Sunday, October 09, 2005
WAR IS DEADLY FOR SMURFS AND OTHER ANIMATED BEINGS
UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, is now producing child-warping Smurf snuff movies:
The people of Belgium are reeling at the first adults-only episode of The Smurfs, in which the blue-skinned cartoon characters’ village is annihilated by warplanes ...
Belgian TV viewers had a preview of the 25-second film last week, when it was shown on the main evening news. Reactions ranged from approval to shock and, in the case of small children who saw it by accident, wailing terror.
The short film pulls no punches. It opens with the Smurfs dancing hand-in-hand around a campfire and singing the Smurf song. Bluebirds flutter by and rabbits gambol about their village until, without warning, bombs rain from the sky.
Smurfs scatter and run before being felled by blast waves and explosions. The final scene shows a scorched Baby Smurf sobbing inconsolably.
The final frame bears the message: “Don’t let war affect the lives of children."
At least it’s subtle.