 Johan and Peewit had also been created by Peyo in 1952 and it was in their adventures that the Smurfs were first introduced in 1958.The film was not produced by Hanna-Barbera, the creators of "The Smurfs" television series, but by Brussels' Belvision Studios and Éditions Dupuis.The voice talent from that show was not present in the English version either; instead, the work was handled by a non-union crew whose members had previously appeared in anime dubs for U.S. television.