The Smurfs (2)

Comic book franchise about small blue gnomes called Schroumpfs (in the original French), created in 1958 by Belgian cartoonist [a=Peyo] aka Pierre Culliford for his series "Johan et Pirlouit". The characters were eventually given their own comic book series, which was turned into animated films, cartoon shows and a large merchandising machine including toys, clothes, stickers etc. Due to the international popularity of the characters, records with radio plays and music were released under the franchise in various countries. Most of the music records featured cover versions of recent pop hits, with the lyrics changed to be more fitting for a children's audience, and usually sung in high-pitched voices. These were done by within the database does not refer to a specific group but to the franchise. Since the Schtroumpfs are named differently depending on their country (Smurfs in English, Schlümpfe in German, Pitufos in Spanish, etc.), these names are treated as ANVs (artist name variations) of "The Smurfs" within the database.