2419. Papa Smurf

Papa Smurf is a male fictional character from the Smurfs. He is the third oldest of the Smurfs (after Grandpa and Nanny) at 543 years old (while the other Smurfs are approximately 100 years old), but is quite energetic for his age. He can be easily distinguished from the other Smurfs by his red clothes and his bushy white beard (which was brown in his younger days). Don Messick provided Papa Smurf's voice in the 1980s animated series and the special, Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue, and Jonathan Winters in the upcoming 2011 film.
In the original French version, his name is "Le Grand Schtroumpf" — "the Great Smurf" or "the Big Smurf" — which could also be interpreted as "Le Grand Père", French for grandfather, which would be in keeping with his elderly appearance and paternal way.
Papa Smurf is a gentle, wise, and knowledgeable village elder. He serves as the Smurfs' leader and as a paternal figure to whom the Smurfs usually go to when they require counsel. He is always concerned about the Smurf's wellbeing and harmony. He is very altruistic and always ready to help somebody, whether he is a Smurf or human. Papa Smurf also has diplomatic skills in case they meet humans or other creatures, and usually manages to speak without using the "smurf" word.
In the original comic books by Peyo, Papa Smurf had a more forceful personality, and had a short-temper (often seen getting angry with his smurfs when they did something wrong or were not obeying his orders). Papa Smurf's duty is to ensure all the Smurfs of the village get along well, are nice to each other, and don't fight. When real chaos rises among them, Papa Smurf takes very drastic measures, often using magic, such as switching bodies with Gargamel in order to pretend to attack the village ("Smurf Versus Smurf" comic adventure) ("Romeo & Smurfette" TV episode) or even creating a whole other village of evil doubles of the original Smurfs ("The Smurf Menace" issue).
While Papa Smurf would sometimes prefer not to have to constantly fix problems, he came to realize it was his calling. One time he said that because he may not be able to be the village leader forever, every Smurf should have a brief experience of commanding the village, which was signified by him handing over his signature red hat and having the designated Smurf wear it and direct others on a construction project. The Smurfs were then at different points wearing the hat and being referred to as "Papa Greedy", "Papa Clumsy" or "Mama Smurfette". While Papa felt it important that each Smurf gain leadership skills, his true purpose was to be always guiding the Smurfs and fixing their problems and mistakes.
When he is not doing his leader or "father-knows-best" job, Papa Smurf indulges in his favorite hobby: magical chemistry, or alchemy. He often makes elixirs to help Smurfs who get themselves into trouble. The French comic portrays Papa Smurf constantly preparing magical drinks from white hellebore (the drawings in which the effects of these alchemical brews are shown are both turbulent and amusing). As well as his house, he also has a laboratory containing several chemical devices, and he tries to create potions for the good of the Smurfs, yet sometimes fails - such as the time he accidentally created a substance that turned any living thing into a huge monster (see the album: The Smurfs and the Cracoucass and the cartoon episode "The Smurfs and the Howlibird"). Impassioned by this activity, he occasionally leaves the village in order to get the needed ingredients.