 Although the film premiered in 1976 in Belgium, and 1979 in the United Kingdom, an English-language version was not released in the United States until 1983, in the wake of the characters' newfound popularity.Although the Smurfs play a major part in the film, they do not appear until 35 minutes into the film.The film, set in the Middle Ages, mainly surrounds Johan and Peewit, a young squire and his jester sidekick.