When I first heard that a movie was being made about the Belgian Comic Tintin, I became very excited. I have always been a fan of animated movies, and The Adventures of Tintin proved to be no exception.
The film itself had an interesting plot: a young reporter/detective, Tintin, discovers yet another secret, a hidden message in a model ship, which intrigues him and leads to the unraveling of a 400 year-old mystery. He sets out on his quest to find the story behind the message and finds himself in a race to discover the mystery against a man with far more resources. Along the way, he saves an alcoholic ship captain with family lines intertwined in the mystery. The Adventures of Tintin is a typical underdog story, where Tintin’s ingenuity prevails over his opponent’s resources and connections.
I have mixed feelings about the human authenticity of the animated characters. To me, the most remarkable trait was the characters’ eyes, detailed to the vein. After having seen it, there is no way it should not have been animated. The animation provided the producers with far more liberties than if Tintin had real actors, which include the ability to use impossible camera angles and incredibly orchestrated scenes. Using these camera angles gave the audience a whole new point of view on the film, where the perspectives gave the viewers a chance to understand the situations the characters were in.
The film was directed by Steven Spielberg, starring the voices of Jamie Bell as Tintin, Andy Serkis as Captain Haddock, and Daniel Craig as the villain, the Red Rackham. Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are ingeniously casted as two identical, dysfunctional International Police, Thomson and Thompson.
Steven Spielberg had first heard of the Belgian comic book series in a french review comparing Raiders of the Lost Ark to Tintin. He immediately fell in love with the art of the comic book and spent the better part of 25 years trying to acquire a script that would do Tintin justice. The script was perfect; it was completely worth the wait.
In short, Tintin was a great film, with intensely complicated scenes. The animation was incredible, I can not imagine Tintin any other way.
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