cigars of the pharaoh | the m0vie blog

The Adventures of Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun (Review)

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Darren

To celebrate the release of The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn in the United States later this month, I’ll be taking a look at some of nineties animated television show. Check back daily!

Note: This is our review of the animated episode, check out our review of the book here.

When I was younger, I used to love The Adventures of Tintin because they’d transport me to far away places, and give me a chance to see environments and cultures that I wouldn’t get to see until I was much older, if ever. As such, the period of Hergé’s writing that appealed to me the most as a younger was the fantastical segment that covered the author’s work during an immediately after the Second World War. I wasn’t old enough to appreciated the political commentary and satire of stories like The Broken Ear or King Ottokar’s Sceptre, and I was mature enough to fully enjoy the reflective nature of the stories from The Calculus Affaironwards.

A little tied up...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Adventure of Tintin, Calculus Affair, cigars of the pharaoh, Crab With the Golden Claws, Hergé, prisoners of the sun, the adventures of tintin: prisoners of the sun, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, tintin, Tintin: Prisoners of the Sun, Unicorn, United States | Leave a comment »

The Adventures of Tintin: Cigars of the Pharaoh (Review)

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Darren

Note: This is our review of the animated episode, check out our review of the book here.

This is more like it. After a single twenty-three minute episode to cover Tintin in America, Cigars of the Pharaoh gets a bit more space. It’s a very faithful take on the classic story, split over two episodes to retain as much as possible. It’s a good thing, too, as I’d argue that Cigars of the Pharaoh is easily one of the best stories Hergé ever wrote, and certainly the first truly classic entry in the series. So it’s great to see the animated series kicking everything into gear.

Mapping out the show...

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Filed under: Television | Tagged: Adventures of Tintin, cigars of the pharaoh, Crab With the Golden Claws, Hergé, Pharaoh, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, The Adventures of Tintin: The Cigars of the Pharaoh, tintin, tintin in america | Leave a comment »

Tintin: The Broken Ear (Review)

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Darren

In the lead-up to the release of The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, I’m going to be taking a look at Hergé’s celebrated comic book character, from his humble beginnings through to the incomplete post-modern finale. I hope you enjoy the ride.

The Broken Ear is a strange little Tintin story. On one hand, it begins as a sort of a mystery adventure, with an artifact stolen from a museum and then replaced the following night, a little note apologising for a childish prank. As seems to be the case in these kinds of stories, the authorities decide “no harm, no foul” and go on about their daily business, but our boy Tintin is not convinced. However, over the course of his investigation, the story develops into something a bit more substantial, allowing Hergé the opportunity to indulge some of his wonderfully broad political satire. It wouldn’t be among my favourite entries in the franchise, if only because I was too young to appreciate a lot of the commentary when I first read it.

Hergé doesn't go overboard...

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Filed under: Comics | Tagged: Adventures of Tintin, andy serkis, blue lotus, Captain Haddock, cigars of the pharaoh, comic con, Hergé, Jamie Bell, List of The Adventures of Tintin characters, peter jackson, politics, South America, steven spielberg, The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn, the adventures of tintin: the broken ear, the broken ear, tintin and the broken ear, tintin: the broken ear | Leave a comment »

Tintin: Cigars of the Pharaoh (Review)

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Darren

This is more like it. I think Cigars of the Pharaoh is the first quintessential Tintin story. It really feels like Hergé has figured out the kind of stories he wants to tell, with a weird blend of various pulp genres from crime to mystery to horror, all mixed with a healthy dose of comedy. It’s also the first adventure in the series (and I’m including Tintin in the Congo) that feels truly exotic as our hero travels the world to unearth the central mystery.