Everybody involved with the Tintin movie is sincerely hoping that the buzz of excitement going around Europe makes it to the USA, and Moulinsart is no exception. And they’ve done a wonderful job of pretty much recreating the american Tintin site that tells you everything you need to know to get into Tintin, not just the Tintin movie. Moulinsart is hoping for long term results here.

To be honest, I’m not sure exactly how realistic it is to expect that after December millions of Tintin albums will be bought by curious fans of the Tintin movie, but it would certainly be great if that were to happen. It’s partly up to this site to convince curious American’s that they should not only watch but read Tintin, and all of you should by no means expect this site to not have anything to post about a few months after the Tintin movie is out around the world. There’s always something related to Tintin going on someplace, or something interesting worth posting. I’m looking forward to keeping this site alive for a long time, even until ”Prisoners of the Sun” comes out.

The new American site has a detailed list of characters and info on each one of them from A-Z, and even has a ”how to draw Tintin” section (not quite as easy as it looks in my opinion).

Also, at least for this month (which ends pretty soon) you can watch the full length ”Tintin and the Lake of Sharks” film in their video sections. I made it through the whole thing once years ago and doubt have plans of doing so again any time soon. It’s a great reminder of why the new Tintin movie should not have been completely animated…nobody can draw Tintin quite like Hergé could. In their credit, the more recent TV series from the 90´s did look better, but I´m still very glad that Disney turned down the rights to Tintin when Hergé offered them to him. But…if you´ve always wanted to see the film without spending any money, go check it out. There are a few other videos to see as well.

Overall, I applaud Moulinsart´s effort on the new site. All that is left now is for people to go see it. Go be some of the first! Click here.

Great job finding this Emily! It’s great having all of you find the stuff I miss.

Source: http://us.tintin.com/

Time Magazine has recently written a fairly positive write-up of ”Tintin” that recaps a bit on Tintin’s history and,if you still don’t really know who Tintin is yet, will do a very good job of teaching you much of what you need to know. It’s a starting point at least. There’s no spoilers, and I highly recommend you read it here, whether you have never heard of Tintin or are an intense fan. If you have yet to read Chris Tregenza’s review of the film, click here. I highly recommend you read that as well.

Good find, Emily!

It would actually be pretty cool if they made a sequel and Time once again wrote an article on Tintin, because while Tintin did travel many places, in that case he would actually go ”back in time”…Man, I could loose visitors if I keep terrible puns like that up…

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is OUT in Europe! And just as was confirmed months back, McDonald’s has toys.

Speaking a fair amount of French but a fluent amount of Spanish, it’s always nice when news comes to me from Spain. Actually these exact toys can be seen up close on mcdonalds.be, but this nice little montage as well as a cute video that will hopefully atract some attention on TV is available on the spanish site. I always knew this day would come, but it’s fun to watch it live itself out, and I’m debating about telling a Spanish friend of mine to buy me 10 happy meals over the next few weeks and I’ll pay him back later. Any news on whether or not these are the same toys that will hit the USA in a few months would be highly appreciated.

The toys are (from left to right):

A ”Snowy kit” that, from what I got on the Belgian site (French people feel free to jump on there and find out any cool details I’m missing on these worth translating, I would be very thankful) that contains a toy Snowy, a pencil and a little book. The drawing thing is always fun for kids, I in particular am already pictuing how nice that Snowy will look on my ”Tintin wall” back home…

The Thompson Twins, along with a suitcase that folds out so you can draw there and a pencil. I actually don’t have any Thompson or Thomson figurines, and certainly none that will cost me 4 euros at McDonalds! I will have to call my Spanish friend…

A ”Decoder boat” that has something underneath that decodes messages. We of course all recognize the scene Tintin and Haddock are posing in. Cool.

Snowy and telephone…help me out please French friends…I didn’t catch whatever this one does…UPDATE: there is a secret drawer under the phone that you can hide stuff in. And this comes with stickers.

Red Rackham and his chest…VERY cool figure of Red Rackham, I can really see kids playing with this one. You always need to include the villain in there, and I’m glad they did him right. He’s perfect.

Sir Francis Haddock…I don’t know if he does anything, but at least he’ll look great on display.

The Unicorn spyglass, with images from The Unicorn inside it when you look. That’d make a great souvenir for all of us who will look back later and remember how we died waiting for new images to come out…

Haddock puzzle…It’s a bit of a shame you can’t take the frame off of Haddock’s hands (I’m guessing), I personally would play more with it if he could go off on adventures with Tintin without a huge frame in his hands. And the puzzle seems less than challenging since it only has a few sliding pieces. But again, it is an image of Tintin AND a Haddock figurine for 4 euros, with food as well. UPDATE: the puzzle is really some kind of a funny ”create your own funny character mixing puzzle pieces that form characters from the movie” toy. And the frame does indeed come off of Haddock’s arms. Cool!

The Unicorn…I love this one. I’ve always wanted a model ”Unicorn”. I assume it’s a pull-back, I’m not sure. My only thing against it is that it doesn’t have that mast thing (forgive my lack of nautical terms) in the front of it over the Unicorn…it kind of feels like there is something missing. UPDATE: the ship also comes with 3 parchments you hold up to the light. Wow…

And Tintin in a box that you can shut and open with a push of a button. He does come out, and his legs even move (which is actually more than I can say for Plastoy’s Tintin). His hair is a kind of dark brown for him, but I’m hardly so much of a perfectionist to let THAT spoil my fun.

Seriouly, these toys are really pretty good. It’s sort of sad that they are almost the best figures out. Is Plastoy really the only other company selling Tintin toys (outside of whoever’s making those ridiculous plush toys…)? I was hoping for a bit more for such a huge film. Perhaps Moulinsart won’t have much competition with Tintin Movie figures after all.

But, seriously, knowing Tintin fans out there, these will go for big money one day on Ebay. Not sure how much, but enough that it is worth your money to maybe buy 2 when you pick one up at McDonalds. Man…I haven’t bought a Happy Meal in years…

Back in May 2007 I wrote the first post to what was then called TintinMovie.com. Four and half years later, I have finally seen the film. The question is, has it been worth the wait?

A Brief Review for Non-Tintin Fans

If you’ve never read a Tintin book or watched the cartoons, this bit of the review is for you.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is fun film for all the family with a good mix of action and humor. Much of the comedy is slapstick which has a broad appeal but there are a few more adult gags sprinkled around. The plot is simple enough for all but the smallest of children to grasp and the film rattles through it with little time spent on introspection or character development before diving into the next action sequence. Though some of those action sequences, especially the chase through Bagghar, are overly complicated.

The animation, including the motion capture, is fantastic and I completely forgot that what I was watching was not real. The cityscapes, both of Brussels and Bagghar, are wonderfully detailed and the character’s faces are expressive. At times, Tintin’s face had a slightly spooky, unreal quality and Captain Haddock’s head did not seem in proportion to his body but not in a way that detracted from the film. More disappointing was the 3D. This was the first 3D film I’ve seen and I won’t bother again. Occasionally the effects did enhance the film but more often than not they got in the way by drawing your attention to them rather than the characters and I would recommend seeing the film in 2D.

Another disappointment was the music by John Williams. There is nothing wrong with the music and it does it’s job well, however it lacks that knockout punch. There is no “Indi’s Theme” or “Emporer’s Theme” that you will be whistling as you leave the cinema.

Apart from these minor quibbles, Tintin is a good film and a great way to spend a couple hours for both adults and children.

A Longer Review for Tintin Fans

The film is great. It honours and respects the original books without being limited by them. Adapting three books into one story (Crab with the Golden Claws, Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham’s Treasure), has given the Spielberg and Jackson the space to take the best from the books and fit it into the very different medium of film.

Spoiler Warning

I’m going to assume that everyone has read the three books concerned but I won’t reveal anything specific to the film.

The storyline is 50% taken from Secret of the Unicorn and 30% from Crab with the Golden Claws. Only a tiny part comes from Red Rackham’s Treasure and the rest is new for the film. The two main source books are skillfully weaved together and work brilliantly. I suspect we have the skill of Steven Moffat to thank for this. Many of the key scenes from these books appear in the film – from Tintin buying the model Unicorn; Tintin & Haddock’s first meeting; the life boat and the seaplane; lost in the desert; and Thompson & Thomson in arabic dress. Often the visuals are identical to Herge’s originals and capture the full page illustrations from the book.

Where the film is weaker is where the plot does not follow the books. Particularly the sequence in Bagghar. Here it turns into an over-the-top Indiana Jones action sequence with a lot in common with a James Bond style chase from the 80s or 90s. It is beautifully done and amusing but seems out-of-place and redundent. The final showdown between Haddock and Sakharine is similarly on a large scale but it has a point in the film and also nicely echos Francis Haddock’s and Red Rackham’s sword fight.

The central characters of Tintin, Snowy and Haddock are true to the books. Haddock is a drunk and at times a coward and an idiot. Snowy is resourceful, loyal and as keen as Haddock to get at the whisky. Whilst Tintin is the perfect (almost too perfect) boy scout – honourable, smart and brave. The minor characters, such as Allan, are also consistent with the books and the cameo by Bianca Castafiore and Haddock’s reaction to her singing is excellent.

The Tintin Fan’s Film

From the opening sequence (which is fantastic and screamed out as a tribute to Saul Bass) to the last moments of the film, the movie is stuffed with Tintin references. I must confess I spent a lot of time just keeping an eye out for nods to the source material. Certain scenes, such as Omar Ben Salaad’s palace, are packed with them but there are many more subtle ones (watch out for the cans of food that Tintin has to dodge on the docks). Several times I was the only one laughing in the cinema as I spotted references*.

An early scene has the camera panning around Tintin’s study where newspaper clippings of some of his greatest adventures can be seen. Interestingly, they seem to place The Secret of the Unicorn in the correct chronologically point, i.e. none of his later adventures were featured (though I need to see the film again to be sure).

It will be obvious to any Tintin fan, from the first 30 seconds, that this film is made by people who love and respect the original. This is not a shameless plundering of a culture icon for financial gain but a real attempt to capture Tintin’s magic on the big screen. Whilst it is not a perfect or ideal adaptation of Herge’s work, it is damn close.

Chris T.

* At one point, there is a shark hanging from the ceiling. I’m sure this crops up in one book but I cannot place it. Can anyone help me out?

After years of following the movie, from its formative stages, to it’s first revealed images, to it’s first trailer, to now, it is with tears in my eyes that I can now say that the movie is officially out for the world to see. Well…sort of. Most people in europe will see it on the 26th, but Belgium got the premiere a bit early. The tears are, of course, because I didn’t get to go see it and won’t until December…but I don’t speak quite enough French to appreciate the movie at it’s premiere anyway, so I guess it’s for the best.

Archibald, who frequently comments on this site and DOES speak enough French to totally appreciate the movies premiere in Paris, that Spielberg did make it to after the premiere in Belgium, wrote a review that I’d like all of you devoted Tintin fans out there to read. Thanks Archibald!

I’m back from the Paris Premiere.

That was quite spectacular. I had high expectations. Well it didn’t disappoint.

I don’t even know where to begin my (spoiler-free) review.
I could start with the actors. Jamie Bell is great as Tintin. As great as he could be with this character. I love the books, I love Tintin, but there’s really not much to work on. But as I was saying, he does a remarkable job.
The entire cast delivers a solid performance, but two actors are above all the others. That’s Andy Serkis as Haddock and Daniel Craig as Sakharine. They’re just perfect.

The script works very well. I know the books, so I could say which scenes come from The Crab with the Golden Claws or Secret of the Unicorn, but for someone unfamiliar with the original stories, there’s no way to see what they did. f I have one thing to say about the way the handled the whole “secret cargo” deal, here it is : relax. It’s perfect.
I liked how some aspects of the story are revisited, but in a Tintin spirit ; and very often, they manage to quote the books to the letter. For a fan, it’s pretty nice. Also, there’s a subtile nod to Explorers on the Moon which was quite fun.

What about Spielberg’s directing job, I hear you ask. Well it’s phenomenal. It’s clear he had fun making this movie. And it’s fun to watch that. The way he and Michael Kahn edited this is magnificent.

It’s thrilling from beginning to end, and I’m going back for more next wednesday. Also, I want sequels.

I filmed Steven Spielberg being interviewed on stage, but it’s really a bad quality video. I shall post it if you insist, but it’s not mind-blowing.

And that’s that !

All you Europeans have fun these coming days. And remember, if you see any toys or merchandise around, I’d love to post a picture of it here, to try to record as much as possible all of the Tintin movie merchandise that came out. Here are a few shots from the premiere:

Spielberg

They do kind of look like each other…

Gad Elmaleh, Steven Spielberg, Joe Letteri and Jamie Bell

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/tintin-has-world-premiere-in-his-hometown-1319303021-slideshow/movie-director-steven-spielberg-second-left-british-actor-photo-103850083.html

The two ”greatest storytellers of our time” were recently in an interview with THR. It’s a great interview, and as you listen they play almost all the footage from the trailers. I know I’ve seen it all so many times, but it still surprised me just how much we’ve seen.

There were also a few great parts not in the video I think are worth a read:
“Once, it was very funny, there was one moment where we were rehearsing the actors and Peter had just come down about 4 a.m. his time and I wanted to consult with him about a change in dialogue — and there was Peter on the monitor,” Spielberg laughed. “I said, ‘Peter?’ And Peter was sort of sitting there, but his eyes were closed. I said, ‘Peter! Wake up!’ And he didn’t move.”
The biggest problem the filmmakers confronted, he added, was the script: “We kept changing the script all through the shoot. We had an entire subplot we cut out. We shot it to thicken the plot, because the plots in all the Hergé books are very easy to understand and we tried to overly complicate them and realized that Hergé was right and we were wrong.”

Source: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/tintin-steven-spielberg-peter-jackson-249495

I would expect this to be the last trailer revealed before the movie comes out. It gives some great footage of the ”Unicorn vs Pirate Ship” battle and some cool new shots of Captain Haddock. It very much flows with the story line, and if I didn’t know so much about the actual story already I’d almost feel like it gave away a lot of the movie had I watched it as an average viewer. But of course any details about the end of the story are obscure.

I don’t have the time to do a screenshot post, I’m very busy this week (it figures). But make sure to notice Nestor now has his own ancestor clone in the past, and Sakharine has this creepy falcon or something like that. I love the pictures of the Unicorn at the library too.

The time for new trailers has sadly most likely come to an end…in only a little over a week the movie will be out!

source:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=op3w_ICK4us

I think Tintin looks best in this one out of all his appreances in a poster so far. It’s so fun to look at! The contrast between the desert and the water has never worked better,either. Heads will turn when they see this poster…

It would be a mistake to think of Tintin as Belgium’s only major comic character, or even to say Tintin and then the Smurfs are the only big names. True, nobody outside of Belgium knows about many of them, but Belgium really has hundreds of different comic strips, albums. The Belgians don’t just know Tintin…they know comics. It’s a huge part of their culture. But Tintin is the king of all their comic characters, the best of them all. So it was vitally important to the people of Belgium that the Tintin movie be done right. Nearly any adaptation a director does of a story will always upset some fans, but if this was done wrong it would do nothing less than slap Belgium in the face.

Of course we KNEW they had nothing to worry about. But here’s some of the stuff they’ve said about it. Reporters from both the Dutch and French sides of the country were invited to a private screening (what a unique priviledge!) and they loved it. The Dutch newspaper ”De Standaard” called the film a ”bull’s eye”, and the age old French ”Le Soir” newspaper Hergé used to work called the film a ”pure jewel”. Spielberg, Jackson,Weta…if you can impress Belgian reporters, you can impress anybody. Certainly you would have impressed Hergé.

The movie has also recently been rated by the British Board of Film Classification. The film will run for one hour and 47 minutes. The film has been rated PG for ”moderate action violence” and, while it doesn’t mention it on the official site, Haddock drinking alcohol is definitely a reason as well. But for those of you who don’t know much about Tintin, know that the movie will not be encouraging children to drink. It’s just a humorous and very real side of Captain Haddock. In ”The Crab with the Golden Claws” most of Haddock’s humor is in how drunk he gets, and later on it’s more about how ridiculously obsessed he can get with getting a drink at any given moment.

The PG rating will hopefully show people that this movie is for ALL ages. It’s rather sad that many people don’t see a ”Family” movie as anything they should spend their money on because it’s a ”kids” movie. No! This is not a kids movie! Kids will love it because it is intended for ALL ages, and they fall under that category. Children under 7 might find it a bit scary. But I’d say, and Hergé would agree I’m sure if you’re anywhere between 7 and 77 you WILL enjoy this movie. Unless you’re the kind of guy that just doesn’t like a good story with good characters, action and humor at all, in which case you probably aren’t reading this blog.

Sources: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iSwDFU9q82HPCb8p8Jzex1zRhKtA?docId=6ca242b06db2457db9ee3b201dfd3b8a

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/BFF279229/

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2331746766047&set=o.103731823053038&type=1&theater

Tintin returns to New York for the first time since ”Tintin in America” for the New York Comic-Con. And some short clips have been revealed from the movie. I watched one, but couldn’t get myself to watch any more than that. It seems ridiculous that of all people I would be afraid of spoilers, but I do want at least some elements, lines, etc of the movie to be a surprise. More than once have I spoiled a good portion of a great movie I watched because I followed the videos online too closely the months before it came out. But if you are interested in watching any of these clips, you can find them here. I haven’t even watched some of the ”making of” videos out there. From now on I will be posting SPOILER ALERT style warnings anytime this kind of thing shows up. If you leave a comment on one of these subjects, I would appreciate and I’m sure others would as well that you leave such a warning.

But what’s happened because of these clips, while not at all surprising, is certainly great to see. Critics that PREVIOUSLY picked on motion capture, even other shots of Tintin, are finally admitting, as we’ve been saying for EVER, that Tintin looks perfectly fine in motion! Of course, I would argue he looks incredible, but at least they’ve made their first step in that direction. Wait until the movie comes out, you’ll hear them say it. There was some kind of a private screening in Belgium, and the responses were, from what I’ve heard, very positive.