"Benoit Brisefer Et Les Taxis Rouges" was released in time to reap the Xmas tickets;unfortunately,it was not the expected big success;by and large ,comics turned into movies played by actors in the flesh don't succeed;for instance ,the Asterix cartoons are more satisfying than the others.And Spielberg's "Tintin" beats the sixties flicks hands down.
As for the others, "Michel Vaillant" did not do the comics justice and "Le Grand Vizir Iznogood" is an abomination compared to Goscinny-Tabarly 's gems.
"Benoit Brisefer " is a different matter ,for it is primarily a comic aimed at the children market ,to be precise the sixties children market (in the cartoon,they tried to re-create the atmosphere of a town of the time,and the dough the gangsters steal is Francs .It was reportedly filmed in Lisboa .)
Benoit was created in 1960,one year after Astérix with whom he shares the Herculean strength (not thanks to a magic potion,mind you ).That's why he has no mom or dad ,his only relative is an uncle (Tonton Placide) a secret service agent who does not appear here.He can't make friends with children his age ,because he involuntary always breaks their toys,and his best friend is Jules ,the taxi driver.One should note that one character strongly differs from the Peyo story:not only Madame Adolphine does not appear in this episode ,but she is not Benoit's tutor;besides ,she is a very old lady !
When Astérix runs out of magic potion,he loses his strength ;ditto for Benoit when he catches a cold.
As for the plot ,it is a rather trite story : Jules the taxi driver is victim of unfair trading :what can he do against the red taxis mighty company ,managed by the sinister-looking Poilonez ?Moreover ,this Tycoon wants to seize all the money and the jewels of Benoit's town ,à la "Goldfinger".
The boy who plays Benoit is cute and efficient :yes,he wears the beret,the red jacket, the blue scarf and the black short trousers .But it is as if the producers suddenly appreciated how thin the story all was and desperately tried to attract the parents with guest stars galore: Jugnot as Jules, Jean Reno as the villain ,Hippolyte Girardot as the couldn't care less superintendent , Thierry Lhermitte as some kind of Robinson Crusoé ....
"Benoit Brisefer" is a charming comic strip ,but it does not really appeal to adults the way Astérix or Tintin do.Hence the commercial failure.
