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Tintin Vs Asterix: Why Spielberg Chose The Wrong Comic Book Hero
Tintin's racist, anti-Semitic and has a penchant for killing animals, what was Spielberg thinking? Here's why he should have chosen Asterix for his movie.
Oh Steven, you’ve gone and lost your mojo, haven’t you? First you totally screwed up with that last Indy film. I mean; the fridge in the nuclear blast? The aliens?? (And it’s probably best if we don’t talk about Shia Le Beouf swinging through trees…)
Then there’s Terra Nova, the most expensive TV series ever. Yeah, the dinosaurs are cool, but the people? I’d happily stand by and watch any of the Shannon family get eaten alive.
Now there’s Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, not universally panned but not well liked either. Even fans of the spunk-quiffed hack don’t really like it, but then they’ve always been a serious bunch and they, like you, chose the wrong comic book character. You both should have gone for Asterix instead, you know why? He’s just far more fun.
I say comic book, but that’s a disservice to both; I believe the accepted term for Franco-Belgium comics is bande dessineé (literally drawn strips) and when it comes to comics you can’t get more Frano-Belgium than Asterix and Tintin.
Tintin was first created by Georges Prosper Remi, better known as Hergé, for the conservative Catholic newspaper Le XXe Siècle in 1929. Asterix was born 30 years later, a co-creation between writer René Goscinny and artist Albert Uderzo, who continued writing the stories following his partner’s death in 1977.
In the decades since, like Coke or Pepsi, Marvel or DC, City or United people tend to have grown up favouring one, often with profound dislike for the other. When asked even non-fanatics will be able to explain which is their favourite and why. You’ve gone for Tintin, but for me Asterix wins hands down.
I avidly collected all the books as a kid and I admit I dabbled with Tintin occasionally. Sure the stories looked good, but there just wasn’t the same joie de vivre as was on offer in Asterix.
To me, Tintin books are like an attractive, immaculately turned out woman whom you realise after a few minutes’ conversation is, while clearly intelligent, actually a little dull. She doesn’t drink. She doesn’t laugh.
Asterix on the other hand is a different kind of date, attractive in another kind of way. This lady also knows how to dress but in her own style. She’s devil-may-care and always has a smile on her face yet her anarchic personality belies wit and deep intelligence; her conversation is to die for and every so often she takes a swig of ‘magic potion’.
If you’re still not convinced that Asterix nixes Tintin, think on this: The Frenchman has his own theme park, the Belgian doesn’t.
What’s more, talk to the Tintin-lady for any real length of time and you realise that not only is she a little bit dull but, well, she’s a little bit racist too…
Hergé’s original depiction of the native Congolese in Tintin in the Congo has caused controversy for years and recently over here in the United Kingdom the Commission for Racial Equality even tried to get the book banned (it’s no longer available in kids’ sections).
In the same book Tintin kills several antelope, stones a buffalo and tops it all off by blowing up a rhinoceros using dynamite. You just wouldn’t have to put up with that kind of shit on a date with Asterix-lady.
OK, Tintin in the Congo could be put down to the attitudes of the time, but along side the racism and the decidedly lax attitude to animal welfare there’s also anti-Semitism. The worst example of which was the depiction of Jews in The Shooting Star which Hergé wrote for the pro-Nazi Le Soir newspaper in occupied Belgium in 1941. After the war he was accused of being a collaborator to which his defence was he was just doing his job or, to put it another way, he was simply following orders.
To be blunt this was not work that wasn’t openly anti-Nazi (a position I’m sure many were forced to take for their own safety) it was work that was both virulently anti-Semitic and produced for a pro-Nazi newspaper. In later years Hergé admitted that at the time he thought democracy had been a disappointment and that a “new order” was the way forward.
Surely this isn’t news to you, Steven? It’s astonishing that you of all people are happy to stand by and watch the total airbrushing from history of this aspect of Tintin’s past.
However, gloss over the racism and propaganda, which has been edited out of modern editions of the titles and Tintin fans argue that Hergé crafted a more visually satisfying body of work. I get that the lingne claire style he developed has some aesthetic value but it’s simplistic when compared to the visually brighter and busier look of the Asterix books which are bursting with subtle sight gags.
The dialogue in Asterix is also far richer, thanks to Goscinny’s subtle and genuinely funny scripts (though translators Anthea Bell and Derek Hockridge must get a nod for their work on the English editions). In fact, such is the quality of Goscinny’s writing that his other works Lucky Luke and Iznougod, are both superior to Tintin, despite being little known in the UK.
“Oh, but Tintin’s travelled the world,” his acolytes will tell you. Yes, to made-up places like Syldavia and San Theodoros. OK, he went to Egypt, but it was Obelix who destroyed part of the Sphinx’s nose and who gave the British tea? Asterix, By Toutatis!
If you’re still not convinced that Asterix nixes Tintin, think on this: The Frenchman has his own theme park, the Belgian doesn’t. That tells you all you need to know.
I’m sure, if they’ve actually read this far, the Tintin fans out there won’t be too happy with what I’ve written, but d’ya know what? Give me a big nose and some wild boar because I’m changing my name to Icouldntgiveafux.
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COMMENTS
No kid ever read Tintin and walked away from it hating Jews or wanting to nuke Rhinos, so what's your problem? Literature doesn't lose its quality because its attitudes become outdated. By that logic filmakers should be making Zadie Smith movies and shunning Shakespeare. I also reject the idea that people loved one or the other. I loved (and still love) both characters and the series' they come from. In my mind the two have more similarities than differences; i certainly thought so as a kid. My final thought - don't be so quick to rue Spielberg's choice. Asterix has been done as a movie, and look how that turned out...
As a proud belgian, I have to agree with Varkko in that (in france and belgium at least) the idea that Tintin and Asterix are in direct competition is ludicrous. They are two very good BD, but two of hundreds of quality BD kids (and adults) can chose from, like The Smurfs, Gaston Lagaffe, Achilles Talon, Boule et Bill, Bob et Bobette, etc. all with varying degrees of humour, adventure and contextual controversies. US comics on the other hand are all about choosing and routing for your favorite super hero. Not in BD. Also as you mentioned, Asterix and Tintin were published 30 years apart, one between 2 wars, the other on the eve of the swinging 60s which easily explains the contrasts in tone.
Tin Tin plain boring.
Asterix is funny, but it has accomplished litle more than just being funny. It's essentially junk food. But Tintin can do something far more powerful. Tintin in Tibet alone blows any Asterix album out of the water, and in many cases without a single line of dialogue. I love reading Asterix, but after I'm done laughing there's very little left on the page. Tintin is just a richer experience.
Kittsy, get back to your exploitation movies, Tintin is a LEDGE.
I think I must be an exception to the rule then. I love both equally and the same because they approach the comic world in two different ways.
@KC I think you make a good point. Now that I think of it, everyone that I know who likes Tintin or Asterix also likes the other. They may prefer one of them, but they'll sing the praise of both of them.
Both comics have their merits, but Tintin is a social force and an amazing historical work. If you truly delve into the research and thought that went into Tintin, you'll see a brilliantly conceived and executed series of novels, compelling and full of true human passion and thought. Asterix is a wonderful comic, but that's all it is. Tintin is much, much more, and if you took the time to actually study and engage with the work, you'd see that Tintin at the end of the day may be one of the most thought provoking and societal norm-challenging series of graphic novels ever produced. Reducing him the way you have is simply foolish and ignorant.
Tony, i love the Tintin stories but lets not pretend they were written by Shakespeare. They have not been a force for social change. They did not end apartheid or defeat Nazi Germany. They are just good stories. As are the Asterix books.
Well maybe he made Tintin because he liked it more. Obviously you like Asterix more, fine, but Steven Spielberg does have an opinion and he's not going to change what movie he wants to direct because YOU want him to (that seems pretty pretentious to me) I like both Tintin and Asterix, so this comes from a somewhat unbiased view. Considering I'm watching Asterix the Gaul movie right at this moment, I'd say I actually like Asterix more, but that doesn't mean I'm going to be saying that Steven Spielberg is an Idiot (I know you didn't actually say that, but you were basically implying it) because he didn't make an adaption of the bande dessineé I wanted him to make. Anyways if there was a movie Spielberg should've made it's Lucky Luke :P
There have been Asterix movies there have been TinTin movies....All I'll say is that if he ever, ever, tries to remake The Goonies.......man gonna get fucked up.
What an ignorant article. Ever noticed that people who like tintin more than asterix are all smarter than asterix fanboys? and if you didnt find it funny youre just to stupid to understand herges subtle humour and think for yourself.
and Tintin doesnt have his themepark because he's above that. He's more than a silly spectacle. That's what Spielberg didn't understand.
I grew up with and love both characters and comics. They're very different, but that's a good thing
I agree with M, I too grew up with both characters and love them both. I still have both sets in hardback copy and still enjoy reading them. They are both well written and drawn; different stories set in different times. They each have their own merits so why compare them? Does it really matter that Spielberg chose Tintin. I'm just glad he chose one of them.
So you didn't like the last Spielberg films, but you wish he would've gone with Asterix instead of Tin Tin? Why? So he could've ruined Asterix for you instead? I liked the Tin Tin film a lot, haven't seen his other recently released films.
You think tintin is racist? Obelix in Asterix books is also racist. "These Egyptians are crazy! These Romans are crazy! These (insert name of country here) are crazy!" And furthermore, the punching and fighting might get copied by children, for example, if someone reads an asterix book, they might try to make a magic potion and punch their teachers at school, finding it doesn't work, and gets expelled. I have read my asterix books as well, but I think it is somewhat discriminating against Italians.
The people complaining about the "these (whatever people) are crazy" comments and saying they're racist might have missed that the Gauls are the ones that are made fun of the most. Basically everyone in the ancient world is made fun of, all their particularities, idiosyncrasies and peculiarities are brought to the front. I've read each book hundreds and hundreds of times since I was a little 5 year old kid and I never got the feeling that the authors hated anyone. The Romans are ridiculed so much simply because they were the enemy at the time, and even so in many books you'll still find some Romans being noble, good and heroic. To be honest what the books did was spark my interest and love for Roman history (all European history really), so I have that to thank to the authors, apart from the countless hours of reading pleasure, of course.
Oh, and just for the record, even though I'm not a Spielberg fan I liked the Tintin movie a lot.
Wow your an idiot.
Roger this is hard for me to say... so I'll just say... Roger you're a dick!!!
There are so many authors/politician of 19 and early 20 centuries who had antisemite and racist phrases, behaviour. The norme was that. Just to say that Hergé Tintin characters are of their times. You can find the same thing on Disney. To me argueing on moral is effective and "modern" but not interesting. However, even if i prefers Asterix & Obelix, i just think Spielberg should just find his own idea ^_^
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