Le Soir, July 22, 2009.

Putting Belgium back together again

Published on 22 July 2009
Le Soir, July 22, 2009.

Cover

Luke and Lucy: The Texas Rangers (original Flemish title: Suske en Wiske: De Texas Rakkers, original French title: Bob et Bobette et les diables du Texas, a CGI animated adaptation of the comic book by Willy Vandersteen (the Flemish Hergé [of Tintin fame]) is hitting Belgian cinemas today, 22 July.

The French-language daily Le Soir acclaims this Walloon-Flemish coproduction in a country torn by tensions between the two language communities. For this bound-to-be blockbuster – “the most expensive spaghetti Western in the history of Flemish cinema at €9.6m” – the (Flemish) producer enticed animators from the Walloon firm of CoToon Studios, already famed in the “European West” for their contributions to Max&Co and The True Story of Puss’N Boots. “In our country, Suske en Wiske is the perfect example of a great North-South collaboration,” raves CoToon Studios’ managing director. Suske en Wiske and Bob et Bobette are billed in both Flemish and Walloon versions respectively. There is even a special version for the Dutch, who prefer their own accent, of course…

Receive the best of the independent European journalism straight to your inbox every Thursday

Do you like our work?

Help multilingual European journalism to thrive, without ads or paywalls. Your one-off or regular support will keep our newsroom independent. Thank you!

Are you a news organisation, a business, an association or a foundation? Check out our bespoke editorial and translation services.

Support border-free European journalism

Donate to bolster our independence

Related articles