What makes Applause Smurfs so highly collectible? Some of you may even be asking what are Applause Smurfs. Allow me to give you a little bit of a smurf history lesson.
In 1982 Wallace Berrie acquired Applause division from Knickerbocker Toys. During this time, smurfs were in high demand especially in the USA, so smurfs were being made in Hong Kong, Sri Lanka and also Portugal.
Before too long, smurfs were being marked with both names – APPLAUSE DIV WB AND CO INC. These smurfs were either made in Sri Lanka or Portugal in 1984 and sold in 1985.
In 1985 Wallace Berrie & Co were starting to call themselves Applause. By the middle of the year, smurf collectors eagerly waited for the release of the Limited Collector Series by Applause which never happened. The demand for smurfs in the USA had evaporated.
By 1990 Applause decided to re-launch the smurfs in America. This was a surprise to many as around the same time the smurf cartoon series had just been cancelled.
As part of the re-launch by Applause, eleven figurines were released, though once again there was great disappointment as these were old releases (no new figurines!) with the markings Applause TM China CE Peyo ©
This included the following figurines:
#20118 Umbrella
#20164 Papa with lab glasses
#20215 Baby with Car
#20226 Grandpa
#20401 Snappy
#20402 Slouchy
#20403 Nat
#20404 Sassette
#20405 Puppy
#20408 Nanny
The release also included a Super Smurf figurine #40245 Smurfette with Tea Set. Again it was unclear why Applause would release this as a regular smurf.
To complement this release Applause also released their own Super Smurfs calling them Roll-A-Long Smurfs. The Roll-Along Smurfs are quite distinctive with their neon colours and thick silver/grey wheels though the figurine was the same one previously used.
Applause Roll-Along Smurfs:
#40204 Green Skateboard
#40210 Orange Car
#40230 Yellow Scooter
#40241 Pink Car
Like many others, the Roll-A-Long Smurfs are on my Most Wanted List. These are considered rare by most collectors.
Applause was also behind the Hardees Promotional Smurfs. released around the same time.
So now you have some idea of what makes Applause Smurfs so highly collectible.
Keep on Smurfin
Kath B