Hergé's Adventures of Tintin
- Not to be confused with the later animated series The Adventures of Tintin.
| Hergé's Adventures of Tintin | |
|---|---|
 The title sequence of "The Crab with the Golden Claws" |
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| Genre | Animated Series Adventure |
| Created by | Hergé (characters) Greg (adaptation) Charles Shows (teleplay) |
| Directed by | Ray Goossens |
| Voices of | Dallas McKennon and Paul Frees (US Version) Peter Hawkins (UK Version) |
| Country of origin | Belgium United States |
| Language(s) | French English |
| No. of seasons | 7 |
| No. of episodes | 104 |
| Production | |
| Producer(s) | Raymond Leblanc |
| Running time | 5 minutes (approx.) |
| Broadcast | |
| Original run | 1959 – 1963 |
Hergé's Adventures of Tintin was an animated television series based on Hergé's popular comic book series, The Adventures of Tintin. The series was produced by Belvision and aired from 1959 to 1963, with 104 five-minute episodes produced. The series was adapted by Charles Shows and Greg, the editor of Tintin magazine, produced by Raymond Leblanc (who launched Tintin magazine), and directed by Ray Goossens.
Contents |
[edit] Changes from the books
This series varied widely from the original books, often changing whole plots.
In Objective Moon, The trip to the moon was all about rescuing Snowy, who was trapped in the (now white) test rocket. Captain Haddock's whiskey is replaced with coffee, and when he is pulled into orbit, he is not drunk, but his feet are hurting, so he takes his metal boots off (although the lack of pressure would damage his feet!). The tank is replaced with a hovering car called "the moonmobile". Professor Calculus, Haddock, and the Thompsons explore the dark side of the moon in it, but get caved in by a meteor shower. Snowy rescues them by giving them dynamite (the wick burns, despite the lack of air!). Jorgen and Wolff survive, and at the end, the rocket crashes in the mountains.
In The Crab with the Golden Claws, Tintin sees Herbert Dawes being drowned and decides to investigate. In this version Tintin and Haddock already know each other, whilst the original book is their first meeting. What's more, Haddock is being drugged with actual drugs, rather than whiskey. And diamonds are being smuggled in the tins rather than opium. They have slightly different exploits in the desert. They are attacked by a desert raider named Ahmed the Terrible, and later by the pilot of the seaplane. And the ending has been re-written.
In The Secret of the Unicorn, Barnaby and Mr Sakharine are completely missing from the storyline. Marlinspike Hall has been renamed "Hudson Manor". Max Bird escapes in his car, but in this version he is pursued by Tintin, Haddock, and the Thompsons. They fight him on a pumpkin farmers truck, and pursue him with help from a pilot.
In Red Rackham's Treasure, they already know Calculus, who is not hard of hearing. Max Bird follows them, and attacks Tintin underwater and nearly gets killed by an octopus. Haddock is the one who meets a shark underwater instead of Tintin. And there are natives on the desert island, who bear a strong resemblance to the Arumbayas from The Broken Ear. The group are captured by natives, but escape when a volcanic eruption sinks the Island. Max Bird meets them at the Mansion after they find the treasure, but they overpower him.
In The Star of Mystery, Professor Phostle is replaced with Professor Calculus. Coincidentally, the phostlite is renamed "calculite". Philippulus the Prophet is Calculus' assistant, and he predicts the end of the world, but his predictions are wrong. Calculus accompanies Tintin on the meteorite, and the Peary captain and a crewman chase Tintin and Calculus on the meteorite, but are chased off by the giant spider. Captain Chester has been deleted from the storyline, and Thompson and Thomson accompany them on the voyage, whereas in the book they only appeared in one panel.
In Black Island, Captain Haddock plays a leading part, whereas he wasn't in the original book. And Professor Calculus makes a cameo. Puschov accuses Tintin of robbing him, but in an airport. Tintin and Haddock hide in post office bags to get to Sussex, but Haddock gets in the wrong bag, and they are separated. Tintin later finds Haddock in Britain examining the plane. Dr Müller is older and white-haired, and has a goatee. And Ranko doesn't break his arm in this version.
The Calculus Case was the most altered series, the changes amounting to a completely different story altogether. Jolyon Wagg was entirely removed, and Calculus' ultrasound weapon is called "Silly the Silent" (or "No-Sound Nellie" in the US English version.). The Thompsons' roles have been expanded, and Haddock is captured with Calculus in "Darkol Prison". Professor Topolino and Colonel Sponz have been renamed "Professor Bretzel" and "Colonel Brutel".
There were notable changes in the characters too. Captain Haddock does not have a penchant for whiskey, and is seen drinking coffee, Professor Calculus no longer has hearing problems, the Thompsons' mustaches are identical, and Snowy has a red collar in some adaptations. Most fans of the original books prefer the later television series The Adventures of Tintin as it is truer to the original books.[citation needed]
[edit] Broadcasts and releases
- This series has aired in repeats on non-network syndication in the United States from 1963 to 1971. Several video releases were made, in both English and French. To date, no DVD set has been released, though The Calculus Case was released on DVD as a full-length film.
[edit] Voice artists
- Georges Poujouly – Tintin
- Jean Clarieux – Capitaine Haddock
- René Arrieu – Allan Thompson
- Robert Vattier – Prof. Tryphon Tournesol (Prof. Cuthbert Calculus)
- Hubert Deschamps – Dupond et Dupont (Thomson and Thompson)
[edit] US version
- Dallas McKennon – Tintin, Professor Calculus
- Paul Frees – Captain Haddock, Thomson and Thompson
[edit] UK version
- Peter Hawkins – all characters
[edit] Episodes
- Objective Moon
- The Crab with the Golden Claws
- The Secret of the Unicorn
- Red Rackham's Treasure
- The Star of Mystery
- Black Island
- The Calculus Case
The Calculus Case was released in a DVD boxed set in movie format in the UK, accompanying Tintin and the Temple of the Sun and Tintin and the Lake of Sharks. The three have appeared on UK Channel 5 numerous times.
[edit] Legacy
Despite the series' low popularity with Tintin purists, it is well known throughout the United Kingdom, as well as the United States. The "Hergé's Adventures of Tintin!" speech at the beginning of each episode has become an iconic trademark of the franchise in the UK. For example, on an Empire issue showcasing the upcoming film by Peter Jackson and Steven Spielberg, the cover was captioned "Jackson and Spielberg's Adventures of Tintin!". A number of reviews of the boxed set of the The Adventures of Tintin on Amazon complain that it is not the Belvision series.
[edit] External links
- HergeAndTintin.tk - see 'Film, TV and Radio' Section
- TINTIN Online.tk - more info and clips in the TV section
- Guide to screen adaptions of "Tintin" at Tintinologist.org
