Hergé's Adventures of Tintin (partially found French animated series; 1957-1959)

Still from King Ottokar's Sceptre

Status: Partially Found

Hergé’s Adventures of Tintin was a French/American animated series which ran for 9 seasons from 1957-1964. The series focuses on the many adventures of the boy reporter Tintin, along with his dog Snowy, and his friends Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus. The series was broadcast in 5 minute episodes, starting with a 2 minute recap of the last episodes events, and then 3 minutes of new content.

Production

Although the seasons from 1959-1964 being Objective Moon, The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn, Red Rackham’s Treasure, The Star of Mystery, Black Island, and The Calculus Case are widely available (albeit in full length movie format, and not the original 5 minute versions), the 2 black-and-white seasons made from 1957-1959 being King Ottokar’s Sceptre and The Broken Ear are not available in their entirety online.

These two seasons were made by Belvision along with R.T.F., using slightly-crude animations with moving paper cut-outs, similar to shows such as Captain Pugwash. King Ottokar’s Sceptre was produced with 8 episodes and aired on French television in 1957 with Jean Nohain as every character. It was then aired in English on the BBC from April 12 to May 31, 1959, with Gerald Campion as Tintin and Deryck Guyler as all other characters. The Broken Ear was then produced with 7 13-minute episodes and aired in French in 1959, with Jean Nohain once again playing all characters. The Broken Ear was also aired in English on the BBC from January 1 to February 12, 1962, with Gerald Campion and Deryck Guyler also playing their roles once again.

After The Broken Ear was made however, R.T.F. gave up with making the episodes, leaving Belvision to partner up with Tele-Hachette and Larry Harmon Studios, who produced the next 6 seasons with them, where Belvision then produced The Calculus Case alone.

Availability

Although one episode from The Broken Ear (although without voices), lots of stills from both seasons and some clips are available online and were used in the documentary “Belvision: la mine d'or au bout du couloir”, the whole seasons in their entirety are not available online, although they’re likely to still exist in the Belvision archives.

Gallery

Intro to King Ottokar's Sceptre

First episode of The Broken Ear

External Links

• Tintinomania article on the seasons. Retrieved 23 Nov '20
• Tintinologist forum thread discussing the seasons. Retrieved 23 Nov '20
• Wikipedia page on Captain Pugwash. Retrieved 23 Nov '20
• Article from production member Bob de Moor's website. Retrieved 23 Nov '20