Spielberg's TINTIN movie

[bigsleepj]

Yes, all three you Tintin fans on the CAA; over the next few days Empire Magazine (in Britain) will periodically release screen-shots from The Secret of the Unicorn, the upcoming movie based on the adventures of Hergé's boyscout boy-reporter. For those not in the know Jamie Bell is Tintin, Andy "Gollum" Serkis is Captain Haddock, Simon Pegg & Nick Frost are Tompson and Thompson, though there is no indication of who is playing Professor Calculus, if any (*shakes fist*). Daniel Craig will play Red Rackham, and apparently the story will combine four Tintin books (Secret of the Unicorn, it's sequel Red Rackham's Treasure, The Shooting Star, with scenes from Crab with the Golden Claws as well. The script was written by Steve Moffat (who wrote the best Doctor Who episodes, including "BLINK", "The Girl in the Fireplace" and "The Empty Child / The Doctor Dances"), but was rewritten also by Edgar Wright (who wrote / directed Sean of the Dead with Frost & Peg).

Directed by Spielberg, produced by Peter Jackson, it uses motion capture (not my favourite medium) to make it look simultaneously like the comic but life-like as well. Since I've always been a fan of the books I'm looking forward to seeing this movie. Considering the amount of talent involved, it would be a monumental shame for this movie to suck.




If these pics don't display, then read the full teaser article.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Someone's bringin' riding boots for men back, that's for sure.

[Cloud500]

A traditionally animated film closer to the style of the original comics would have been nice, but this still looks really good. Hopefully we'll get a trailer in the coming months. There are a lot of talented people working on this film so I have high hopes.

[Sheenar]

I was never able to get my hands on the books, but I LOVED the Tintin cartoon series! It was always the highlight of my week.

Though an animated film would be nice, this movie still looks promising. I am optimistic.

[bigsleepj]

Someone's bringin' riding boots for men back, that's for sure.

Actually, those are plus fours and argyle socks.

[TWWK]

I know very little about Tintin, but Spielberg is my favorite filmmaker - I'm a total apologist for him and pretty love gobble up any movie he directs - and of course, was a big fan of Lord of the Rings (and really enjoyed King Kong as well), so I like Jackson. And I probably like motion capture more than most of you. I'm totally looking forward to this film!

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Actually, those are plus fours and argyle socks.

I thought the boots seemed unusual given what I remembered from the show. Looking again, yeah you're right... They're just very dark argyles. :p

[bigsleepj]

Gravedigging my own thread.

There is a teaser trailer, and it looks very promising, though there is still a bit of an uncanny valley feel, alas.

Enjoy the trailer.

[Cognitive Gear]

Being American, Tintin is something that I am entirely unfamiliar with.

However, given the names involved in bringing this movie to life, it seems that I have been missing out on something wonderful. Hopefully this movie will serve as a great introduction to what Tintin is all about.

The trailer looked pretty good, but I will hold off on any uncanny valley claims until I get a better look at the characters in action.

[Nate]

I saw the trailer and the movie poster and the names attached to this movie and I have to say that even though I know nothing about Tintin, I now desperately want to see this movie.

[Radical Dreamer]

Previously, I'd only heard of Tintin in bits and pieces, partially from people who are familiar with it on CAA, and partially from being an illustrator and hearing friends and teachers refer to it on occasion. I found the newly released movie posters yesterday, though, and as soon as I found out that Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright worked on the screenplay, and Jackson and Spielberg were at the helm, well...I'm officially interested. XD

I'm really not a fan of motion capture animation, but hopefully they'll manage to keep it from looking creepy. XD I'll be interested in seeing it when it comes out, either way!

[Yuki-Anne]

Looks awesome. That part at the end of the trailer with the ship in the desert was impressive.

I know nothing about TinTin so I have no expectations. I intend to keep it that way.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

I can't believe I didn't see this thread earlier! Just have to say I approve of the early posters and teasers. It'll be very interesting to see it in full. It's good to see so much interest in the movie.

[teigeki_calesa]

Will keep an eye on this.

[bigsleepj]

Previously, I'd only heard of Tintin in bits and pieces, partially from people who are familiar with it on CAA, and partially from being an illustrator and hearing friends and teachers refer to it on occasion. I found the newly released movie posters yesterday, though, and as soon as I found out that Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright worked on the screenplay, and Jackson and Spielberg were at the helm, well...I'm officially interested. XD

Spielberg had the film rights for over 30 years and have commissioned several screenplays, but the current one was written by British writers because he believes that, because they grew up with the books, they will bring more to the story.

Although Tintin stories have been serialized in the 50s and 60s Spielberg only heard of it the first time during the French premiere of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Many French critics noted the similarity between the characters and Spielberg, mystified, picked up a French language version and read it with the help of a French-English dictionary. Peter Jackson, however, grew up with the books, like just about everyone else outside of North America.

One the one hand Tintin graphic novels tend to be products of their time, but have aged very well. During the 40s and 50s, when American comic books reached a low-point thanks to self-censorship and just plain stupidity Tintin became popular in Europe because of its more intricate plots, ranging from supernatural stories (Seven Crystal Balls / Prisoners of the Sun) Hard Science Fiction (Destination Moon / Explorers on the Moon) to spy (The Calculus Affair) and just plain old adventure (everything else). I wrote a review of an early Tintin book recently on my blog.

[Radical Dreamer]

Tintin became popular in Europe because of its more intricate plots, ranging from supernatural stories (Seven Crystal Balls / Prisoners of the Sun) Hard Science Fiction (Destination Moon / Explorers on the Moon) to spy (The Calculus Affair) and just plain old adventure (everything else). I wrote a review of an early Tintin book recently on my blog.

So what you're saying is, I should totally pick up a few comics as soon as I can find them and read them ASAP? XD Because it sounds pretty intriguing. XD

[bigsleepj]

So what you're saying is, I should totally pick up a few comics as soon as I can find them and read them ASAP? XD Because it sounds pretty intriguing. XD

Yes. I guess.

Try your library and see if you can find some of the earlier ones like Cigars of the Pharoas, its sequel The Blue Lotus and King Ottokar's Sceptres, just to get the hang of it. These would get you into the feel of the comics, which are widely different from the feel of manga and US comics (one thing, there's more economy of story). When you've done that you may want to jump to the really good stuff. The Seven Crystal Balls, its sequel Prisoners of the Sun, Land of the Black Gold, Destination Moon / Explorers on the Moon (which took 4 years to complete because of its intricate art) and my favourite, The Calculus Affair, which is possibly the most polished Tintin book made.

Edit: Just remember, these books are old and, despite having aged well, are still products of their time. Just sayin'.

[bigsleepj]

Empire Magazine has published a trailer breakdown on-line. If you want to see the pictures in detail you can go, but the captions below assume that the reader has knowledge of the books and discuss things that might be spoilers, but is really still speculation as well.




The thing I like about this movie is that, for the most part, it tries to find a balance between realistic-face and the look and feel for the character designs of the 'albums'. Its an interesting contrast to other motion capture techniques that attempt to go too much for photorealism.

[UniqueAngelStar]

Wow. After watching the trailer, this movie looks pretty impressive, especially Steven Spielberg(My favorite producer) is producing it. Lovely graphics, so Pixar like.

Honestly, I don't know much about TinTin, but I seen him a little bit. It seems pretty interesting.

I like movies that are produced like this based on a classical character because it can give original fans happiness while others, especially younger people, can be introduced to a classic like TinTin.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

It's 'Tintin', not 'TinTin'. BigSleepJ wrote his name correctly. Why must people write it differently? (seems to be a common mistake).

[UniqueAngelStar]

Oh sorry about that. I'm not used to this, so I thought it was written that way.

[bigsleepj]

Honestly, I don't know much about TinTin, but I seen him a little bit. It seems pretty interesting.

Well, the set-up of the stories are not particularly complicated. Tintin is a investigative reporter who, with the help of his dog Snowy investigates strange cases. Along the way he makes several friends and enemies. Off course, the stories work on several layers, ranging from satire to slapstick to adventure. Maybe I'm repeating myself....

The bulk of the original stories were written between 1929 and 1960, and officially concludes in 1976 when the last completed adventure was published (an unfinished adventure exists in publication).

It's 'Tintin', not 'TinTin'. BigSleepJ wrote his name correctly. Why must people write it differently? (seems to be a common mistake).

I suspect it is the languishing effects of knowing only Rin Tin Tin. Soon these mental afflictions will be a thing of the past.

[bigsleepj]

A newer, more detailed trailer has been released. Finally we get a good look at Tintin, the Captain and the Thompson 'twins', both who sound exactly as they should sound. Specifically this trailer highlights the action and the humour (some of which comes directly from the books like the drunk Captain building a fire in the worst possible place). I really hope this movie doesn't end up to be another bloated Hollywood monstrosity.

Also, hopefully this is the last trailer as it seems to have given away half the movie...

*shakes fist*

[Sheenar]

My only experience with Tintin is the old cartoon:

The Adventures of Tintin

I loved it and would always make sure to be awake when it was time for it to come on TV.

I haven't gotten to read the books, but am interested if I can find them in my area or through inter-library loan.

The movie looks promising. I hope they've done it well.

[bigsleepj]

My only experience with Tintin is the old cartoon:

The Adventures of Tintin

I loved it and would always make sure to be awake when it was time for it to come on TV.

I haven't gotten to read the books, but am interested if I can find them in my area or through inter-library loan.

The movie looks promising. I hope they've done it well.

That series is a pretty good adaptation of the books 90% of the time]The Calculus Affair[/i], is completely screwed up and captures nothing of what made the original book my favourite.

[Scarecrow]

The movie looks alright... I've never heard of this series before and only knew of "Tintin" from Warrior's avatar. If this had any other directors attached I would not be interested in the least. I really can't stand this sort of animation but it does look a little bit better than the usual. Except for the main character, he looks pretty weird. He's not cartoonish enough like a lot of the other characters in this and comes off as quite creepy looking in a few shots.

But since Jacksons and Speilberg's names are attached, I'm curious. I really don't see how they, together, can do any wrong. I'm skeptical but... anyway.

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

If you were a fan of Tintin you'd be very excited about this movie, I know I am!

BigSleepJ, yeah, the animated series from the early 90's was pretty good but some of the violence was dumbed down, some stories were simplified and Captain Haddock's alcoholism and smoking played a very small role, if any (and they're such a vital part of his character). It seems that the new movie will feature a drunk Captain but one who is tamed down a little (presumably for the American audiences who have a problem with drink, even if it's not encouraged).

[bigsleepj]

...Captain Haddock's alcoholism and smoking played a very small role, if any (and they're such a vital part of his character).

Well, the smoking makes sense seeing how they don't want to indoctrinate children by accident, though the drunken humour is maybe too politically correct seeing how Haddock's drinking was hardly glamorized. I'm glad they retained that for the movie, at least. I don't see any sign that he's been 'tamed' a bit.

[teigeki_calesa]

Finally saw the trailer. At least for me, the characters didn't look creepy at all. Can't wait for the movie to get out.

Actually, the 90s animated series was my first taste of the franchise (and led me to the comics, naturally), and frankly, I see the modifications in the TV series more as pragmatic and not "dumbing down".

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

Second trailer for the movie. Looks great! Enjoy!
http://video.uk.msn.com/