From comic book to movie: The Adventures of Tintin

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn hits theaters this week in time for family/holiday time. From film gurus Steven Speilberg and Peter Jackson, the story follows the exploits of young journalist Tintin and his dog, Snowy, in a hunt around the world for a ship and the mystery surrounding it’s last voyage. The film is based on the comics by creator Herge in the mid to late 1900’s. Speilberg and Jackson have been working to bring the story to the big screen for years. Most famous overseas, Tintin has opened to rave reviews around Europe and is now coming to the US.

The film is visually stunning in 3D (and even better enhanced on an IMAX screen) with great landscapes and fast action performance capture technology. Some of the scenes are so real looking they make the audience forget they are watching an animation. The story takes place on land, sea and in the air. Although the story is a bit predictable, moviegoers will be distracted with the amount of action and fast pace instead of seeing the ending coming. Speilberg definitely brought the classic action and plot of the original Indian Jones trilogy to Tintin and Peter Jackson adds his special effects magic to make this movie amazing.

Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis working on the Adventures of Tintin
Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis working on the Adventures of Tintin

Jamie Bell (from Billy Elliot, Jumper, and King Kong) took on the role of Tintin after some production troubles in 2008 and brings the young voice (and actions) of the main character off the page and onto the big screen. Throw in other big names like ubernerds Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, Daniel Craig, and motion-capture-god Andy Serkis and this movie explodes from the screen. Serkis lends his body to Captain Haddock (Tintin’s best friend from the comic), Pegg and Frost play story favorites Inspectors Thomson and Thompson, and Craig plays the villainous Ivanovich Sakhraine. During an early screening, Nick Frost and Jamie Bell talked about being the challenges of a film about such a famous character and the performance capture work – sharing how filming was like “being loaded into the Matrix.”

Film Poster for the Adentures of Tintin

The film is a great family movie for the holiday season that will keep everyone happy in their seats with action, mystery, humor, and the scene-stealing Snowy. DO NOT miss the 3D version of this film. Early buzz from the film has already stirred talk of sequels. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn opens Wednesday, December 21, 2011 in theaters everywhere.