Why not set in France?
If the original comics were French, why wasn't this movie set in France, with actors with French accents? Would have made more sense.
shareActually the original comics were set in Belgium, when Tintin wasn't travelling the world. And actually, the movie kind of IS set in Belgium. THe market in the first scene, several of the houses on Tintin's street...it's extreemly typical for Bruxelles (which is the capitol of Belgium).
Captain Haddock (an english name) is never really stated to be Belgian like the rest of the characters, so - technichally he could have been british.
What speaks against it is that Tintin doesn't pay in francs. If I remember right, he uses pounds.
But as for accents...could you have taken the movie serious with silly fake french accents?
Who am I to argue with the captain of the Enterprise?
He uses pounds, but that's only in the English version (which follows the English translation of the comics). In the dubbed French version, he uses Belgian francs (this also applies to the French subtitles for the English version).
shareBecause Tintin and Thomson and Thompson and Mr. Silk are all British.
share1: Because this movie is based specifically on the English translations of the comics. This is also why it's "Snowy" instead of "Milou", and "Thomson and Thompson" instead of "Dupont and Dupond".
2: Hergé never specifically defined Tintin's nationality in the comics. You'll notice in the comics he's only ever refered to as being "European" but never as hailing from a specific country. People just assume he's Belgian because that's Hergé's nationality.
The Giant Paw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUB6PgwVoCA
The only hints that are dropped that the series is set in Belgium is in the Tintin animated series where, for example, his ID (I believe) reads that he lives there.
shareI've always assumed Tintin was French (but I might be slightly biased ^^ )
The scenes or the streets you mention could very well be French, after all Tintin is set quite a few decades ago.
And maybe the fact that Moulinsart (Marlinspike Hall in english) has been inspired by the Château de Cheverny has played a role in my view.
He would be a Walloon then, French-Belgian
I wish I can go back in time and pinch those chubby little cheeks and tell you nothing will be ok.
He lives on Brussels, which is in Belgium.
But Gandalf! I don't want to be a Hobbit~~
Do we really know that for sure ?
shareYes
But Gandalf! I don't want to be a Hobbit~~
How? I don't recall any novels expliciting it.
shareThey did say Tintin lived in Brussels. In the Land of the Soviets, somebody asked Tintin his name, profession, and address, and he replied Tintin, journalist, Brussels. Also, the drawings of the street he lived on clearly shows it's Brussels.
But Gandalf! I don't want to be a Hobbit~~
Plus in the first couple of Tintin books, the front cover said "Tintin, reporter for 'Le Petit Vingtiemme' which was the childrens pages in the Bruxelles newspaper "Le Vingtiemme sicilie" (Sorry for my spelling but I don't have a french dictionary with me) - meaning "the 20th Century". Le petit was then "the Little Century".
Who am I to argue with the captain of the Enterprise?
In addition to that, the Congo album is of course set in the Belgian Congo and while speaking with the Congolese, Tintin refers to the fact that they have a common fatherland, Belgium.
One can also notice that gendarmes sometimes seen in the background (like in the Secret of the Unicorn and in the Calculus Affair) wear very Belgian-style uniforms. English bobbies of course dress quite differently and although the French police uniform was somewhat similar, their kepis were different. Many other things in the scenery are also very Belgian, although some could be French also.
Tintin's nationality is drawn into the comics, it's not just a matter of translation.
That kinda makes that album even worse. If I remember correctly the Belgians committed like mass genocide in Congo. Of course that would have been way before that story took place. But still, what a crappy fatherland to have.
There is no such thing as too much time
Hergé often based his drawings of Tintin's home town on real locations in Brussels. For example, the opening scene in this movie is clearly supposed to be the Place de Jeu de Balle.
http://visitbrussels.be/bitc/BE_en/minisite_tintin/brussels-et-tintin.do
Yes, he lives in Brussels until he moves to Moulinsart/Marlinspike castle after captain Haddock has inherited it in The Secret of the Unicorn (book).
And Haddock is actually of French ascent : in the original French of SotU his ancestor's name is François de la Hadoque, was has really existed and served as a sea captain under Louis XIV and was knighted by him.
You can see, even in the movie, that the Unicorn stern is painted with golden Fleur de Lys on a Royal Blue background. Hergé used Louis XIV's actual royal ship called Le Soleil Royal (The Royal Sun) as a model for the Unicorn.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Soleil_Royal_%281670%29
Mankind was born on Earth. It was never meant to watch Interstellar.
The castle of Moulinsart has been inspired by a French castle indeed, but very close to Brussels there is a place called "Sart-Moulin".
https://www.google.com/maps/preview#!q=Sart-Moulin%2C+Belgium&data=!4m10!1m9!4m8!1m3!1d97750!2d4.408811!3d50.6824617!3m2!1i1920!2i928!4f13.1
About Haddock's origins, there might be a discrepancy.
My personal interpretation is that captain Archibald Haddock may be British, perhaps the descendant of Huguenots (French Protestants), but his ancestor François de la Hadoque, captain of La Licorne (the Unicorn) is clearly French, his ship being a replica of Louis XIV's Soleil Royal, full with a motif of golden fleur de lys on a blue background. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_ship_Soleil-Royal_%281670%29
In the original French story "Le Secret de la Licorne", Hergé, through cap. Haddock's voice, makes this perfectly clear.
In the Shooting Star, Haddock meets his old time friend captain Chester who may also be British.
But Spielberg's film is a mess and Hergé was right when he said: "If someone else makes Tintin stories, it may be better or it may be worse, but it won't be Tintin."
In the early books like the Land of the Soviets and Tintin in Congo it is mentioned he is in Belgium.
Later I think he moves to England, in the Secret of the Unicorn it looks like Tintin lives in a flat somewhere in England, he can go to Haddock's place and they later go visit the Haddock family place at Marlinspike which is supposed to be an English estate. Haddock's family is supposed to have served in the Royal Navy.
After Red Rackham's treasure we see Haddock living at the estate and Tintin often coming over for visits.
Hergé created a home for Tintin that could be either in Belgium or in France, because his postwar readership was mostly made of French and Belgian kids. Tintin wasn't published in the UK until the early 60s, and British publisher Methuen wanted the series to start with an updated version of the Black Island.
Anyway, the set always takes place in Brussels as it can be seen in King Ottokar's Sceptre and the opening scene of Red Sea Sharks (Coke en Stock).
But Haddock's family château takes its name (Moulinsart) from a Belgian village named Sarmoulin where Hergé had bought a house, and its architecture from the Loire château of Chenonceau, France.
Before Tintin moved definitively to Moulinsart, he used to rent a little apartment on 26, rue du Labrador, which is a real building in a real street of Brussels.
The village and the countryside around the château are actual views from Sarmoulin.
There's also the policemen's uniforms that clearly indicates they are Belgian. You can compare them to their French colleagues in the last part of The Seven Crystal Balls, and their Swiss colleagues in The Calculus Affair.
Only in the Black Island we see British bobbies.
Hmm, why should it take place in France?
When not "working" Tintin lives in Belgium. But during his adventures he travels worldwide, and that's what the film does to.
Why should it only be limited to a specific country? Adventure films are more fun if they are spread out.
Bit of stupid question there OP!
The question wasn't "in which country are located the adventures of Tintin" (almost each album is located in a different country or continent, and even on the Moon, but "where lives Tintin" (at the beginning of his adventures), and it's clearly Belgium since the very beginning in 1929.
In one of the first albums in b&w, when a group of people is around Tintin and Milou, among them are Swipke and Flipke, two very typical kids of Brussels who were the heroes of another series by Hergé.
Furthermore, many places and streets of Brussels are quite recognizables (sp?) in the albums, before Tintin embarks on another adventure. In the Spielberg movie, I agree with a previous poster that the place of the Flea Market is the Place of Jeu de Balle in Brussels, as I lived two entire years in this town and was at the Flea Market practically every Sunday. The streets (including in the movie) are clearly Belgian. You can see similar Streets in the extreme North of France, but not in the rest of the country.
He never moves to England in the comic books. Traffic is always on the right and the steering wheels are on the left (except when he actually goes to England in the Black Island).
shareHe is as Belgian as the smurfs. Don't be fooled by the appearance of Thomson & Thomson. Bowler hats were quite common on the continent as well. Haddock is only Scottish in the English version of the comics.
Later I think he moves to England, in the Secret of the Unicorn it looks like Tintin lives in a flat somewhere in England, he can go to Haddock's place and they later go visit the Haddock family place at Marlinspike which is supposed to be an English estate.
Tintin moves to England? Marlinspike is supposed to be an English estate? Are you high?
For every lie I unlearn I learn something new - Ani Difranco share
Not only that the streets look like a belgian street. Some buildings in the marketplace are literal copies of some belgian landmarks. a red building you see in the background is a copy of the city hall of sint-truiden.
shareSome buildings in the marketplace are literal copies of some belgian landmarks. a red building you see in the background is a copy of the city hall of sint-truiden.
also the numberplates looked Belgian share