Le Soir, July 22, 2009.

Putting Belgium back together again

Published on 22 July 2009 at 15:14
Le Soir, July 22, 2009.

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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…

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