The Adventures of Tintin

The Adventures of Tintin (2011): United States – directed by Steven Spielberg

Rated PG by the MPAA – contains some action

As a young boy growing up in a third world Commonwealth country, I read a great deal of Tintin comics. Tintin and Asterix were my companions, and I preferred Tintin. The sense of adventure was intoxicating, and the characters clear and amusing. There have been many comic book movies appealing to a wide variety of fanboys, but now there is a movie specifically made for the fanboy in me. The Adventures of Tintin is the first film I’ve felt this way about; ecstatic, almost giddy, soaking in the absurdist adventure, the throwaway lines, a logo on a can of crab juice. Able to tell which lines were verbatim from the books, even if the story was vastly different. I have not been this happy while watching a film in a very long time, if ever. As a result, the following thoughts will be more subjective than I normally allow; please forgive my indulgence.

The film opens with a young man having his portrait done. His name is Tintin, and his portrait appears exactly as it does on all of the books he has appeared in. The camera pulls back to reveal Tintin in this motion-capture animated film, and the results are startling. In a full theatrical setting the result is impressive. The details are rich and textured, and only rarely veering too far into the Uncanny Valley. I was thoroughly absorbed throughout the film.

Tintin is played by Jamie Bell, at least his motions and voice. He is as good as one who loves Tintin might expect. Tintin is in a street market, and soon spies a model ship that intrigues him. He purchases it instantly, and is soon besot by two other gentlemen wishing to purchase it for him. Taking it home he soon discovers that the ship holds a great and dangerous secret, and that some men might wish him dead over it. The secret seems to point to hidden treasure, a centuries-old shipwreck, revenge, pirates, and much more. Along the way Tintin and his intrepid white dog Snowy will meet a variety of characters, most notably among them Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), a drunken wreck of a captain who has failed to maintain control of his own ship. Together Tintin and Captain Haddock must square off against the villainous Sakharine (Daniel Craig), who also wishes to possess the secrets held by the model ships. The story will set them adrift in the ocean, leave them stranded in a desert, and eventually land them back in England, ready for part two of the adventure, which is directed by Peter Jackson and due out in another year or so.

The story is mostly taken from “The Secret of the Unicorn,” the first part of a series finished by “Red Rackham’s Treasure.” The film borrows liberally from both parts, while omitting large sections of both and the entire treasure hunt of the second. The first book’s villains are replaced by Sakharine, himself an inconsequential bit player in the first book. I needed to constantly remind myself that the film had its own story, and I ought to follow it instead of being angry about the revisions. This was easy, though, as I had always fallen in love with the characters and adventures Herge presented, not the minutiae. This willingness to enjoy the film made each offhanded reference to another book or line taken verbatim from the book all the sweeter.

The Adventures of Tintin is, above all, an adventure story, and directed by Steven Spielberg. As such, it contains a great deal of adventure and action. It rarely lets up, is rarely realistic, and is almost always immensely enjoyable. Tintin’s pluck, Captain Haddock’s stubbornness, and Snowy’s sharper-than-human instincts pervade each sequence; it is easy to tell that the film was made by fanboys, including Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish and Steven Moffat. They clearly love Tintin and his adventures, and have taken great pains to stay true to the characters, if not precisely following the slight story that the books provide. Thompson and Thomson (played by Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, respectively) are an amusing and necessary inclusion, and go a great way toward keeping the film’s integrity intact.

The production is impressive, filmed with appreciable 3D and a keen eye for lighting. Watch the end credits closely to see just how much emphasis was put on lighting. It pays off, as the film manages to create an immersive atmosphere, and includes some stunning and stylish shots. The action is easy to follow, even at its most frenetic. Occasionally the bodies don’t seem to have the weight real people would, but this adds to the cartoonish quality of the film and remains in line with the atmosphere of the books.

I loved The Adventures of Tintin. I smiled almost the entire time, and was taken back to my childhood at numerous moments. The flashbacks to pirate battles between the dreaded Red Rackham and Sir Francis Haddock are skillfully created, and unendingly thrilling. These scenes, more than any other in the film, took me back to the happy moments of my childhood. Growing up in Pakistan, and attending boarding school in particular, was often very difficult. Most of my memories of that time seems to have been repressed, but evidently having my Tintin comics nearby was a bright spot. This film transported back to those feelings, perfectly satisfied my hopes for the journey, and entertained and made me happy throughout. As a film, on its own merits, The Adventures of Tintin is solid entertainment, well made, and with a memorable cast of characters. On its own merits it would be deserving of perhaps 3.5 stars. For me personally, the film is so much more; a bright happy spot that continues to thrill me, and is my favorite film of the year.