Review: The Adventures of Tintin

• Writing
• Acting
• Directing
• Production Values
• Enjoyment

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn brings the legendary comic book character to the big screen and to the awareness of the larger American audience.  For much of the rest of the world, Tintin has been a favorite character for seventy years.  Created by Belgian artist and writer Hergé, Tintin is a young reporter that, accompanied by his fox terrier, Snowy, experiences grand adventures in Pre-war Europe.  The Tintin comic books are published in over 50 languages.  A friend once recommended I use them to learn foreign languages.

This film is a gorgeous CGI film made using motion-capture performances from an impressive cast, that includes Daniel Craig, Andy Serkis, Jamie Bell, and Simon Pegg and directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson.

CGI motion-capture has come a long way since Polar Express – a good film, but often criticized for the soulless eyes of the CGI characters.  Every emotion is projected through the eyes of the characters in Tintin.  Although the animators have been wise enough to make some features, such as the noses, cartoony enough to not draw suspicion, the characters feel very real.  Captain Haddock, in particular, feels real – and that’s no surprise because Andy Serkis portrayed Captain Haddock.  Serkis is the most accomplished motion capture actor, with roles including Gollum from Lord of the Rings and Caesar from Planet of the Apes.  Tintin is played by Jamie Bell, who became famous for playing young dancer Billy Elliot.  His physical acting skills are put on great display, here.

Even more impressive than the characters is the world in which the story is set.  Tintin crosses the globe from Europe to the Middle East, and with its approximately 1940 setting, direction from Steven Spielberg, and score from John Williams, it was easy to make comparisons to the Indiana Jones movies and to wonder – what if the next Indiana Jones movie was to be made fully in CGI?  With Harrison Ford animated and de-aged?

If there is a complaint to make about the film, it is that some of the action scenes go on a little too long.  This film is Steven Spielberg’s first time directing an animated movie and it just feels like he was having so much fun doing action scenes and camera shots that he could never afford to pull off in a live action film.

Without giving much away, the basic plot is that Tintin comes into possession of part of a treasure map.  As a roving reporter, he’s more interested in the story of the treasure than the treasure itself and he wants to know why someone is willing to kill to get the full map.  Along the way he teams up with a drunken Captain Haddock, whom is attached to the treasure by ancestry.

Tintin is in 3D and uses the technology well.  The viewer is immersed into every scene.

I so hope that Americans will give this film a chance and get to meet such a fun character.