As I mentioned in a previous Side Story, Belgium gave us The Smurfs and The Adventures of Tintin. Tintin may not be as well known as the Smurfs though. Some 80s and 90s kids, myself included, remember Tintin from his animated series that ran on HBO. If you are not familiar with the property, or undecided about watching the upcoming feature film, then perhaps this blog can help you make a decision.
Tintin was created by Georges Prosper Remi, better known under the pen name Hergé. The first Tintin comic debuted in 1929, a serialized story called Tintin in the Land of the Soviets. When I first encountered Tintin I thought of him as Jimmy Olsen with a dog, Snowy, for a sidekick. Tintin is an investigative reporter and typically gets drawn into various adventures. You may be wondering if Tintin is a first name or last name. Well the truth is no one knows. Tintin is seemingly a man without a past, or a family. No mention is ever made of his family and he simply states ‘at home they call me Tintin.’ Many fans theorize Tintin is a pseudonym and that he visits his family between adventures.
It's interesting to note that during WWII several stories, Tintin in America and The Black Island were banned by the Nazis. Later, Hergé would continue to publish stories though a German newspaper and we be accused of being a collaborator. Many artist and writers who fled from the Nazis often looked down on those who stayed behind.
As you are aware of by now, there is a forthcoming film called The Adventures of Tintin, directed by Stephen Spielberg with Peter Jackson serving as one of the producers. This film will combine elements from several different stories. Primarily, The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn, and Red Rackham's Treasure. Spielberg has been a fan of Tintin for quite some time now, becoming aware of the property when a reviewer compared Raiders of the Lost Ark to Tintin. Also of note, Steven Moffat, the current show runner of Doctor Who, worked on the script of this film.
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