Say it Again, Yeah
Britain’s The Telegraph reports the first-ever authorized adults-only episode of…
The Smurfs!:
The short film…opens with the Smurfs dancing, hand-in-hand, around a campfire and singing the Smurf song. Bluebirds flutter past and rabbits gambol around their familiar village of mushroom- shaped houses until, without warning, bombs begin to rain from the sky.
Tiny Smurfs scatter and run in vain from the whistling bombs, before being felled by blast waves and fiery explosions. The final scene shows a scorched and tattered Baby Smurf sobbing inconsolably, surrounded by prone Smurfs.
The final frame bears the message: “Don’t let war affect the lives of children.”
It is intended as the keystone of a fund-raising drive by unicef’s Belgian arm, to raise £70,000 for the rehabilitation of former child soldiers in Burundi.
Like you, perhaps, I read the above and thought, “Wow! I hope they’re being extra-careful to try to show that ad only when no children are around….”
Belgian television viewers were given a preview of the 25-second film earlier this week, when it was shown on the main evening news. The reactions ranged from approval to shock and, in the case of small children who saw the episode by accident, wailing terror.
Ok, that part of the campaign could use a little work, apparently.
Read the Full Story at The Telegraph
“Unicef bombs the Smurfs in fund-raising campaign for ex-child soldiers”
by David Rennie
October 8, 2005
Chris Gibson wrote:
You must have updated this story today, as it popped up on my ever-vigilant RSS feed.
I’m now willing to cop to the fact that I found the picture horribly disturbing AND amusing. Of course, I have always hated the Smurfs only slightly less than I hate Tinky, Winky and the rest of the Teletubbies (who are clearly a government sponsored program to teach compliance with the State, but that’s a rant for another day), so my amusement at death raining down from the skies is, perhaps, not entirely the mark of a disturbed mind.
That being said, I can’t find the actual video anywhere on the Unicef site (at least, the English language sites). Have you ever come across this video? Links would be ever-so-appreciated.
..Chris..
Posted 20 Dec 2005 at 2:28 pm ¶
Tom Chappell wrote:
Ha, I found the UNICEF/Smurfs anti-war video, you can see it here or here! The last line reads: “Don’t let war affect the lives of children.”
Posted 06 Feb 2007 at 5:15 pm ¶