Who is the main villain in "The Smurfs"?

Blue-skinned and three apples tall, the Smurfs have charmed audiences for generations with their magical woodland adventures. But even in their idyllic mushroom village, danger lurks - primarily in the form of a balding wizard whose endless schemes to capture our tiny blue friends have made him one of animation's most memorable antagonists. What's the name of the Smurf's relentless hunter?

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The answer is: Gargamel

Gargamel is the perpetually frustrated antagonist of the Smurf universe, a failed wizard whose life's mission is to capture the Smurfs - either to eat them (in the original comics) or turn them into gold (in later adaptations). Living in a run-down hovel at the edge of the forest with his cat Azrael, he's the perfect foil for the cheerful Smurfs: where they're successful and cooperative, he's a bumbling loner; where they're content, he's consumed by greed.

Created by Peyo in 1959, what makes Gargamel memorable is his spectacular incompetence paired with unshakeable determination across comics, TV, and film. He can never find the Smurf village when he's looking for it, yet somehow stumbles upon it constantly when he's not.