The Adventures of Tintin

Let me start this off by leveling with you. I don't come at this movie from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about the franchise. You see, I've read virtually all of the Tintin comics, though I never saw the animated series. I know these characters and what they're all about. Fortunately, fans of the comics won't need to suffer the disappointment of character derailment in this movie. Every last character is spot-on. Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock, Thompson & Thompson... It's all there. If you read and enjoyed the comics, you'll find much of what you enjoyed in this film as well. I say "much," because while a certain amount of excitement was also common in the comics, they were largely mystery-based, rather than action, and this film has very strong and almost-constant action and suspense elements to it, though its penchant for mystery, treasure-hunting and adventure remain as strong as in the comics it was based on. However, now it's time for the fanboy in me to take a back seat and explain some of what this film is actually about for those not familiar with the character of Tintin (who, it must be admitted, is something of a niche character outside of Europe.) Tintin, a young reporter and seeker of secrets and stories, buys a model ship in the marketplace one day, while he's out for a walk. Immediately, two men try to buy it off him, but he doesn't sell, because he realizes something must be up with it. A series of accidents, investigations and crimes lead him to uncover an old poem which seems to promise a great treasure to those who can unlock the secret of "the three unicorns sailing in company." However, Tintin and his friends will need to fight for their lives, because another man; Saccharine is looking for the same treasure, and that's not all he's looking for. He's willing to stop at nothing to get what he wants, even if it involves kidnapping, torture, thievery and murder. Tintin is fast action, high adventure and a thrilling mystery all rolled into one. Now, specifically to those who've tried to claim that Tintin rips off Indiana Jones. It would be more likely that the reverse was true, since Tintin comics were published from 1929 to 1976, and Raiders of the Lost Ark wasn't released until 1981. However, it's almost universally recognized that what Indy really rips off is Allan Quatermain, so I won't make that claim. Needless to say, if you think this film is a ripoff of Indy, you're simply wrong, and that's all there is to it. What this film is, is simply fun. Good, clean fun with some nice action sequences and several very good chase scenes. It's a well-done ride, and as icing on the cake, a bit of Catholic history comes up at one point during the movie. Herge himself (the comic's author) was Catholic, and writing for a Catholic publication, which only elevates my respect for the series, as you might imagine. It's a great series, and a very good movie as well, and I think the main reason is that Stephen Speilburg and Peter Jackson seem to have realized that they just shouldn't mess with what obviously works. Kudos to them for understanding this, and for their faithfulness to the source material. I recommend this movie to anyone looking for good, clean fun, or anyone who likes a nice, hair-raising adventure. There's guns and alcohol in it, but it's all treated appropriately, I think. I don't even think kids would have too many problems with this movie, to be honest. I know I didn't, and I hope many other Tintin fans will get as much out of it as I did.

I really did not know what to expect. I am American, so I had never heard of TinTin until the release of this film. It absolutely took my breath away. I didn't even know what hit me until after watching it. It is even hard for me to write about TinTin. To be fair, I was lucky enough to watch it in the original 3D version on BluRay. 3D enhanced this movie into the stratospheres. I cannot say enough for how powerful the use of 3D is in this movie. It makes a huge difference and I am sure increased my love for TinTin by leaps and bounds. The 3D TinTin something to behold!!! This is one movie I am so glad I purchased on Blu Ray. I really want to watch it again and again. I feel I only skimmed the surface the first time through. The plot is somewhat complex. The characters are remarkable. TinTin and Snowy captured from what I can see, the comic characters to a T. It is a very fast paced action film that never ever stops for a second. But that is how the comic book is. One thing after another. That being said, it got under my skin. The motion capture photography is like nothing I have ever seen before. It is spectacular. The colors are cinematic wonders. Spielberg outdid himself. I feel this is the Indiana Jones I had been told was so great. I loved this movie a thousand times more than every Indian Jones put together. But I am sure that is just me. The animation is in a class by itself. And the movie has stuck with me in a way no movie does. I can't get it out of my mind. I am surprised by the tepid amount of reviews for TinTin. Maybe it is an American thing. I think in Europe where TinTin is well known it was a smash hit. I loved it so much. What a wonderful film!!! I had no idea I would even like it. I did not even have any big expectations for it once it was released here in the US. I do not want to give anything away so I won't talk plot here. Just that TinTin buys a ship that holds many secrets untold. That is all I want to say. I hear Peter Jackson is going to direct the next TinTin. Wow. I cannot wait.

I have seen this movie three times since it came out. My siblings and I were introduced to Tintin as preteens when we lived overseas. My family's first official pet, a white toy poodle, was named after Snowy; Snowy passed away several years ago. When I first saw the character Snowy in the movie, it brought back some memories! I thought this was a great movie version of the comic books. Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock, and Thompson & Thompson were perfectly portrayed! My sister-in-law who had never read the books was bothered by the Captain's drinking, but I knew that was just like his character in the book (Tintin's character does a good job of showing how he disapproves of this behavior during the course of the movie). In regards to the storyline, Tintin and his adventures are just that, they are adventures! There isn't some great moral or I would say a particular message that the comic books are trying to get across; they are just about a young man and his dog and the mysteries that they attempt to solve, the adventures that cross their paths. I think the movie does a perfect job of showing that. The movie is family friendly and would be appropriate across ages, but it does have more violence than most kids animated movies, because of the type of story that it is. It has a couple of mild swear words, but no inappropriate or dirty humor, keeping it just like the comics. As a fan of Tintin, I really think the movie was made for the fans, not necessarily as a kid movie, but probably to introduce new people (children) to Tintin. It may not have done a good job of that, but Tintin has been around for years, and has never become popular in the US. If you haven't read any of the comics, you should definitely try them. They are comics that I would want my children to grow up reading, good, clean mysteries, with an intelligent protagonist, trusty sidekick, and fun and interesting secondary characters.

Very good movie

This is Spielberg's only fully computer animated film. A family film, it stays away from blood, gore and the like but doesn't scrimp on the Indiana Jones style action. In fact, this is as close in style to an Indiana Jones adventure as Spielberg has ever directed outside of that series. Spills, thrills, fun and even some humor are delivered in this exciting adventure that keeps it all light and inoffensive (it is a Spielberg family film, just like E.T. was). The 3D is very good, with a more Avatar like approach to the 3D, opening into the movie's world instead of a lot of popping out of the screen (although there are a few such moments). I liked this much more than I was expecting. Call it's style Indiana Jones "light".

As one of the movie critics said, Tintin has a great job: he is a reporter who only goes on adventure and doesn't seem to write any article at all, but he is getting famous anyway! For the people who knows Tintin, the comic book (or "Bande Dessinée" as we say in France), The adventures of Tintin are a mix of "The Crab with the Golden Claws" and "The Secret of the Unicorn". While looking to pierce the mystery of the Unicorn, Tintin and Snowy encounter Capitain Haddock, and the three of them continue this adventure through the Karaboudjan (Haddock's ship), the Sahara, and Brussels. Visually speaking, this movie is by far the most accomplished animation movie ever made. This can be seen with the characters, who are all amazingly drawn and animated at a point it is troubling. They look indeed so real, but yet specific "Comic book" elements are kept. That allows Spielberg to show unbelievable scene - like the one in Bagghar - that would annoy in a realistic movies, but are simply enjoyed in this case. You can compare this to Myazaki's movies, which shows believable character in situation not so believable, but some little moments (inertia, size of the tears, etc.) help for the movie coherence. So yes, the characters animation is astonishing. The action scenes are great too, though not as detailed as the characters. Yet a 10/10 for the reatlisation for sure! As for the story, many people got upset that two stories are mixed to produce one movie, or that Professor Calculus wasn't introduce. The fact is that the movie feels a bit long - especially at the end - and has multiple slow moments. I think people who read Tintin as a kid/teenager had a "too much/too little" feeling after this movie, hoping for more and regretting some parts. My understanding is that Spielberg use these Comics to make an adventure movie, and he succeeded in it: it is thrilling, interesting, funny and Comic-y. However, there are two moments that creates problem. - The first is the rememberance of Haddock about his ancestor, which is a way to introduce the plot of the next movie, more than explaining this movie's story. This wasn't necessary, and could have been kept for the beginning of the second movie. - The second is the final battle. It lacks (in my opinion) the intensity shown during the scene in Bagghar. Therefore, you end the movie on a smaller note than what you would expect, and therefore a bit disapointment Apart from these points, there is no deception. If you are a kid, you will enjoy all of the adventures and the insults Capitain Haddock is yelling. If you are a young adult, you will be fascinating by the visual quality of this movie. If you are an older adult, you will appreciate this kid movie (because it is a kid movie) without the bad humour so many animation movies are showing these time.. And the hero is actually a human, not a snail or a car, yay!

I've read the Tintin comic books (have all the hardcover sets they sell here on Amazon), and have seen the Nelvana cartoon series (which is pretty much completely lifted from the comic books). Love them all! So many times I have been disappointed when Hollywood takes something I love, adapts it to the big screen, and completely ruins it so that any resemblance between the movie and the original is pure coincidence. With Spielberg and Jackson at the helm, I expected a high quality production, but what about the actual story? This movie takes elements from three Tintin books - "The Crab with the Golden Claws", "The Secret of the Unicorn", and "Red Rackham's Treasure". Most of "The Crab..." that's in the movie is about how Tintin and Captain Haddock met. In "Unicorn", the flea market scenes actually took place AFTER Tintin and Haddock met, as Tintin had bought the model ship as a gift for his friend. But in the movie, he bought the ship before he met Haddock. But unless you are that much of a stickler for details, this shouldn't matter. With the exception of these few details, the story was very true to the books and the Nelvana animated series. What was even better was how the characters were written; I am sure Herge would have approved, as they were just as he intended them to be. All the personality quirks of Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock, Thomson & Thompson, etc - all there as we remember them. I thought they did a great job with the casting, as well. I was afraid they'd ruin this movie by doing something dumb like bringing on a love interest for Tintin (something that never happened in the books, but Hollywood often can't leave stuff alone). This is an adventure story, not a romance, and it was wise of Spielberg/Jackson to treat it as such. The ending of the movie left me begging for a sequel. I hope they do make one, and it's to the same standards as this one. This Tintin fan loved it!

I had a cousin that was big on the Tintin (taen-taen) comics. I only ever breezed through his collection, never really indulging in any of them (I think they were mostly written in French anyway). So, when heard that a movie was coming out I was somewhat already in the know, and when I finally saw the movie I was pretty thrilled by it. The CGI actually adds a layer of texture to the film that I think was much needed for a cinematic presentation. If I had shot it I would not have had the presence of mind like Spielberg to actually enhance the visuals of both environment and the characters, which means my production would have looked pretty plain. But, I never did follow through with my film career, and so we get cinematic masters like Spielberg who really and thoroughly vetted the Tintin stories for all their worth to bring us this film. To me this is pure adventure. It's what I write. It's what I know. It's what I like. And so it is that I like this film and all of the plot intrigue that it presents. For a comic book translated to motion picture media, it's difficult for me to say whether this is really over the top or not. Again, it's adventure, it's Hollywood, it's Spielberg, it's post 1990s film making from a man who made his name in the 80s, so it's got that real splashy action quality to it. The bluray certainly looks better than what I saw in the theater, and that's about all I can say about it. Check it out.