Tintin and the Blue Oranges

While not quite as engaging as TINTIN ET LE MYSTERE DE LA TOISON D'OR(1961), this adaptation is fun and silly enough to impress most children under 10 and adult fans. Jean-Pierre Talbot makes for an athletic Tintin and resembles the character physically, which is what counts. Jean Bouise as Capitaine Haddock is rather silly and a lot more like the comic book character than his incarnation in the previous movie(George Wilson). The story is typical Tintin fare, with adventure in exotic places(in this case Valencia, Spain) and over the top bad guys. For those of you not familiar with Tintin, let's just say that every French speaking child(and most European children) under the age of 14 has been thrilled by his comic book adventures for over half a century. In this film we find our heroes and their friend Professeur Tournesol going to Spain to investigate the blue oranges of the title. After much to-ing and fro-ing, they expose the villains who have captured the professor and his Spanish colleague. A really funny moment occurs when Captain Haddock finds a bottle of whiskey and attempts to have a drink while Tintin tries to get him to check out the clues he has found. Anyone who has read a Tintin book knows that the good captain likes his drink and will try anything to have one. Overall, silly but a lot of fun, especially if you are young or young at heart. I give it 6 comic books out of 10.