The Adventures of Tintin (TV series)

Not to be confused with Hergé's Adventures of Tintin.

The Adventures of Tintin
Genre	Action Adventure Mystery Comedy-drama
Created by	Hergé (characters)
Developed by	Stéphane Bernasconi
Voices of	(English version) Colin O'Meara David Fox Wayne Robson John Stocker Dan Hennessey Susan Roman (French version) Thierry Wermuth Christian Pelissier Henri Labussiere Yves Barsacq JeanasPierre Moulin Susan Roman
Theme music composer	Ray Parker Tom Szczesniak
Composers	Ray Parker Jim Morgan Tom Szczesniak
Country of origin	France Canada
Original languages	French English
No. of seasons	3
No. of episodes	39 (13 in each season)
Production
Executive producers	Michael Hirsh Patrick Loubert Clive A. Smith Phillipe Gildas Pierre Bertrand-Jaume Simon Hart
Producer	Robert Rea
Production location	Brussels
Running time	22 minutes (approx. per episode)
Production companies	Nelvana Limited Ellipse Programmé
Original release
Network	FR3/France 3 (France) Global Television Network (Canada) HBO (United States)
Release	2 October 1991 (1991-10-02) – 28 September 1992 (1992-09-28)

The Adventures of Tintin is an animated TV show co-produced, written and animated in France by Ellipse Programmé and in Canada by Nelvana Limited, based on The Adventures of Tintin by Belgian comic artist Georges Prosper Remi, more commonly known by his pen name Hergé (French pronunciation: [ɛʁʒe]). 39 half-hour episodes were produced over the course of its three seasons. It aired from 1991 to 1992.

History

The television series was directed by French director Stephen Bernasconi, with Peter Hudecki as the Canadian unit director. Hudecki was the primary director, but could not be credited as such due to co-production restrictions. It was produced by Ellipse (France) and Nelvana (Canada) on behalf of the Hergé Foundation. It was the first television adaptation of Hergé's books since the Belgian animation company Belvision was responsible for Hergé's Adventures of Tintin 34 years earlier. Philippe Goddin, an expert on Hergé and Tintin, acted as a consultant to the producers. The series' writers included: Toby Mullally, Eric Rondeaux, Martin Brossolet, Amelie Aubert, Dennise Fordham, and Alex Boon.

Production

The series used traditional animation techniques and adhered closely to the original books, going so far as to transpose some frames from the original books directly to screen. In the episodes "Destination Moon" and "Explorers on the Moon", 3D animation was used for the moon rocket—an unusual step in 1989. Each frame of the animation was then printed and recopied onto celluloid, hand painted in gouache, and then laid onto a painted background. The rocket seen in the title sequence is animated using the same 3D techniques.

Artistically, the series chose a constant style, unlike in the books. In the books, the images had been drawn over the course of 47 years, during which Hergé's style developed considerably. However, later televised episodes, such as the "Moon" story and "Tintin in America", clearly demonstrated the artists' development during the course of the production of the television series. The series' original production language was English, but all visuals (road signs, posters, and settings) remained in French.

Changes from the books

Certain areas of the stories posed difficulties for the producers, who had to adapt features of the books to a more modern young audience. Nevertheless, this series was far more faithful to the books than Hergé's Adventures of Tintin, which had been made from 1957 to 1964.

The high amount of violence, death and the use of firearms were toned down or removed completely.

Haddock's penchant for whisky posed a problem for audience sensitivities. While the original books did not promote alcohol, they featured it heavily, with much humor based around it and the results of drinking. However, in many countries where the producers hoped to sell the series, alcoholism is a sensitive issue. Therefore, international versions of the series had some alterations. Haddock is seen drinking, but not as heavily as in the books. The Crab with the Golden Claws is the only adventure where Haddock's drunken state is not reduced. Also Tintin finds the Japanese Policeman earlier, chained to a post on the ship and gagged. However he is told to leave as he cannot free him in time. In Tintin in Tibet, Haddock is seen taking a nip from a flask of whisky in order to set up a scene in which Snowy is tempted to lap up some spilled whisky and subsequently falls over a cliff. In Tintin and the Picaros, Haddock is the only person taking wine with dinner, foreshadowing the use of Calculus' tablets to "cure" the drunken Picaros. Haddock is also seen drinking in The Calculus Affair and in Explorers on the Moon, setting up the scene where he leaves the rocket in a drunken state. He does not hide the bottle in a book of Astronomy, like he did in the book, but keeps the bottle in the refrigerator, making it less obvious for young viewers that it's alcohol.

Throughout the books, Snowy is frequently seen to be "talking". It is understood that his voice is only heard through the "fourth wall", but this verbal commentary is completely absent in the television series. The only time it's maintained is in the ending of "Flight 714" and he "speaks" with Tintin's voice.

Additionally for this TV series, Jolyon Wagg and his family were present in all but one Tintin book stories, starting from The Calculus Affair. However, he could only appeared in 2 stories (The Calculus Affair, The Seven Crystal Balls (Didn't appear in the original comic) & Tintin and the Picaros). His family were missing from television series.

Smaller changes were made due to the necessity for simplification or audience requirements:

• In The Calculus Affair, the Syldavian group who tries to snatch Professor Calculus from the Bordurians in the original book is removed for simplicity. Also, in the original book, Calculus was kidnapped earlier in the story. Jolyon Wagg has appeared many times in the book, whereas on the television episode, he appears only twice and his family has been completely removed from the storyline. Also in the TV episode, Calculus was also shown meeting Tintin and Haddock in the hospital after the blast in Topolino's house unlike the book where Calculus's next appearance was being kidnapped and taken away in a motor boat.
• In The Red Sea Sharks, the original book dealt with the topic of modern slavery, but the television episode was centered around smuggling of refugees, who were changed from Africans to Arabs. They were not meant to be sold, but killed after handing over all their money. Furthermore, while the Africans in the book volunteered to be simply stokers for the ship that Captain Haddock has command of, the television version makes a point of having the characters doing more sophisticated work on the ship, although this is implied later in the book. Also, Piotr Skut has already known Tintin and Captain Haddock when they saved him while they have not met each other in the original story. Bab El Ehr himself is entirely deleted from the storyline; Mull Pasha/Dr. Muller's role is subsequently expanded, and he becomes the leader of the attempted coup d'état. Also, the scene in which the Mosquitoes bomb the armored cars is rewritten – in the book, Muller is safely inside the command quarters and gives orders via telephone, whereas in the TV version, Muller is in one of the vehicles and communicates via walkie-talkie.
• In Tintin and the Picaros, Hergé presents a less naive Tintin who refuses to go with Haddock and Calculus to rescue Castafiore and the detectives, knowing it's a setup. He only joins them later, after his conscience gets the better of him. Many fans felt it was out of character for Tintin to refuse to go to South America. In the series however, Tintin is all for rescuing his friends and goes with Haddock and Calculus early in the adventure. In the original comic, Tintin wore bell-bottoms throughout the book, which was in contrast with the plus-fours he had always worn previously. In the episode, his plus-fours have returned. The encounter with Ridgewell and the Arumbayas is also removed as is the moment when Captain Haddock's first name is revealed. Pablo's fate remains undetermined as well.
• Tintin in America was the most altered episode, amounting to almost a completely new story. The Native American aspect was completely removed, and the gangster element given the main focus. Bobby Smiles, in the book the head of a rival gang to Al Capone, becomes an "employee" of Capone's in the televised episode. All the criminals are led by Al Capone, who is captured at the end. Artistically, the episode was produced to the same standard as the others, with backgrounds having greater detail, than the comic and more cinematic shots. Also, as "Tintin in the Congo" is not adapted to a televised episode, Al Capone doesn't talk to his gangsters about his criminal diamond smuggling campaign in the Belgian Congo where Tintin and the colonial police arrest all the members (minus Al Capone) of the diamond smuggling gang, instead he talks to the latter Bobby Smiles, who became the underboss of Capone's gang and works in favour of Capone as seen in the animated series that he fears that Tintin is going to eliminate their crime and corruption and orders Smiles to get Tintin permanently expelled from Capone's path. The book contains many incidents before catching Bobby Smiles and then a kidnapper and his accomplice, Maurice Oyle. In the television episode, he easily catches both Smiles and the kidnapper along with the latter Al Capone who not only becomes the boss of Smiles but also becomes the boss of that abductor, thereby reducing the role of Smiles and that abductor. Also, Maurice and the other characters were entirely deleted from the storyline and Al Capone himself is given a bigger role as the President of all the Chicago Criminals led by him. Also, in the comic the kidnapper was unnamed and his another associate's name was Bugsie. In the television episode, the associate's name becomes the name of the kidnapper and the accomplice becomes unnamed. Also, an unnamed detective along with his unnamed partner came when Tintin called the police to capture the gangster with a gun. They then take Tintin to Bobby Smiles. In the animated series, the impostor detective is seen to be named. The ending was also rewritten. Unlike in the book, where Tintin returns safely to Europe, in the episode he receives a phone call about an unknown situation, and leaves his hotel room to solve it, ending the episode and the entire series. Al Capone himself escapes in the book, whereas he is seen being caught on the television episode. It was also one of only three adaptations to be told in one part instead of two (the others are Red Rackham's Treasure and The Shooting Star).
• In King Ottokar's Sceptre, the professor smokes while the impostor does not; the reverse is true in the series. In the book, Tintin got chased by border guards and accidentally crossed the border because he got hungry while the latter Tintin accidentally crossed the border because he found a Bordurian airfield, and Tintin did not get hungry and got chased by border guards. In the book, Tintin got the clue that the camera was faked from a toy store while the latter Tintin got the clue by looking at the cannons outside Kropow Castle. Also, King Muskar XII is renamed "King Ottokar XII."
• In The Secret of the Unicorn, the Great Dane, Brutus, is not shown. Also, when Haddock takes Tintin out of the latter's apartment to show him the painting of the Unicorn, someone is shown watching them and then breaking into Tintin's apartment, whereas in the book it is only revealed that there was a robbery when Tintin arrives home and finds his model Unicorn missing. When Nestor knocks Tintin on the head, Tintin faints, whereas in the book he is simply shown rubbing the spot. Also, near the end, both of the Bird Brothers tell what happened at Marlinspike Hall, whereas in the Book, Max escapes in his Car and only Gustav told the story. Furthermore after being defeated, the Bird brothers are arrested on the grounds rather have Max escaping and having to be arrested at the national border. Gustav Bird's role is downplayed and he doesn't seem to talk as much as he does in the book. Finally, a change was made to the scene in which Tintin is kidnapped and taken to Marlinspike Hall: rather than two unknown "delivery men", as depicted in the book, it is the Bird brothers (Max and Gustav) themselves who kidnap him.
• In Red Rackham's Treasure, the changes are made solely for time such as the only consequence of the press exposure is the meeting with Calculus. In addition, Tintin has a smooth voyage in the shark submarine as opposed to the book where Tintin is in peril when the vehicle is snarled with seaweed. Furthermore, the treasure hunters never return to the island to dig around a large wooden cross on a mistaken idea of where the treasure could be. More minor changes made in this episode include Calculus during his first meeting with Tintin and Haddock not mentioning to both that he is a little hard of hearing, which he would only later mention in the adaptation of Destination Moon when he uses an ear trumpet. In addition, Haddock does not write a message on a wall to tell Calculus that they are not interested in his invention, the Captain simply marks an "X" on the crate containing the submarine assembly to account for why Calculus stows away anyway and for the animators to avoid having to make multiple written translations for each language used. The mentions and appearance of Thompson and Thomson going on holiday at a farm is also removed.
• In The Black Island, the gorilla Ranko crushes the rock Tintin throws at him, something he did not do in the book. Also, Ivan is the goon who usually wears an automobile driver uniform. In the TV episode, this depiction of the character is removed entirely and the unnamed Counterfeit Ring associate from the book who has black hair, a moustache, wears a trench coat, bow-tie, and fedora is now instead Ivan. The Eastdown Fire Brigade's response to the burning of Müller's residence also takes place at night rather than how it did at daytime in the book and the struggle to find the fire station key is completely removed. Tintin and Snowy also never hitch a ride on a goods train to arrive at where the hijacked locomotive that was taken over by Müller and Ivan was left at and instead manage to catch up to it on all foot. Furthermore, Thompson and Thomson regained trust in Tintin after discovering he has been innocent the whole time much earlier in the TV episode than when they did in the book. In the book, an unidentified aviation pilot helps Tintin chase after Müller and Ivan on their way to Scotland when airborne. In the TV episode, Tintin pilots the aircraft for advancement himself. The side-plot of Thompson and Thomson having a fumbling ride on a biplane piloted by a ground mechanic which escalated to them unintentionally appearing in a aerobatic aviation championship is reduced to their predicament beginning and ending right at the Halchester Flying Club, thus leaving the scene where Tintin watches the championship broadcast on television at Craig Dhui Castle removed. Another major change was that the Counterfeit Ring based at the castle only consisted of Müller, Ivan and Puschov, whereas in the book, there were an additional two unidentified members residing at the castle. Puschov is also never depicted using a whip to motivate Ranko into dispatching Tintin and Snowy either. Other minor changes include certain minor characters not appearing, having their appearances altered, or some short moments of the adventure's events either being dramatized or toned down.
• In Cigars of the Pharaoh, In the TV episode, Tintin's cruise is transported from the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean and scenes showing the criminal boss writing orders already hint at the boss being Rastapopoulos by his voice and by clothes matching his preceding appearances. Also, the dream sequence when Tintin passes out in the tomb is made more frightening when the Pharaoh's emblem (colored red and slanted to look more like a no symbol) melts into a smoke that appears to be blood and eventually transforms into a disfigured skull-like apparition. The gunrunner and Oliveira de Figueira's role was reduced. Also, the poet Zloty, Reverend Peacock and Patrash Pasha are absent in the episode. In the mental hospital cell, the cell is a padded cell; in the book it has a bed. In the book, the fakir forged the letter from the doctor saying that Tintin was mad,in the TV series Dr. Finney is a member of the gang and writes the letter himself. In the book, an unnamed Japanese person is a member of the gang. In the TV series, the unnamed Japanese is replaced by Allan Thompson, whom Tintin recognizes. Following the chronology of the books, Tintin does not see Allan until "The Crab with the Golden Claws", but as the TV series episodes of "The Crab with the Golden Claws" aired before "Cigars of the Pharaoh", Tintin's recognition of Allan is credible when the episodes are viewed in that order. Furthermore, there could exist the possibility that in the series Tintin had briefly seen Allan when he was inside the sarcophagus, in Allan's boat, though in the book he's unconscious all along. In the TV episode when Thompson and Thomson come into Tintin's cabin, Tintin already knows them; in the book he does not. Tintin is not recaptured by the asylum; instead the Maharaja's son finds him. Also, while Snowy is searching for Tintin, unlike the book, he does not attack a holy cow and hence was not captured by Hindus who wanted to sacrifice him. Instead, Thompson and Thomson find him wandering the railroads and "arrest" him. Other cuts are made solely for time, including the execution, which is supposed to occur on the day that Tintin escapes Colonel Fuad. Also, upon arriving in India, Tintin does not encounter an elephant whom he cures of his thirst and instead finds Doctor Sarcophagus a few minutes after crashing in the jungle. Consequently, their meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Snowball and Dr. Finney in the bungalow occurs on the same day as Tintin's arrival in India, not a few days later.
• In The Blue Lotus, Mitsuhirato's manservant is shown to be a double agent in the service of the Sons of the Dragon, and it is he who replaces the Rajaija Poison with a harmless substitute and delivers the real poison to his employers. In the book, this was done by another agent. Gibbons is not shown at all, and Dawson's role is much reduced, as he is only shown as the police commissioner who calls in Thompson and Thomson, and does not appear to be in league with Mitsuhirato (this creates a subsequent continuity error in The Red Sea Sharks, as Tintin mentions having a "run-in" with Dawson despite not encountering him in this story). In the book, Chang's parents were killed in the flood, but in the TV episode, Chang is already an orphan and his orphanage get washed away by the flood. In addition, Rajaijah Juice has been renamed to Raijaja Juice. At the end of the story, Roberto Rastapopoulos tries to flee through the Blue Lotus club when the other villains are apprehended, but is himself caught by Thompson and Thomson. In the book Tintin finding Professor Fang Hsi-ying is only mentioned in the newspapers but in the TV episode, Tintin and Chang find him while searching for Rastapopoulos. Also, this episode, unlike the book, does not reveal Mitsuhirato's fate.
• In The Broken Ear, Tortilla is completely missing from the plot, and is replaced by Walker's aide, Lopez (who is not mentioned as a half-caste). Further, Colonel-turned-Corporal Diaz is completely absent from the story, as are the numerous assassination attempts perpetrated by himself, R.W.Trickler and Pablo, who became Tintin's survivors and helped him get out from the prison. The entire subplot involving the rivaling petroleum companies is removed, and accordingly, Tintin never falls out of favour with General Alcazar, and Alonso and Ramon never find Tintin in the Amazon. Instead, they disappear from the storyline after Tintin escapes from them in San Theodoros, and do not appear again until the climax. Also in the book, Tintin disguises himself as a blackfaced African waiter to spy on Ramon and Alonso, while in the episode, Tintin's disguise is that of a steward wearing a false moustache, glasses, and a black wig. While in the book, Tintin walks back to Sanfacion, Nuevo Rico, alone, after being caught by Alonso and Ramon, he is instead escorted (off screen) by Walker and the Arumbayas to San Theodoros. At the end of the episode, Tintin saves Ramon and Alonso, whereas in the book they drown and disappear into Hell, though it is speculated this may be an imaginary scene or hallucination.
• In Flight 714, Rastapopolous and his gang use dynamite instead of explosives to destroy the statue as in the book. Also, Rastapopolous says that he was planning to shoot Dr. Krollspell, whereas in the book he merely says "eliminate", and does not reveal plans for the other crew members or the Sondinesians. In the end, the astroship drops Dr. Krollspell off in India; in the book it drops him off in Cairo. The group is hypnotized after they get on the spaceship, this is perhaps more believable as the volcano was about to explode.
• In Tintin in Tibet, Tintin, Snowy and Haddock went on vacation along with Calculus, whereas on television episode, only Tintin, Snowy and Haddock went on vacation at the beginning. The role of Calculus in the television episode was abbreviated and appears only in Haddock's daydream. One notable omission from this episode is the stopover in the small village of Charabang during the quest to save Chang. Captain Haddock is also seen taking a nip from a flask of whisky in order to set up a subsequent scene in which Snowy is tempted to lap up some spilt whisky resulting in him falling of a cliff. Also, the nightmare Tintin had and Chang calling him are seen, while they were not in the book. Bianca Castafiore's cameo appearance has also been removed.
• In The Shooting Star, The part of Philippulus the Prophet is significantly reduced. In the TV episode, he is only seen at the beginning of the story when Tintin reaches the observatory and when Tintin is having a nightmare. These appearances were reduced and others, especially Philippulus' "occupation" in the Aurora's crow's nest, are removed entirely. The Aurora's maiden voyage ceremony that happens after Philippulus' departure from the ship in the original book is also removed, and the Aurora's fuel stop in Akureyri, Iceland was likewise left out. Resulting in Captain Chester being absent in this episode. Furthermore, in the episode, the Aurora's crew spot the Peary through binoculars aboard the Aurora, instead of from using a seaplane. The appearance of the mutated spider on the meteorite that attempts to attack Tintin and Snowy during the climax of the story is also much larger and scarier-looking in this episode than it does in the book. Other more minor changes as seen in the TV episode include the absence of the observatory's doorman, Thompson and Thomson's cameos, Decimus Phostle's assistant suggesting the name for phostlite rather than Phostle ultimately naming it himself, and Tintin's input with him on how the meteorite could be claimed is also significantly shortened.
• In Land of Black Gold, The car repairing parts featuring Thompson and Thomson were cut out. Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab was given a more sympathetic and caring role and allows Tintin and Captain Haddock to take his car, whereas in the book, he does not. The role of Abdullah is downplayed, and he does not seem to cry as much as he does in the book. Also, the Emir already knows what Dr. Müller's real name is, while in the book Müller is aliased as Professor Smith, and the Emir only discovers his deception at the end. The half-destroyed Marlinspike Hall was shown on TV, while in the book, it was shown in a photo taken by Professor Calculus. Haddock's role is a little shortened. He appears at the end of the television episode whereas he along with Nestor also made a cameo appearance at first in the book.
• In The Crab with the Golden Claws, The episode starts with a scene of a meeting between Bunji Kuraki and Herbert Dawes, which is only referred to in the book. Tintin later encounters an imprisoned Kuraki, which is not depicted in the book. He tells Tintin about Allan's plans. In the book, Tintin sees the drugs with his own eyes. Also in the book, Captain Haddock does not start a fire on the life boat that he, Tintin and Snowy use to escape the Karaboudjan on. The plane crash before the desert is also changed. In the book, Haddock is drunk and hits Tintin with a bottle, only to row himself. In the adaption (and in the 50-60s adaption also), Haddock is innocent, and they let the pilot (the other is removed) attack Tintin. As in the 50-60´s adaptation, the ending is rewritten, replacing the fishing net with a rope.
• In Destination Moon, once again the cuts are made solely for time, such as the episode directly starting with Tintin, Snowy and Haddock landing in Syldavia ,Tintin's misadventure with a pack of bears, Haddock's tantrums over the space trip, and a few other incidents like a false fire alarm. In addition the ending to the episode is taken from the beginning of the book's sequel, Explorers on the Moon, where Tintin, Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus and Wolff awaken after take off instead of the book's cliffhanger ending with the radio crew calling them to no response.
• In Explorers on the Moon, The episode begins with the crew in the control cabin since the opening to the book was used in the previous episode.Tintin's attempt to rescue Haddock from his impromptu spacewalk around the asteroid Adonis is made more dramatic and heightened than in the book, with both of them getting pulled into orbit and Tintin having to use a grappling iron to return them to the rocket. Despite that, the tense nature of the adventure is toned down somewhat with Snowy's rescue from the cave omitted from the story. The role of the spymaster behind Jorgen has also been reduced. Captain Haddock is seen drinking alcohol, setting up the following scene where he leaves the rocket in a drunken state. He does not hide the bottle in a book of Astronomy, as he did in the book, but keeps the bottle in the refrigerator, making it less obvious for younger viewers that it is, in fact, alcohol.
• In The Seven Crystal Balls, The episode begins with the Seven Explorers of the Sanders-Hardiman Expedition finding the Mummy of Rascar Capac, whereas it just referenced in the book. Following the chronology of the books, Jolyon Wagg doesn't appear until "The Calculus Affair", but as the TV series episodes of "The Calculus Affair", which aired before "The Seven Crystal Balls", Jolyon's appearance is credible when the episodes are viewed in that order.
• In Prisoners of the Sun, The changes are made solely for time, such as Tintin and Haddock's execution being reduced to one day instead of eighteen, and some of the action in the jungle being reduced or toned down.

Most of the newspaper parts which are in the books were replaced with either the news from the radio or television.

Stories not adapted

Three of the Tintin books were not included in the animated series. These were the first two Tintin in the Land of the Soviets (due to its unflattering portrayal of Russians) and Tintin in the Congo (due to issues around animal abuse and its racist colonial attitude towards the native Congolese and Tintin's animal body count) and the final Tintin and Alph-Art (due to it being incomplete).

Music

The underscore music and the main title theme for the series were written by composers Ray Parker and Tom Szczesniak. The music was recorded by engineer James Morgan. Excerpts from the score were released by Lé Studio Ellipse on CD and cassette in conjunction with Universal Music Group, on the StudioCanal label. It is now out of print in both formats.

Hergé's cameo appearances

Hergé, the creator of Tintin, makes a number of Hitchcock-like cameo appearances in the cartoon series—as he often did in the original books. Most of the time he is just a passing figure in the street, such as when he is checking his watch in The Blue Lotus or a reporter (The Broken Ear) or a technician (Explorers on the Moon). These brief appearances, however, are not sporadic as he is featured in all of the TV episodes. His letter box can even be seen next to Tintin's in The Crab with the Golden Claws. Other cameos are less flattering: he is a gangster in Tintin in America and an inmate at the lunatic asylum in Cigars of the Pharaoh, along with his fellow artist and collaborator Edgar P. Jacobs.

Releases

Online platforms

The series is now available on Amazon Prime and Netflix (in certain territories) having been remastered into 1080p widescreen high definition.

Home video

Main article: Tintin home video releases

Voice artists

English (The Adventures of Tintin)

• Colin O'Meara as Tintin, Aurora radio operator, Harbour Master, Lieutenant Kavitch
• Susan Roman as Snowy
• David Fox as Captain Haddock, Sir Francis Haddock
• Wayne Robson as Professor Cuthbert Calculus
• Dan Hennessey as Thomson, additional voices
• John Stocker as Thompson, additional voices
• Maureen Forrester as Bianca Castafiore
• Vernon Chapman as Nestor
• Denis Akiyama as Mitsuhirato, Bunji Kuraki, Tharkey
• Harvey Atkin as Emir Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab
• Yank Azman as additional voices
• Barbara Budd as additional voices
• Robert Cait as additional voices
• Graeme Campbell as additional voices
• Ho Chow as Mr. Lee, Cheng Li-Kin
• Liz Dufresne as additional voices
• Don Francks as additional voices
• Paul Haddad as additional voices
• Graham Haley as additional voices
• Keith Hampshire as additional voices
• David Huband as additional voices
• Marvin Ishmael as additional voices
• Tom Kneebone as additional voices
• Keith Knight as Gustav Bird, additional voices
• Michael Lamport as additional voices
• Ray Landry as additional voices
• Julie Lemieux as Chang Chong-Chen
• Peter Meech as Radio Announcer
• Neil Munro as additional voices
• Frank Perry as additional voices
• Frank Proctor as additional voices
• Mario Romano as additional voices
• Tony Rosato as additional voices
• Ron Rubin as additional voices
• August Schellenberg as additional voices
• Stuart Stone as additional voices
• Chris Wiggins as Wang Chen-Yee
• Peter Wildman as Hector and Alfred Alembick

French (Les Aventures de Tintin)

• Thierry Wermuth as Tintin
• Susan Roman as Milou
• Christian Pelissier as Capitaine Haddock
• Henri Labussiere as Professeur Tournesol
• Yves Barsacq as Détective Dupont, Wronzoff, Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine, Mohammed Ben Kalish Ezab, Ridgewell, Wang Jen-Ghié, le colonel Alvarez, le professeur Philémon Siclone, le docteur Rotule, le Grand Précieux, l'assistant du professeur Calys, Kronick, Gino (le photographe), voix additionnelles
• Jean-Pierre Moulin as Détective Dupond, le maharadjah de Rawhajpoutalah, Muskar XII, l'inspecteur Chaubet, Boris, Sanders, Philippulus le prophète, Manolo, le photographe japonais, Bohlwinkel, Miller, Walther (voix 1), Jean-Loup de la Batellerie, voix additionnelles
• Michel Ruhl as Nestor, le professeur Hornet, Walther (voix 2), voix additionnelles
• Marie Vincent as Bianca Castafiore
• Michel Gudin as le général Alcazar
• Serge Sauvion as Rastapopoulos
• Marc Modo as Allan Thompson, Maxime Loiseau, le colonel Jorgen, le colonel Sponsz, Ranko, Pedro, Al Capone, Dawson, Ramon Bada, Bab El Ehr, le professeur Calys, le professeur Bergamotte, Chiquito, Huascar, Barnabé, Pablo, Hans Boehm, Paolo Colombani, Gino (le steward de Carreidas) , Yamato, le général Haranochi, Ivan, le vieil écossais, Zlop, Himmerszeck, Ragdalam, Isidore Boullu, Matéo, voix additionnelles
• Michel Tureau as le docteur Müller, Szut, Bobby Smiles, Rackham le Rouge, Mitsuhirato, Baxter, Igor Wagner, Gustave Loiseau, Aristide Filoselle, Nestor Halambique, Alfred Halambique, Marc Charlet, Tharkey, Kavitch, le docteur Krollspell, Tom (le bras droit d'Allan), le lieutenant Delcourt, Walter Rizotto, le fakir, le docteur Finney, le professeur Topolino, Walter, voix additionnelles
• Henri Lambert as Frank Wolff, le Grand Inca, Sirov, le général Tapioca, Alonzo Perez, le professeur Cantonneau, Mac O'Connor, Foudre Bénie, Spalding, Stephan, Kurt, Mik Ezdanitoff, Herbert Dawes, voix additionnelles
• David Lesser as Tchang Tchong-Jen
• Serge Lhorca as Oliveira da Figueira
• Sophie Arthuys as Abdallah, Irma et le fils du maharadjah de Rawhajpoutalah
• Patricia Legrand as Zorrino et Lobsang
• Jean-Pierre Leroux as Bunji Kuraki and Omar Ben Salaad
• Georges Berthomieu as Séraphin Lampion
• William Coryn as Didi
• Daniel Brémont as Laszlo Carreidas

German (Die Abenteuer von Tim und Struppi)

• Lutz Schnell as Tim
• Ben Hecker as Kapitän Haddock
• Manfred Steffen as Professor Bienlein
• Henry Kielmann as Schulz und Schultze
• Marek Harloff as Tschang TschongasJen
• Klaus Dittmann as Rastapopoulos
• Helgo Liebig as Dr. Müller
• Hans Sievers as General Alcazar
• Annemarie Kielmann as Bianca Castafiore

Dutch (De Avonturen Van Kuifje)

• Michael Pas as Kuifje
• Luk De Koninck as Kapitein Haddock
• Bert Struys as Professor Zonnebloem
• David Davidse as Jansen
• Paul Codde as Janssen

Italian (Le Avventure di Tintin)

• Stefano Onofri as Tintin
• Giorgio Gusso as Haddock
• Giorgio Lopez as Girasole
• Isa Di Marzio as Bianca Castafiore

Spanish (Spain) (Las Aventuras de Tintín)

• Juan d'Ors as Tintín
• José Ángel Juanes as Capitán Haddock
• Eduardo Moreno as Professor Silvestre Tornasol
• Francisco Andrés Valdivia as Hernández
• Miguel Ángel Varela as Fernández
• María Romero as Bianca Castafiore
• Raquel Cubillo as Bianca Castafiore (when singing)
• Pedro Sempson as Néstor
• Ángel Amorós as General Alcázar

Portuguese (Brazil) (As Aventuras de Tintim)

• Oberdan Júnior as Tintim
• Isaac Bardavid as Capitão Haddock
• Orlando Drummond Cardoso as Professor Trifólio Girassol
• Darcy Pedrosa as Dupont
• Márcio Simões, after Luiz Feier Motta (4 last episodes) as Dupond
• Elza Martins, after Geisa Vidal as Bianca Castafiore

Danish

• Søren Sætter-Lassen as Tintin
• Kjeld Nørgaard as Kaptajn Haddock
• Henrik Koefoed as Professor Tournesol
• Lars Thiesgaard as Dupont / Dupond
• Kjeld Nørgaard as Rastapopoulus
• Vibeke Dueholm as Bianca Castafiore
• Kjeld Nørgaard as Dr. J.W. Müller

Swedish

• Mats Qviström as Tintin
• Kenneth Milldoff as Kapten Haddock, Rastapopolus, General Alcazar, Jorgen
• Håkan Mohede as Dupont, Dupond, Nestor, Zorrino
• Dan Bratt as Professor Calcus, Tchang
• Anja Schmidt as Bianca Castafiore

Finnish

• Jarkko Tamminen as Tintti
• Pekka Lehtosaari as Kapteeni Haddock, Allan (some episodes), Roberto Rastapopoulos (some episodes), J. W. Müller (one episode), eversti Sponsz (one episode), additional voices
• Veikko Honkanen as Dupont, Dupond, Dawson (one episode), Lazslo Carreidas, additional voices
• Antti Pääkkönen as Professori Tuhatkauno (Calcus), Allan (some episodes), Oliveira da Figueira, Mitsuhirato, Ben Kalish Ezab (one episode), Dawson (one episode), Mik Esdanitov, kenraali Tapioca, additional voices
• Rauno Ahonen as Roberto Rastapopoulos (some episodes), Frank Wolff, Ben Kalish Ezab (one episode), additional voices
• Jukka Rasila as J. W. Müller (two episodes), Bobby Smiles, tohtori Krospell, additional voices
• Johanna Matila as Bianca Castafiore, additional voices
• Teuvo Matala as kenraali Alcazar, Pjotr Pahk, Tsang Tsong-Jen (one episode), additional voices
• Ralf Öhberg as Nestor, additional voices
• Kari Tamminen as eversti Jorgen, eversti Sponsz (one episode), additional voices
• Oskari Tamminen as Zorrino, additional voices
• Annamari Metsävainio as additional voices

Norwegian

• Åsleik Engmark as Tintin
• Harald Mæle as Kaptein Haddock
• Helge Winther-Larsen as Dupond og Dupont, Herbert Dawes
• Trond Brænne as Professor Tournesol, Allan (episode 3), Radio host
• Hallvard Lydvo as Rastapopolous, Bunji Kuraki, Allan (Episode 1-2)
• Inger Teien as Bianca Castiafore

Icelandic (Ævintýri Tinna)

• Þorsteinn Bachmann as Tintin and others
• Felix Bergsson as Captain Haddock and others

Episodes

Running order of the TV series as per original broadcast schedule.

Season 1

1. "The Crab with the Golden Claws": Part 1
2. "The Crab with the Golden Claws": Part 2
3. "The Secret of the Unicorn": Part 1
4. "The Secret of the Unicorn": Part 2
5. "Red Rackham's Treasure"
6. "Cigars of the Pharaoh": Part 1
7. "Cigars of the Pharaoh": Part 2
8. "The Blue Lotus": Part 1
9. "The Blue Lotus": Part 2
10. "The Black Island": Part 1
11. "The Black Island": Part 2
12. "The Calculus Affair": Part 1
13. "The Calculus Affair": Part 2

Season 2

1. "The Shooting Star"
2. "The Broken Ear": Part 1
3. "The Broken Ear": Part 2
4. "King Ottokar's Sceptre": Part 1
5. "King Ottokar's Sceptre": Part 2
6. "Tintin in Tibet": Part 1
7. "Tintin in Tibet": Part 2
8. "Tintin and the Picaros": Part 1
9. "Tintin and the Picaros": Part 2
10. "Land of Black Gold": Part 1
11. "Land of Black Gold": Part 2
12. "Flight 714": Part 1
13. "Flight 714": Part 2

Season 3

1. "The Red Sea Sharks": Part 1
2. "The Red Sea Sharks": Part 2
3. "The Seven Crystal Balls": Part 1
4. "The Seven Crystal Balls": Part 2
5. "Prisoners of the Sun": Part 1
6. "Prisoners of the Sun": Part 2
7. "The Castafiore Emerald": Part 1
8. "The Castafiore Emerald": Part 2
9. "Destination Moon": Part 1
10. "Destination Moon": Part 2
11. "Explorers on the Moon": Part 1
12. "Explorers on the Moon": Part 2
13. "Tintin in America"

Reception

Along with fans, critics have praised the series for being "generally faithful" to the originals, with compositions having been actually taken directly from the panels in the original comic books.

Broadcasts

• In France, the series originally aired on May 5, 1992 on France 3 with reruns on M6 and France 5.
• In Canada, the series originally aired on Family Channel, Global Television Network, YTV, CBC, Teletoon and Teletoon Retro.
• In the United States, the series originally aired on HBO, HBO Family, The Family Channel, (now Freeform), and Nickelodeon.
• In the United Kingdom, the series originally aired on Channel Four on terrestrial television, and The Family Channel, a channel based on CBN's Family Channel, available through the original Sky system. It was later broadcast on Sky One until the show was purchased by Five and later on CBBC and CITV.
• In Spain, the series originally aired on April 11, 1992 on pay channel Canal+, issuing a new episode every Saturday until January 23, 1993. Due to its success, Canal+ did a second airing starting on August 20, 2003, with Boing also airing the series and starting on August 20, 2011.
• In Brazil, the series originally aired in 1992 on the defunct channel TVA Filmes, as part of the TVA Kids Saturday morning programme. Each story had their two parts edited and shown together. In 1994, it premiered on public broadcasting channel TV Cultura. In 1996, it aired on Cartoon Network and the series was on HBO Family for most of the 2000s. In 2012, it premiered on educational channel Futura and it will again be aired by TV Cultura starting in April. It was dubbed to Portuguese by Herbert Richers.
• In Bangladesh, the series is dubbed in Bangla. Duronto TV broadcasts the show.
• In Sri Lanka, the series was dubbed in Sinhala and broadcast by Sirasa TV and Rupavahini, along with Lake of Sharks and Temple of the Sun.
• In Israel, the series was dubbed into Hebrew by Elrom Studios, and broadcast on the Israeli Channel 2, and later on Israel Broadcasting Authority (Channel 1). Children and Teenagers devoted shows. Tintin became very popular among kids and adults in Israel. The show was aired for several years, rerunning many times.
• In Italy, Rai 1 and Italia 1 broadcast the series.
• In Australia, the series was broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as part of their ABC Kids programming block as well as on the ABC2 digital channel. It has been shown in its complete run at least twice, leading to screenings of the Belvision Tintin films. As of October 2010, it is currently being aired on Boomerang.
• In New Zealand, the series was originally aired on TV2 of Television New Zealand. It continued to repeat on TV2 for a few years afterwards. It then featured on Cartoon Network.
• In South Africa, the series was broadcast by KTV, a daily children's programme, on M-Net.
• In India, the series was broadcast by Cartoon Network in Summer 2000. The original run was followed by many reruns. Doordarshan and Zee Alpha Bangla also showed the series with dubbing. Gemini TV aired the series in Telugu around the same time as Sabash Tintin.
• It has also aired in Arabic in several networks broadcast from Arabic-speaking regions. Although the Arabic dubbing was recorded in Lebanon, they dubbed it using one standard narrative, and was then syndicated. This is a usual treatment of most Arabic dubs of children's productions.
• In Bulgaria, it premiered on 18 July 2005 on Kanal 1 and aired every Monday to Friday at 16:20. Reruns started on 24 December 2005 every Saturday and Sunday at 08:10 and ending on 30 April 2006 and later once more during the summer of 2006.
• In Indonesia, it was broadcast by SCTV, and is aired in B Channel
• In Japan, the series was broadcast on NHK in the spring 1994, and is aired again in 2001–2002 on Japanese dub on Fuji Television.
• In the Philippines, it was aired on GMA-7 in the mid-1990s as part of the afternoon cartoon schedule.
• In Southeast Asia, the series was aired on Cartoon Network up to about 2004.
• In Poland, the series was aired on TVP ABC, TVP1, MiniMax and Canal+.
• In Portugal, the series was aired on Canal Panda until late 2003 in the French version with Portuguese subtitles. It was later dubbed on RTP2 in Zig Zag block and on SIC K.
• In Denmark, the series was aired on the 1990s on the Danish channel, DR1 and again by DR Ramasjang from 2009 and on.
• In Saudi Arabia, during the 1990s the series was broadcast by the State TV, in English, on channel 2. Later it was broadcast in Arabic on state TV, channel 1.
• In Germany, it was dubbed to German in the 1990s by ATLAS Film. The series was first aired on public channel ZDF between October 1993 and June 1994, and later on KiKA.
• In Sweden, the series was first aired (dubbed in Swedish) on Swedish Channel 1 (Kanal 1; now SVT1) between September 1994 and April 1995. It was then broadcast in the original series episode order. When it was later printed in a Scandinavian DVD box (with Danish, Norwegian, Finnish and Swedish dubs), the episodes were arranged in the original album order (for instance, putting the episode "Tintin in America" as the first episode, even though it was the last one in the series).
• In Colombia, the series were aired by the local signal of cable network HBO Olé in 1992. A few years later, was part of the Latin American Cartoon Network shows in the late 1990s.
• In the Republic of Ireland, the series aired on RTÉ Two from 5 July 1993 in the mid-1990s on The Den.
• The series is also available on the subscription service Amazon Prime and the first season on Netflix too.

See also

• List of French animated television series
• The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn
• Blake and Mortimer

Further reading

• Lofficier, Jean-Marc & Randy (2002) The Pocket Essential Tintin ISBN 1-904048-17-X

External links

• Les Aventures de Tintin en DVD (2003) : issues 1,2,5,6
• The Adventures of Tintin – 5-disc DVD set (2003)
• Citel Video
• The Adventures of Tintin at IMDb
• Guide to screen adaptions of "Tintin" at Tintinologist.org