Jokey Smurf is one of the most recognisable smurfs, whether it be from the comics, cartoon shows, figurines or more recently in the smurf movies, Jokey Smurf is best known for giving an exploding present to an unsuspecting smurf.
This is where your childhood memories can play a bit of a role with your smurf collecting habits. Depending who you ask is this could be a good or bad thing. Good in the sense that it brings back happy memories of growing up with the smurfs or bad as you will go to extreme measures to collect particular smurfs.
For me, I never grew up reading the comics or watching the cartoon shows. I had a soft toy called Smurfee that was loved to death but generally my interest stems from collecting smurfs with different markings. Jokey or Present as it is generally referred in the collecting guides is one with many different markings.
Present Smurf was first produced by Bully in 1975. This early version is found with hand etched Bully © Peyo markings under the feet and unpainted eyebrows. Like a lot of early smurfs made by Bully they made out of softer pvc material.
For those of you interested in different colour variations, the Bully marked Present Smurf are found with an orange ribbon wrapped around a white gift box.
In 1983 Wallace Berrie started making their version of Present Smurf made out of Hong Kong and called him Jokey with Present. This version can be found with a red ribbon wrapped around a white gift box.
Around 1988 Schleich changed the colour of the present to yellow with a red ribbon. As this was only sold like this for four years, this smurf is highly sought after by collectors. Like all highly sought after smurfs, my advise is to watch out for repaints! If you are lucky to find one, make sure that it has the markings West Germany Schleich S © Peyo 1975 and a black paint dot under it’s feet. It should also have a small Ce marking on it’s back.
In 1996 McDonalds in Germany and the Netherlands released the McDonald’s 25th Anniversary Smurfs to celebrate 25 years of McDonalds operating in those countries. As part of this special release – Happy Anniversary Smurfs, Present was made with a yellow present and a red ribbon. Like the others released as part of the promotion each one has the letter ‘M’ embossed on the back of the head.
When one starts thinking of the classic smurfs, Jokey is one that is always thrown up in the discussion. But for some reason they decide to make Grouchy instead. I am sure they have their reasons, but I would like to see a new version of Present Smurf made as I always have a soft spot for a prankster.
Keep on Smurfin
Kath B