YMMV / The Adventures of Spirou and Fantasio

• Awesome Music: The main theme is strongly reminiscent of the James Bond one, and the romantic theme stands out as well.
• Broken Base: When it comes to Christian Clavier as Count of Champignac. To some viewers, it was a case of Questionable Casting, as Clavier has an opposite shaped silhouette (small and a bit chubby since he got older, while in the comics the Count is tall and thin). They also feared that he would play this wise, composed character in a bit hysterical way, like his first Asterix's interpretation (also a wise character). Those viewers had rather cast either Jean Rochefort, or Pierre Richard in the role, notably for physical resemblance. ^note  It was not possible anyway as Rochefort died during production, and certainly his health would not allow in to be in a film. Meanwhile Pierre Richard was already Spirou's grandfather in the movie adaptation of Le Petit Spirou the year before. You Look Familiar surely had to be avoided, despite the movies do not have ties with each other. To others, Christian Clavier was a good choice as, if it wasn't for the silhouette, he resembled the character when it comes to his face and behavior. Like in his second interpretation of Asterix, Christian Clavier did manage to render a wise, quiet character. Plus, these viewers felt that Clavier playing a Cool Old Guy a la Albert Einstein, instead of a conservative high-class man like he repeatedly does in comedies since 2014, was refreshing.
• Designated Hero: Adaptational Jerkass hits all the cast quite hard. In Spirou's case it's especially outrageous that he was made a pickpocket (it never happened in his origin stories until then). Despite his abilities are handy throughout the story and he's reformed in the end, many fans were shocked that this Ideal Hero was presented as an outlaw Only in It for the Money. ^note Especially when you know that his first editor, Jean Dupuis, was a devout christian who thought American comics were too subversive and wanted to make more suitable stories. And in the very first apparition of Spirou, Rob-Vel was particularly asked to design "the most virtuous bellboy ever". Trying to kill a Zorglub under Mind Control by making him fall in his own Lava Pit can be seen as particularly heinous too.
• Fan Nickname: This film, along with others adapted from Dupuis comics (Benoit Brisefer, the two Billy & Buddy, HOUBA! On the Trail of the Marsupilami, Le Petit Spirou and Gaston Lagaffe) is in an ensemble referred to as the "Dupuis Cinematic Universe", despite the movies having no ties with each other (the Marsupilami film doesn't even mention either Spirou or Fantasio, and Gaston Lagaffe similarly doesn't feature Fantasio while the comics do). More precisely, with Gaston Lagaffe and Spirou coming out the same year (2018), there where hopes of a "Franquin Cinematic Universe", with the sequels doing eventual crossovers. But none had sequels, as those movies were not profitable.
• Spiritual Successor: The scenario does not resemble the album Z is for Zorglub all that much despite obviously borrowing from it. Instead, it's quite close to the plot of Fantomas Unleashed. In it, a James Bond-esque villain kidnaps several scientists (including an old, mustachioed one) and puts them to work in his Volcano Lair in order to make a powerful brainwashing Hypno Ray. A Two Guys and a Girl ensemble proceeds to save them. Said ensemble includes a journalist and his Love Interest (who's also a reporter). The main difference lies in the fact that Fantomas Unleashed used a laser gun for Mind Control (albeit those were used too with the zorlgwaves in Z is for Zorglub) and have a 45 feet range, while the zorglwaves can brainwash all humans on Earth at once.
• Squick: When the trio is left in the desert with no water, Fantasio states that he heard that compressed camel's dump contains a drinkable liquid. Then they find a camel and its turd…
• They Changed It, Now It Sucks!: The hair color change of Seccotine was not very well received-despite justified by Ability over Appearance. But the reactions were negligible when compared to those about Spirou's complete change of personality, despite faithful to the original in terms of appearance. Globally, he's his own antithesis, being dishonest, greedy, asocial, disagreeable, and a wet blanket. In comics, Spirou is law-abiding, disinterested,a loyal friend, daring, and a Nice Guy. Plus making him afraid of planes (while having a pilot licence in comics), and being described hyperactive with a bit of strabismus does not match with his usual description as well. Nothing justified this, except perhaps if the goal was to make a Lovable Rogue out of him. But, being Unintentionally Unsympathetic, Spirou missed the "lovable" part. As he Took a Level in Kindness in the second part of the movie, which was an Origins Episode, the initial intention was probably to demonstrate that his usual friends clique shaped Spirou into a hero. Unfortunately, that fact that there was only one movie did not left enough time to develop the concept.

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