#THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN TV SHOW SERIES#

#THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN TV SHOW SERIES#

The humour of the series is also a bit tired: Thompson and Thompson bump into things a lot, Professor Calculus is stone deaf and Haddock is quick to temper, but these archetypes are never exploited in an interesting way within this TV series. I haven't read the books for at least a decade and don't remember whether this is an inherent problem with the source material, but either way it's faintly ridiculous that this guy - after all these adventures - has still not learnt to look over his shoulder every so often. More than a little annoying is the fact that almost every episode sees our resolute hero knocked unconscious from behind/held at gunpoint and/or imprisoned at some point. Somehow HergГ©'s original static panels feel more dynamic and alive than the animated version here. They take forever to get moving and moments of action seem to take place in slow-motion as characters' reactions to events are delayed and car chases meander across the frame. Despite the fact that bits from the books are omitted due to the restrictions of TV running length (and likely budget), the episodes feel sluggish and for long spells uneventful. The main problem though is one of pacing. It's also true that the Tintin of the books is far less wimpy and clean-cut than this sanitised TV version, whilst Haddock's alcoholism is also understandably played down for youngsters. Whilst I can just about get behind the majority of the main cast - with Tintin's Canadian accent in particular having a naive charm - most supporting characters, and villains in particular, fall prey to ill-advised ethnic stereotyping in a world of broad caricature that somehow seems less offensive on the printed page. The limited animation (with often static background characters) and repeated elements make a lot of it look cheap, whilst the voice acting is also pretty tragic at times and across the board very cheesy (in a way the books aren't when read in your head). It's not that the 21 adaptations (some comprising of several 20 minutes episodes - giving the set an 840 minute running time) that form this collection are awful - they are actually slightly above average for TV animation of the day - but they have aged poorly and robbed of their original early morning context are far less compelling. But beyond the still excellent opening theme music and energetic title sequence, it seems some things are best left to memory. The character designs are the same as those in HergГ©'s books and some panels are replicated exactly to me at the time, the series felt like the comics brought to life. They seemed slightly more adult and complex than other things from the same time slot and they were by and large faithful to the spirit of the source material. As a child when the series made its dГ©but in 1991 - and with a father who could give the Tintinologists a run for their money - I have fond memories of these Saturday morning cartoons. Now, with the imminent release of an ambitious and high-profile CGI feature adaptation from Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, that series (long available on DVD) has come to Blu-ray. Several animated movies and TV series have been produced over the years, with the most celebrated until now being the French-Canadian animated series of the early 90s. The books have endured and for some continue to court controversy for their perceived racial stereotyping (notably in the colonial romp Tintin in the Congo), whilst at the other extreme obsessive fans have given a term to the rigorous study of all things Tintin: Tintinology.

Created by Belgian artist Georges RГ©mi - under the more famous pen name HergГ© - the celebrated Tintin comics, published over a period between 19, follow the intrepid young journalist of the title and his pet dog snowy as they roam the globe solving crimes and getting into all sorts of trouble.

The adventures of tintin tv show