Gargamel the sorcerer is the sworn enemy of the Smurfs. He is an evil wizard, though his powers appear very limited; he actually seems to be more of an alchemist as his main ability is to create magic potions. His main goal in life is to destroy the Smurfs. He is perpetually stooped, his robe is worn and patched, and his teeth are rotten.
He lives in a run-down hovel with his flea-bitten cat Azrael. In later episodes he acquired an apprentice named Scruple, who seems moderately brighter and more savvy than his master, though still inexperienced in the ways of magic.
When he first appeared in
The Smurfnapper (published in 1959) he captured a smurf which he needed as an ingredient for a potion to make gold (according to an old magic spell). The other smurfs rallied against him, freed the kidnapped smurf and the sorcerer was defeated and humiliated. Gargamel swore revenge: from now on the conflict would be personal.
Sometimes he wants to eat the Smurfs, other times he wants to use them to make gold, and still other times he has even more bizarre uses for them. Though he often catches Smurfs who wander by his home or which he happens across in the forest, he does not know the location of the hidden Smurf village, a fact which continually frustrates him.
On some occasions, he has discovered the location of the village, but sooner or later gets led away from it due to either a magic spell put on him by Papa Smurf or because of some other bizarre factor. Sometimes it is simply a matter of his being led away from the village while chasing the Smurfs, losing them and then being unable to find his way back.
Gargamel is an eternal bungler. Some of his schemes to catch Smurfs border on the bizarre (such as a "blue magnet" that attracted solely blue items). He has a seemingly endless library of spellbooks, potions, and gimmicks for his life's passion. However, no matter how elaborate Gargamel's plans, they invariably end in failure, causing him to spout his catch phrase: "I hate those Smurfs!". (It is worth noting that he does love at least one Smurf, his daughter/creation Sassette who refers to him as "pappy Gargamel.")
Despite his never-ending hatred and frustration for the Smurfs, more than once has he had to rely on Papa Smurf to help save him from a more wicked enemy's plans (such as Balthazar) or to rescue him from a potion gone horribly wrong.
Gargamel was voiced by the late Paul Winchell in the original series. Azrael's voice was provided by the late Don Messick in the original series.
See also
Comics charactersFictional wizardsSmurfs
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