Film: Tintin And The Blue Oranges
Release date: 18th October 2010
Certificate: PG
Running time: 96 mins
Director: Philippe Condroyer
Starring: Jean Bouise, Jean-Pierre Talbot, Félix Fernández, Jenny Orléans, Ángel Álvarez
Genre: Adventure/Comedy/Family/Sci-Fi
Studio: BFI
Format: DVD
Country: Belgium
As Spielberg and Jackson’s 3D performance-capture epic nears ever closer to release; BFI have decided to raid the vault and unleash this 1964 live action version of Herge’s blonde-haired adventurer.
Professor Calculus makes a televised plea to end world hunger. Later, he receives a desert grown blue orange through the post, which is then subsequently stolen. Along with Tintin and Captain Haddock (and Snowy, of course), he attempts to visit the orange’s creator, Professor Zalamea - but he has been kidnapped.
Calculus is then also kidnapped, and Tintin and Haddock investigate, with Interpol agents Thomson and Thompson in hot pursuit…
The International success of the Tintin books is phenomenal. He is undisputedly one of the true comic book icons. And as with most worldwide phenomenons, he’s had his share of cash-ins - Tintin And The Blue Oranges is one such. A sequel to 1961’s Tintin And The Golden Fleece, it is not surprising that no further (live action) sequels were made.
Although the colour palette and tone are just about right, the production comes across as cheap. Most offensively, it comes across as dull. A bastion of ‘boy’s own’ action-adventure-mystery, Tintin should be exciting, tense and fun. However, this interpretation (an original story not pulled from the books) achieves none of this. The comedy isn’t funny, the action isn’t stirring, the adventure is staid and the mystery…well, who cares?
Of course, the film doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it would be pretentious to view this as anything more than a live action comic book. Those under the age of 10 might be amused by the OTT nature, but the rest of us won’t find much other than mild annoyance.
Jean-Pierre Talbot, the only actor reprising his role from the previous film (his only two film performances), has a strong physical resemblance to Herge’s hero, and also does a decent job of portraying his boy scout-like tenacity, but, unfortunately for him, Tintin is such a bland do-gooder that it requires a much stronger actor to endow any likeability in the character.
Similarly, Jean Bouise’s Captain Haddock, a cantankerous old drunk, should hold the screen easily with his acerbic tongue and strong line in angry rants. But again, beyond a beard and prosthetic nose, little effort has been put into building his character. Bouise spends most of his time mugging for the camera, and indulging in uninspired slapstick.
Little seems to be of consequence as our heroes swan around Valencia at a leisurely pace, getting into arguments and slow(-witted) chases like they’re on a night out in Leeds.
Perhaps those who saw Tintin when they were young will be overcome with nostalgia and lord knows we all have films like that in our collection. But they (and their kids) are the only ones who will get any genuine enjoyment from this dire effort. If all Spielberg and Jackson have to do is better this, they’ve got an easy job ahead of them. SEAN
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