| The Great Book Of Spells | |
| Creator | Unknown |
| Purpose | Book of knowledge |
| First Appearance | Smurfs Cartoon Show, Season 3 |
| Universe | Cartoon Show Empath: The Luckiest Smurf Hero: The Guardian Smurf The Magical Blue LD Stories |
The Great Book Of Spells is an object that Gargamel possesses in the basement of his hovel which he uses at times to come up with potentially foolproof plans to capture the Smurfs when his own magical abilities fall short. The book rests on a lectern in an alcove flanked by two candles that light up when the spirit of the book is active.
Mainstream Smurfs Media[]
It first appeared in the episode "The Winged Wizard" in Season 3 and has appeared in various episodes up until Season 8.
The Great Book Of Spells can only be activated on the night of the final phase of the full moon, and from that point on will remain active for until the sun goes down the next day. Gargamel activates its spirit by saying, "Oh Great Book Of Spells, upon whose pages dwell secrets that no one tells...awake for Gargamel!" which causes its pages to open and the voice of the spirit to respond (usually in a condescending manner to its owner) to whatever request Gargamel asks of it.
The spirit then gives Gargamel a sort of ritual that he must perform in order to have whatever it is Gargamel asks for (which usually the means to have it done materializes out of thin air).
Usually, in Gargamel's case, the thing that he asks for hardly ever works out in his favor, usually as a result of him insufficiently explaning his requests for the book and/or the book interpreting them however it sees fit. Sometimes whatever Gargamel asks for does work, but ends up working against him by some flaw in whatever the Great Book Of Spells has given the wizard.
Although Gargamel tends to be the prime user of the Great Book Of Spells, Scruple and the Smurfs have at least in one episode used the book for their own purposes. In "Scruple and the Great Book of Spells" of Season 7, the book is revealed to only grant the requests of any user if they speak in rhyme when addressing it (like how Gargamel awakens the spirit with his statement above). In Scruple's case, he states, "Oh, hear me well, O' Book of Spells, my name -- uh -- my name is Scruple. Please teach me all you have to tell -- I want to be your pupil," which satisfies the book into granting the boy's wishes until the day's time is up.
Empath: The Luckiest Smurf stories[]
"I am called the Great Book Of Spells, upon whose pages dwell the secrets no one tells."
- - Its introduction to Gargamel
In the EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf story series, the Great Book Of Spells was first found by Gargamel when he moved into his father's abandoned hovel shortly after his death, and remained active until Gargamel, Azrael, and Scruple were driven out of the Smurf Forest for good, after which the book magically made Gargamel's castle disappear, burying itself so that it would never be used again by anyone. As in the cartoon show, the book can be summoned by a person speaking a rhyming chant on the night of the final phase of the full moon, and can only be used for the duration of a single day.
In one of the stories about Gargamel's relatives in "Relatively Smurfing", Gargamel's brother Gourmelin learned how to use the Great Book Of Spells in order to get Gargamel out of hell where he was being tormented by Beelzebub.
According to Empath's recollections in the year 2005 in "Days Of Future Smurfed", the Great Book Of Spells has been pillaged from the ruins of Gargamel's hovel by unknown people.
Its Smurf equivalent is The Great Book Of Answers, which the Smurfs used until it was destroyed in a flood.
Its desired voice actor is Kevin Michael Richardson.
LD Stories[]
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| LD Stories |
Within The Smurfs: Light and Dark, the Great Book of Spells is directly imported from mainstream media and acts in the same manner of only being active on the final phase of the full moon until sunset of the next day. Whomever commands the book upon its activation each month must initiate the spirit's willingness to grant requests by speaking in rhyme. Although not required, if the user(s) continue to speak creatively in rhyme with their various requests, the more likely it is that the book's directions will lead the user(s) to their desired goals.
The desired voice actor for this book would be Will Arnett.
Usage[]
In The Reluctant Dark Knight, Gargamel uses The Great Book of Spells when seeking a means of turning Johan evil so he may finally capture the Smurfs, which ends up being the Heart of Darkness formula. He has Scruple help him retrieve the various ingredients, but the Gargamel never reveals to him the exact formula they create, leaving the boy only half-informed of their collaborative endeavors.
Hero: The Guardian Smurf stories[]
Gargamel possesses the book in the HERO: The Guardian Smurf story series, it first appeared in the story, "The Cat Smurfette", as it was the only one to know the cure to make Smurfette and Azrael normal again, but it blatantly refused to do so, that was until Hero threatened it by using his special powers to destroy parts of its hardcover as well as ripping its pages. His descendant, Gargamel II, also uses this book to come up with ways to deal with the Smurfs. But unlike his ancestor, he and the book get on well.
Perhaps the most innovative invention that the original Gargamel has ever gotten from the book is a specially enchanted cage intended to hold Hero and Wonder captive with no means of escape, and to extract both their Smurf essence and their Ki powers at the same time.
Its desired voice actor would be either Kevin Michael Richardson or Will Arnett.
Smurfs: The Magical Blue stories[]
In the Smurfs: The Magical Blue story series, Gargamel possess the book in means of plans to destroy the Smurfs. Cerahine would also own it when she moved in with him. Gargamel and the book is like an "enemy" kinda relationship with them, Cerahine however, gets along with the book.
Its desired voice actor would be Hugh Jackman.