Laurence Dollimore
ANDALUCIA’S ‘Smurf Village’ has been ordered to remove all references to the popular blue characters that have been a major source of income.
It comes after heirs to the creator of the Smurfs demanded 12% of all money derived from use of the Smurfs name.
Juzcar, in the Serrania de Ronda, was painted blue by Sony pictures six years ago in a bid to promote the series of recent films.
The town hall were unable to reach an agreement with the family, meaning all images, statues and references to the hit franchise must be removed by August 15.
While the houses will remain blue, the town will likely take a huge hit.
The town, which only has 240 inhabitants, relies mostly on tourism.
It receives around 50,000 visitors a year directly from association with the Smurfs.
The dogs Fred, is where it’s all been going for quite a while now. Maybe the “drinking wine everyday is good for you” thread has taken over completely.
When we visited Juzcar a few years ago, there were a few dilapidated, fibre-glass figures depicting Smurf characters. Many/most of the Smurf tat thrown to the locals by Sony, were subsequently stolen by visitors, who had even been known to clamber on. balconies to do so. Granted, we were there during siesta but, Smurf tat was nowhere to be found on sale. (my wife wanted Smurf-related memorabilia I know, I know.)
So if nothing is sold how much does twelve percent of nothing add up to? Keep the blue paint Juzcar and dump the silly mannequins.