“The Adventures of Tintin” (2011)

The Adventures of Tintin

Also known as: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

Brief Description: 

Intrepid reporter Tintin and Captain Haddock set off on a treasure hunt for a sunken ship commanded by Haddock’s ancestor. 

(from IMDb)

Date: 2011

Genre: computer-animated action-adventure film 

Running time: 1 hour 47 minutes

Cast: 

Jamie Bell (Tintin)

Andy Serkis (Captain Haddock & Sir Francis)

Daniel Craig (Sakharine & Red Rackham)

Nick Frost & Simon Pegg (Thomson & Thompson)

Toby Jones (Aristides Silk)

Daniel Mays (Allan)

Gad Elmaleh (Omar ben Salaad)

Enn Reitel (Nestor & Market Vendor)

Joe Starr (Barnaby Dawes)

Kim Stengel (Bianca Castafiore)

Renée Fleming (the Castafiore’s singing voice)

Sonje Fortag (Mrs. Finch)

Nathan Meister (Market Artist)

Tony Curran (Lieutenant Delcourt)

Mark Ivanir (Afgar Outpost Soldier/Secretary)

Sebastian Roché (Pedro/1st Mate)

Mackenzie Crook (Tom, a thug on the Karaboudjan)

Ron Bottitta (Unicorn Lookout)

Cary Elwes & Phillip Rhys (pilots)

Sana Etoile (Press Reporter)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Production companies: Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies, Columbia Pictures, Amblin Entertainment, WingNut Films, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, & Hemisphere Media Capital

Inspired by: The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn, & Red Rackham’s Treasure by Hergé

Wikipedia page

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I’ve always read Tintin in French and I hate the English versions (sorry… they’re just not right). But when a friend begged me to watch this with her, I did… and I was pleasantly surprised. 

Setting/Aesthetic/Feel: 5/5

First off, I loooooove the aesthetic. It’s very Tintin, while also being real-worldish to make his adventures even more alive. I love all the details, the music, the feel… AND THE CINEMATOGRAPHY!! There are some gorgeous bits during the flashbacks to the Unicorn and back, and at the very end… yeah, it’s a well-done film, and also the intro is hilarious and so cute. ;) The scenes and aesthetics are so vivid, and the music fits in real well.

Characters: 5/5

I was most worried that I’d dislike the characters. They turn out to be the perfect English version. Haddock is simply PERFECT as a Scotchman, and I enjoyed seeing everyone else as an Englishman except for the foreign characters. Everyone was so well done, even the minor characters like Pedro! Rackham & Sakharine are particularly excellent… I really liked the added backstory to Haddock and Rackham and all that stuff as well. 

Plot: 5/5

Being steeped in the Tintin books, I loved this plot. It follows the basic plot of the three books abovementioned enough that I knew where we were headed, but it twisted and changed plot points enough that it felt like a new story and was delightfully adventurous. I love their take on the three different stories and how they were woven together, and how they fit the characters so well. And I LOVED the parallels between Captain Haddock, Sir Francis, Rackham, & Sakharine. It could be taken as a reincarnation thing, I suppose, but I saw it simply as a generational struggle that finally faced off and was won. The humour was great, and the suspense was gripping, and the mystery thread was perfect, and the action scenes were so fun… I should stop fangirling now ;) 

Theme/Message/Topics: 5/5

Not much of a message, but brief as it was the Captain’s pep talk about breaking through walls was excellent. ;) 

Also, the mini theme about “from the light shall come the light”—MY HEART I LOVED IT. 

Content: 4/5 (low)

Drinking is a constant theme with the Captain, but handled exactly like in the books—humorously but not condoningly. Rackham curses Sir Francis’ descendants (causing the alcoholism that plagues Haddock and his forefathers). Maybe a few euphemisms, I can’t recall. 

Violence: 4/5 (low)

Mild violence. Recommended ages 14+

Overall: 5/5

So yeah, I loved this so much I’ve watched it twice now, plus once in French (it’s just as good!!!!) and it’s one of my fav films now ;)