Tintin Movies Timeline

Last modified: 28 November 2011

1940s

Attempts in transferring Tintin's adventures to the cinema began in the late 1940s.

The first attempt was made in 1946, which resulted in Les Beaux Films' slides series of existing albums.

Claude Misonne made a full feature publicity film for Tintin magazine in 1946 using puppet animation.

The following year, in 1947, Claude Misonne produced The Crab with the Golden Claws which was directed by Wilfried Bouchery. A copy of it survives today and is archived at Belgium's Cinémathèque Royale.

In 1948 Hergé proposed to collaborate with Walt Disney on an animated Tintin series. But the collaboration Hergé had hoped for never happened.

1950s–1960s

In 1955 Raymond Leblanc, head of Lombard publisher of the Tintin comic books, founded the Belvision animation studio. The following year the stuido produced two semi-animated films in 1956: King Ottokar's Sceptre, and The Broken Ear. The eight-episode UK edition was translated by Leslie Lonsdale-Cooper and Michael Turner in 1956, and serialised on BBC Children's Television from 10 April 1959. In the English version, Tintin's voice was dubbed by Gerald Campion, and Derek Guyer did all the other characters. [Reference: 'Tintin - Hergé & His Creation' by Harry Thompson, page 86]

French producer, André Barret, proposed to adapt Hergé’s stories for the big screen, using real actors and live action. Several directors were approached and among them, Alain Resnais and Philippe de Broca. Tintin and the Golden Fleece achieved some success, with Jean-Pierre Talbot playing the role of Tintin. The Blue Oranges, released a year later, flopped at the box office.

Raymond LeBlanc commisioned the artists at his studio, Belvision, to embark on a feature-length animated cartoon: Tintin et le Temple du Soleil (Prisoners of the Sun). The film was released in 1969. Among the cartoonists who worked on the feature were Bob de Moor, Nic Broca and Robert Flament. Jacques Brel composed several original songs for the film.

Productions:

  1. Le Sceptre d'Ottokar / King Ottokar's Sceptre [1956 or 1958(?)] - By Karel Van Millegham / Anne-Marie Ullmann. Semi-animated full feature shown on TV in Belgium/France.
  2. L'Oreille Cassée / The Broken Ear [1957 - 58] - By Karel Van Millegham / Anne-Marie Ullmann. Semi-animated full feature shown on TV in Belgium/France.
  3. On a Marché sur la Lune / Destination Moon* [1959(?)] - By Yvan Szücs. Full feature shown on TV in Belgium/France.
  4. Le Mystère de la toison d'or / Tintin and the Golden Fleece [1961]
  5. Tintin et les Oranges Bleues / Tintin and the Blue Oranges [1964]
  6. Prisoners of the Sun [1969] - animated.

* The project was actually based on the Objectif Lune / Destination Moon album.

1970s

After having produced many Tintin cartoons for television (the Belvision series), Raymond Leblanc and the Belvision Studios embarked on the production of two full-length animated movies for the cinema: Prisoners of the Sun, and The Lake of Sharks. Greg and Bob Demoor took care of the story and the design of the films, while Hergé looked on from a distance. Weak plots and too simple animation restricted the success the movies might otherwise have achieved.

Production:

  1. Tintin and the Lake of Sharks / Tintin et le lac aux requins [1972] - animated movie produced by Belvision

1980s

In 1982 Spielberg proposed to acquire the rights to adapt The Adventures of Tintin. Hergé expressed a strong interest in the venture, hoping that Spielberg would be granted all necessary liberties. But the director, unconvinced by the first script written by Melissa Matheson, soon decided to take on a production role and leave the directing to Europeans. Many names came up and among them, Jean-Jacques Beineix. But soon, the choice turned to Roman Polanski who said that he always wanted to make a Tintin movie. Polanski declared his preference for King Ottokar’s Sceptre, a story full of personal meanings. The project never eventuated.

Some say Spielberg got a scenario ready based on some Tintin adventures, and with a pre approval from Hergé, then, when he sent the finished screenplay to Hergé. But Hergé found the screenplay rather Hollywood-ish and did not give the final approval. So, Spielberg went and made the Indiana Jones series with some inspiration from Tintin. [KR]

In 1987 Spielberg abandoned his option on the rights.

1990s

An adaptation of Prisoners of the Sun was produced by Claude Berri, and directed by Alain Berberian (La Cité de la Peur); however, the project was abandoned due to problems with casting.

Three Tintin movies were in the planning.

2000s

In 2002 Spielberg re-optioned the film adaptation rights.

In October 2011, the first of the three new Tintin movies, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn was released. The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Peter Jackson, written by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish.

Production:

  1. The Adventures of Tintin (also known as The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn) [2011] - motion capture 3D movie. Read film review
Sources:
  • Comic Strips and Animation: The Belgian Tradition by Philippe Moins (http://www.awn.com/mag/issue2.4/awm2.4pages/2.4moinsbelgeng.html)
  • Tintin at the Movies by Benoît Peeters (www.tintin.com)
  • Philippe Capart
  • Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com)
Related:
Tintin cameos in movies

< Tintin on Screen