The Adventures of Tintin

***The Adventures of Tintin*** is a Canadian/French 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. 39 half-hour episodes were produced over the course of its three seasons. It aired from 2 October 1991 to 28 September 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, 20 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 1959 to 1963.

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.

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. It's not clear why they made that change.
* 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. Surprisingly, they are Arabs instead of Africans. 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. 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. Mull Pasha/Dr. Muller's role is expanded, and he becomes the leader of the attempted coup d'état rather than just being one of Bab El Ehr's military commanders. Bab El Ehr himself is entirely deleted from the storyline. Also, the scene in which the Mosquitoes bomb the armored cars is rewritten – in the book, Muller is safely inside the command quarters and talks to the General 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 jeans throughout the book, which was in contrast with the plus-fours he had always worn previously. In the episode, his plus-fours have returned.
* *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 and more cinematic shots. 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 impostor of the professor smokes while the latter does not; the reverse is true in the book. And 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 outside Kropow Castle and found some cannons.
* 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. 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 their 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.
* In *The Black Island*, the gorilla Ranko crushes the rock Tintin throws at him, something he did not do in the book. Also, the counterfeiting gang based in the castle comprises just Puschov, Dr. Muller, and Ivan, whereas in the book, it was made of two more anonymous members, and Ivan was portrayed as Puschov's unnamed assistant.
* In *Cigars of the Pharaoh*, the mental hospital cell is a padded cell; in the book it has a bed. Also, Dr. Finney is a member of the gang so he wrote a letter saying that Tintin was mad. In the book, the fakir copied the doctor's handwriting and wrote the letter. 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.
* 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 Raijaja 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). At the end of the storyline, 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, Rastapopoulos was apprehended along with Mitsuhirato. 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 and R.W. Trickler. The entire subplot involving the rivaling petroleum companies is removed, and accordingly, Tintin never falls out of favour with General Alcazar, and Alonzo 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 to spy on Ramon and Alonzo, 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 Alonzo 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 Alonzo, 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.

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 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.

## Voice artists

* 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

## 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"

## History on Cartoonito UK

The show made its debut on Cartoon Network UK's sister pre-school channel Cartoonito on 23 February 2013, alongside the return of ITV's British television variety show *Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway.*