The Adventures of Tintin Review

 

        Steven Spielberg and animation had crossed paths, but not in the way you would think. During the late 80s, his production company Amblin Studios produced two of animator Don Bluth’s films: An American Tail and A Land Before Time. Since they were both successes, with one of them spawning 11 sequels, Spielberg delved into producing a few animated series in the 90s with hits like Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. Additionally, Amblin spawned an animation studios, but it only existed within the 90s. It only made sense for a director who has directed a slew of genres to direct a style of animation that he can checkoff in his directorial checklist. 

1. What is Tintin?

        So you may be wondering what exactly is Tintin? Tintin was created by Georges Prosper Remi with his penname being Herges. It’s publication ran from 1929 to 1979. The series involved a reporter and adventurer named Tintin, along with his pet dog Snowball and the cynical Captain Haddock. They would globetrot around the planet to find elusive treasure. Sound somewhat familiar to the professor slash treasure hunter with a lasso. 

        In fact, when Spielberg was reading the reviews for Raiders of the Lost Ark, the French reviews kept referencing the series since they accused the film of being a rip-off. Both director and author kept in touch and the series was one of Spielberg’s pet projects. I feel that the film is more or less a complete circle of circumstance for the director. Since the film obviously evokes the Indiana Jones film, while also paying tribute to the Tintin series. 

        I haven’t had a chance to look or read the series. But looking at various panels, it has a distinct style that is obviously separates itself from whatever comic book series that came out during that time. And I feel that the animation was intentional since nowadays, some adaptations of comic books must be either live-action or animated. It would be tough to adapt to live action since Tintin has a very specific look, more so that the characters for the series also have a defining look. 

        The story is somewhat an amalgamation with other Tintin stories. Which involves changing some characters that aren't villains to be the antagonist. I feel that the story is easy to follow since it involves Haddock and a treasure that is tied to his ancestor and nemesis. We also have moments with the comedic duo Thompson and Thomson who are played by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg from Edgar Wright's Cornetto Trilogy. Who actually wrote the screenplay for the film.

2. Animation

        The animation is interesting, what both Spielberg and Peter Jackson used is called motion capture. It’s a style that includes an actor putting on an outfit with sensors around the suit. Which is then recorded on a computer. Looking at the behind the scenes, the production crew had to build a miniature set as a reference, which in turn the actors had to act and interact with objects that were there. 

        If there is one thing that separates itself with other animated films is that it’s an adventure film. There is one moment where both Tintin and Haddock are chasing the villain Sakharine, Haddock unintentionally destroys a dam, triggering a flood. The ensuing shot is continuous and it’s exhilarating with both Tintin and the Captain barely trying to keep up with the villain. Kinetic is the word to describe the action. The camera never constantly switches perspective and is mostly smooth when conversations occur and the tense moment involving the villain. 

        Although, with all the praise that I have with the film, it does suffer with the uncanny valley. What that means is that the characters look too real. I mostly attribute it with the characters looking like a real-life version of the characters but have life like eyes. Some might be turn off by it since it has a creepy thing for it. To me personally, it didn’t bother me as much when I saw other movies like Beowulf and The Polar Express, both by director Robert Zemeckis. 

3. Overall

        The film warrants a sequel but it’s currently in development hell, meaning that it’ll be a while for anything to happen. The Adventures of Tintin is a great animated film by Spielberg and Peter Jackson and an underrated gem of the 2010s.