed below. To view the full list of other protagonists, supporting, tertiary, or one-shot characters, CLICK HERE.
| Magical & Mythical Characters |
- The Smurfs -- A fairly mysterious race of little blue creatures composed of males that are delivered occasionally on a Blue moon by a stork while females can be made by a magic spell. They are an integral part of this series as main and supporting characters.
- Sprites -- A broad term for a group of elemental creatures who are uniquely designed to fit their elements. One featured character is Ripple, a Woodsprite who has been learning to make friends after discovering that his reckless pranks had caused more suffering than amusement. Throughout the series, his troublesome upbringing in the form of an estranged childhood friend and his old man's shortcomings could stand in the way of creating a lasting relationship with a lovely lady sprite.
- Goblins -- A generally antagonistic species with varying branches depending on their region with at least two characters who play a supporting role throughout the series. The prime example is Mystico, a now-extinct type of goblin who was imprisoned in a magic forest fountain for hundreds of years and wants nothing more than to rediscover his place in the world -- but first, he must reclaim his freedom for good.
Animals
There are also many animal characters who make recurring appearances throughout the series. Below are only the most prominently featured, so to view the full list, CLICK HERE.
| Animals |
- Azrael -- Gargamel's nasty old pet. This cat mirrors his master and is constantly abused, only receiving praise when he does something his master wants of him, but he is not entirely evil (as evident with his reaction after Natural Smurf took care of his broken paw for some time).
- Bayard -- Johan's loving and faithful steed. This horse has been known to charge into battle or stand at his master's defense to ward off imposing threats, and he gets along well with most other animals.
- Biquette -- Peewit's mischievous yet loyal steed. This goat may be stubborn and hot-tempered, but like her master, she is stronger than she looks and adaptable to almost any situation.
Magical Artifacts
There are many magical objects throughout the series with three prominent examples below. To see a full list of enchanted plot-driven elements and their affects in the storyline, please CLICK HERE.
| Magical Artifacts |
- The Great Book of Spells -- A powerful sentient spell book that is currently in Gargamel's possession. He keeps it in the cellar and will approach the pedestal where it is stationed at dawn on the day of the full moon when he is entitled to as many wishes as desired until sunset of that same day. The book has a sadistic sense of humor and will only serve those who speak to it in rhyme.
- Blue Moonstone -- A naturally-occurring gemstone that turns blue when it has been enchanted by water and the light of the Blue Moon. This process will only be successful if the one who seeks to enchant a moonstone has pure intentions for doing so, such as giving it to a loved one. Legend states that a blue moonstone will reveal the purity and strength in any living creature, making it a rare and highly sought after gemstone.
- The Wheel of Creation -- A powerful spinning wheel created and operated by Mother Nature. It spins constantly in a steady motion and maintains a perfect balance for the amount of life and death found throughout the world at all times. Disrupting this wheel's motions or attempting to alter it will bring the alteration of every living being on Earth until balance is restored.
Trivia
- This page was first created on October 30th, 2011, with "The Reluctant Dark Knight - Introduction" as the title, but the concept for the series overview was in place since June of 2010. All that was written back then was a short introductory line followed by a list of main, supporting, and background characters with a total of less than fifteen names. This was known mostly as The Reluctant Dark Knight Series (AKA "RDK Stories") because development at the point only focused on Johan as the main protagonist. After much thought and collaborative assistance, the series was finally renamed to The Light and Dark Series on November 12th, 2015. (View the blog post about it here.) It would not be until July 15th, 2021, that the title page would reflect the finalized version as The Smurfs: Light and Dark to match the logos that were first created in 2020.
- Although the author had taken a long hiatus to work on other projects between a changing work and home schedule, the spark of motivation returned after seeing the spin-off CGI film, Smurfs: The Lost Village, on March 25th, 2017. This film is non-canonical with the original series or the LD Stories, so it serves as minimal inspiration for the author's long-term goals.
- The process of separation of the Expanded AU and LD Stories officially began on April 17th, 2017 after discussions amongst fellow Admins, VicGeorge2K9 and A Heroic Smurf. View the blog post about it here.
- It was decided solely by the author during a spontaneous revisions analysis to separate the latter half of Season 2 and designate it as the episode list for Season 3, thus creating room for a fourth Season. This decision was made and finalized on May 29th, 2019.
- The first official LD Stories banner was designed by Numbuh 404 between August 16th-17th, 2020 with graphical assistance from two of the author's good friends: Joffrey Black, a professional 3-D modeler and college professor, and Kim Beatty (Kimcat#3410 on Discord), a professional editor, graphic designer, and on-site production technician. The second banner was designed between August 19th-20th with continued assistance from Joffrey. The third banner was designed between June 23rd - July 18th, 2022, with relatively no assistance from the previous people mentioned above. The fourth banner's main logo was designed between July 19th - August 15, 2022, although the full version has yet to be completed, and the final banner's theme is determined while no work has been done to assemble its design.
- To be placed in the Season 5 trivia section later: "The Diamond of Desire" and "Left Behind in Brisefer" episodes (10 and 11) were switched on the timeline as of June 20th, 2021 due to timing constraints.