First of all, I feel I should say that I am a HUGE fan of the original Tintin comic books. Since I was a small child, I have read them over and over. So you can imagine that I was thrilled when I first heard that they were adapting Tintin to a television series.However, when I finally saw the animated series, I was extremely disappointed. The first problem I had is evident right away when watching any episode - the animation and the colors. Yes, I know this show didn't have the budget of a feature film, but I thought that the animation was jerky. As for the colors, while the color pops out in any Tintin comic, here the colors are bland and washed out (especially in the background art.)The show could have worked despite the inadequate art, but if you stick with watching it, more problems become evident. The original stories have been severely cut down to fit two (or sometimes just one!) episode. As a result, much of the detail (story-wise or comic material) that made the comics so extra special just isn't there. I don't understand why they didn't follow the original stories more closely, especially since that would mean more episodes made, which would have made the show easier to syndicate world-wide, and more money would have been made.If you want to see a screen adaptation of Tintin, I would suggest you either see the Spielberg movie or the live action "Tintin And The Mystery Of The Golden Fleece". While the first movie took some liberties with the original Tintin stories, and the latter movie used a brand new story, those movies capture the spirit of Tintin much better than this animated TV series.

First things first, I am an avid fan of the Adventures of Tintin by Herge. What makes them so great is the intriguing world that resolves around Tintin the intrepid reporter and the Brilliant characters that portray different types of people, the hero, the drunkard, the mad scientist, opera singers, detectives and even insurers! The stories appeal to everyone as they can include humour, excitement, detective, sci-fi and just downright fun. The books are exhilarating stuff to say the least, but this is a review about the show, not the books. The adventures of Tintin could never disappoint as long as it kept to the original stories, which thankfully it did. However, there are still some unnecessary changes to characters and plots including the complete eradication of the international settlement in "the blue lotus". But what stops what is an exciting and interesting show from being a cult phenomenon is the child-friendliness of it all. I could go on for ages about all the changes they make to tone down the darkness of some of the books, but I'll narrow it down to the necessaries. Firstly, the fact that They've toned down Captain Haddocks drinking obsession is intolerable. And they've also taken out anything which might for a moment seem the slightest bit prejudiced. Another major disappointment is the toning down of using guns and fistfights. But now on to the portrayal of the characters themselves. Tintin being Canadian is rather annoying and Haddock sounds peculiar as well. Calculus is probably the only amusing portrayal out there but does sound too squeaky at points. The Thomson twins are fine but not perfect and Bianca Castafiore sounds more like a Scottish man than an Milanese nightingale. Because the animation was timed to the English soundtrack if you watch it in French the voices are way to rushed. Overall a great few seasons none the less with no bad episodes due mainly to Herge's craft but could have been perfect had they not intended it to be watched just by kids.

let's forget the comics for a minute, because the story is practically the same. This show features the young reporter turned adventurer tintin and his dog snowy, with the other comic stars Captain Haddock, Prof. Calculus etc. in an animated version of the comics. The animation itself is nice, not elaborating or becoming too modern, and keeping the essentials of the comics in place. The plots, for those who haven't read the comics, involve all manner of events from coin forgery to stolen jewels, and the adventure is as entertaining now as it was when published. The opening credits with the scenes involving the train and instances from various episodes, with the dangerous and anticipatory feel of the music is very nice. All in all a good cartoon.

The previous television adaptation of the cub reporter with the Hugh Grant-type fringe and the twisted taste in legwear was in serialised five-minute form (all together now - "HERRRGEEEE'S ADVENNNNTURRRRES OF TINTIN!!!") way back in the 1960s; this newer version was less bite-sized in its presentation, and was much better animated as well as remarkably faithful for the most part to its source material. (Unlike virtually all other famous fictional creations, Tintin's adventures on film, TV and radio have all come from Herge's work - in accordance with his wishes, no one's allowed to concoct new stories now that the original creator is dead.)Of course, there were a few tweaks made to bring Tintin, Captain Haddock, the Thompson Twins, Professor Calculus, Signora Bianca Castafiore and the rest to television this time, but nothing story-wrecking (in the adaptation of "The Broken Ear," the two villains of the piece are brought to justice alive - in the book they drown and go to Hell). The writers, animators and voice cast preserve the spirit of the tales wonderfully; Tintin may speak with a Canadian voice, but so what? It's not like the series has been thoroughly butchered. Far better than "Tintin and the Lake of Sharks," and one of Nelvana's best."PRODUCED BY TELE-HACHETTE AND BELVISION!!!!" (The '60s one, that is. Sorry, I couldn't resist.)