Raymond Leblanc, editor of the Tintin magazine viewed the emergence of television as a promising medium for his paper characters.

The key player of the company was Karel Van Milleghem, editor of Kuifje (the Dutch-speaking version of the Tintin magazine).

First, there were several animation adaptations of Flemish artist Willy Vandersteen's comics Suske en Wiske which Karel Van Milleghem liked.

This was a series of animations produced in 1957 by Belvision for the French Radio-Television (RTF because there was only one channel in France at that time).

They were made in 16 mm black and white film, from the books King Ottokar's Sceptre and The Broken Ear.

This black and white animated series can therefore be considered as the very first adaptation of Tintin's adventures in cartoons.

Some of the boxes of the comics had undergone some small alterations as well as totally new images, notably in The Broken Ear.

The French version starred Georges Poujouly as Tintin and Jean Clarieux as Captain Haddock.

In the US dub, Larry Harmon and Dallas McKennon both voiced Tintin, with Paul Frees as Captain Haddock.

On the advice of R.T.F., the production was entrusted to Anne-Marie Ullmann, who was prohibited from retouching the drawings provided by Studios Hergé.

Leblanc then hired Ray Goossens, a professional from cartoon advertising, recommended to him by Van Milleghem.

In 1960, Raymond Leblanc managed to involve Télé-Hachette, the subsidiary of the French publisher, in his film projects on Tintin.

Hergé participates more in the development process, and supervises a lot of meetings between his collaborators (Bob De Moor and Jacques Martin) and those of Belvision.

Unlike in the comic where two other saboteurs are parachuted and shoot Tintin, Colonel Boris Jorgen (nameless in the adaptation) is the only enemy to break into the base.

Captain Haddock's whiskey is replaced by coffee and flies into space, not out of drunkenness, but because he takes off his shoes which hurt him (when the lack of pressure should seriously affect his feet).

The characters faced a meteor shower on the Moon, and found themselves trapped in a cave from which they escape using dynamite.

The rocket, while returning to Earth, smashes into rocks and falls to the side, causing a fire (creating a death-hazard).

Tintin never knew Jorgen, whereas in the comic, they met in King Ottokar’s Sceptre when he is the colonel in the service of his majesty.

It makes mention of Tintin in the Congo, Land of Black Gold and The Red Sea Sharks.

After their plane crash, Tintin and Haddock, who wander in the desert, are captured by a looter named "Ahmed the Terrible".

At the beginning, bandits try to steal the boat bought by Tintin, but give up because of the presence of a police officer.

Thompson and Thomson, who transport it, are kidnapped by the natives, who bear a strong resemblance to the Arumbayas from The Broken Ear.

On the island, Max Bird and his accomplice are on the verge of suppressing Tintin and his friends, but miss their target.

During the excavations in the wreck of The Unicorn, Tintin is attacked by Max Bird, who tries to cut his rope and his air inlet tube.

Tintin and his friends return to the island, discover a cross planted by Sir Francis Haddock and think that it indicates the location of the treasure.

Captain Chester and Professor Cantonneau has been removed from the storyline, and Thomson and Thompson accompany them on the voyage, whereas in the book they only appeared in one panel.

Captain Haddock plays a leading role and Professor Calculus almost makes a cameo, while they were absent in the original comic book.

Also being absent in this series were Nestor, Arturo Benedetto Giovanni Giuseppe Pietro Archangelo Alfredo Cartoffoli da Milano, Irma, Igor Wagner, Cutts the butcher and Krônik and Klûmsi.

Tintin is the person who meets Castafiore in the Music Show, whereas it is Captain Haddock in the original book.

More generally, Tintin's home is located in New York, resulting to be American instead of Belgian (Perhaps, for one of those reasons, "Tintin in America" is not adapted), Captain Haddock does not have a penchant for whiskey (and prefers drinking coffee instead), Professor Calculus does not have hearing problems and wears a yellow trench coat instead of green trench coat, Thomson and Thompson are brothers and their moustaches are identical, and Snowy has a red collar in some episodes.