The Problematic Smurfs Character That Did Not Age Well

There's a quote from Jake the Dog on "Adventure Time" that goes: "If she were good, she wouldn't be so ugly." Over the decades, there's been a trope in media that the good guys are attractive while the bad guys are ugly by conventional standards. This is most readily obvious in Disney movies where you have young princes and princesses being the heroes while the villains are old or have some kind of deformity. This trope is readily seen in plenty of places, including characters on "The Smurfs." 

Gargamel wasn't the only sorcerer trying to get his hands on Smurf berries as Hogatha also used magic to make the Smurfs' lives tougher. She looks like she could be Gargamel's cousin in that they're both pretty worse for wear, and regardless of the specific plot of an episode, Hogatha is always portrayed as an antagonist even when she's in the right.

This is most readily seen in Season 1's "Bewitched, Bothered, and Be-Smurfed," where her locket ends up in the hands of Smurfette. It's important to keep in mind that at no point that Smurfette try to find the locket's owner; she just goes around Smurf Village and starts messing with reality. When Hogatha tries to take the locket back, which is her property, Papa Smurf decides to throw it in the fire, ending her life. To be fair, Hogatha has a lot of lives, but still, the episode clearly teaches kids that villains have absolutely no nuance. And if we're to believe physical attractiveness is linked with moral righteousness, then the theme surrounding Hogatha is that ugly people don't deserve even basic property rights. 

At least kids today have shows like "Steven Universe" to teach them actually worthwhile lessons.