This is old news, but since it won’t be long for the next season of ”The Amazing Race” to be aired on TV, I thought anybody who might have missed this episode would like to see it. In case anybody doesn’t know, ”The Amazing Race” is a different kind of reality TV show in which 11 teams of two (brothers, dating, couple, etc) travel around the entire world in a race for one million dollars. The show is divided into 12 legs, with numerous fun, but normally difficult, activities teams must do before they can move on and one pit stop at the end of each leg. In most legs, the last team to each pit stop is eliminated from the race.
When the season is running, episodes come on every Sunday night on CBS. If you live in the USA you can watch the already aired episodes on CBS.com until the next season airs. If not, you can either make your computer think it lives in the USA using some program out there, or you could just watch it on some other site, like this one:

http://www.vureel.com/video/33712/TheAmazingRaceS19E11HDTVXviD-LOL

If you want to find a different site, Google ”watch The Amazing Race Season 19 episode 11”.

What does this have to do with Tintin? One of the pit stops in the most recent season was in Brussels, and in order to figure out the country teams had to go to next they had to go to the part of Brussels where Hergé painted the frame from ´´The Calculus Affair´´ with Haddock and Tintin running down a fire escape on the side of a wall (I’ve been there myself, it’s a must see if you´re in Brussels). Next to the wall was a man dressed as Tintin. Each team at the beginning of the race was given two costumes that look exactly like the Thom(p)son’s outfits, complete with bowler hats, mustaches and canes. The teams than had to walk around Brussels in the early hours of the morning trying to figure out who they were! In typical American fashion, not one of them had a clue until they asked somebody. Once they found out, they had to find Tintin and tell him to receive their next clue.

All this is at the very beginning of the episode, so even if you don’t want to watch the whole thing you could watch the first 15-20 minutes to see the Tintin part. It’s quite fun to watch, especially because we see everything from an Asian Thompson to a Thompson with a beard! It’s hard to watch it though without thinking ”man, had I been on the show I would have known EXACTLY what to do!”

One final word of warning: this is the next to the last episode, so if you were hoping to watch season 19, you’ll kind of spoil it for you. But a new season is coming…

For those of you who may have found this through google or some other way and are not a regular follower of this site, I can assure you that while you will find many, many reviews of ”The Adventures of Tintin” on the internet, you will find very few written by somebody who has been an avid Tintin fan for years to the extent that he has been following every last piece of information available about the progress of this movie since it was first announced almost five years ago that Spielberg was going to pick up his old project and finally make a Tintin movie. Here you will find two such reviews. One is Chris’ review, the guy who started this blog and wrote everything until his schedule got busy and allowed me to write posts. Shortly after the movie premiered over in Europe he wrote a great review for both the Tintin fan and the man who’s never heard of him until now alike. I recommend you check it out here

The other such review of course is mine. I’m probably the biggest American Tintin fan you’ll ever meet. For those of you clueless people out there, Tintin is a very well known comic the Belgian George Remi (pen name Herge) drew from the late 1920s to the 70s. Tintin is a reporter that always finds himself on incredible adventures with his faithful white fox terrier, Snowy. He’s never been popular in the USA, but just about every other country in the world has heard of him. If you think that’s an exaggeration, check out how well Tintin did in the box offices over seas. I’ve been looking forward to seeing this movie much more than I’ve ever looked forward to see any other movie in my life. Did it live up to my expectations? In a world where movie tickets are expensive, is it worth your cash? What if you’re not a Tintin fan? Will you enjoy it?

I hate spoilers as much as you do so need not worry about reading any here. First of all, if you are new to Tintin you will not be lost. The movie does a terrific job of introducing the movie’s main characters. If you are a fan, you will recognise all of them as the characters you know, not as some horribly distorted version of them Hollywood threw together. Everybody making this movie went to great lengths to make sure that the original stories and artwork were respected as much as possible. The movie actually combines two Tintin albums, ”The crab with the golden claws” and ”The Secret of the Unicorn (there’s also a little bit of ”Red Rackhams treasure” in there, but not much), but you’d never know they weren’t one fluent storyline if you’ve never read the books because they are so magnificently blended together. As a matter of fact, while there are certain things that surely only a Tintin fan will appreciate when they watch the film, there are some things only somebody who is not at all familiar with the storyline will experience fully. I had very few problems while I was watching the movie, but one of them was really my own fault: I know the story of ”The Secret of the Unicorn” like the back of my hand. As a result I already knew almost everything that Tintin discovers little by little throughout the film. At some points I thought that the mystery side of the movie had been a bit overdramatized and that Tintin was taking just a little too long to put all the pieces together (quite literally), but again, the answer to the mystery is obvious once you already know the secret. But even when I knew what was coming, I still thoroughly enjoyed the film. There are lots of hilarious lines in the film, many straight from the books but most just clever new lines the excellent writers came up with. Don’t let yourself be fooled into thinking that actors only did the voices in this film: every movement from their bodies and faces has captured by computer, and the animators then did an excellent job of putting ”digital makeup” on. Jamie Bell did a very good job as Tintin. Some people have complained in other reviews that the movie is so action packed there is little time for Tintin’s character to be really developed. But the truth is that we know very little about Tintin, and Jamie Bell did a great job at not answering those questions for us. We don’t know who his boss is or who his parents are. We don’t really care. What we do know is that once he sets his mind to do something, he heroicly keeps going against all odds no matter where in the world danger takes him. And the movie does a wonderful job at taking us on the adventure with him.Pretty much every frame of the movie is a piece of art…You could get a sense of what I’m talking about by checking out some of the movie stills or watching the trailers, but you really won’t understand just how great it looks until you see it in the movies. Especially the city of Brussels and the port in Morocco are bright,colorful and incredibly detailed. As far as the people go, they look wonderful to me. They still look like the cartoon characters from the comics, but when you see each individual hair on their heads and the sand and the sweat on their faces as they trod through the desert, you have to remind yourself it isn’t real and congrutalute Weta for their great job. The movie is in a number of formats, but I recommend you go see it in IMAX 3D like I did (if you can find one that doesn’t have all of it’s showtimes filled up with ”Mission Impossible 4”). Chris didn’t particularly like the 3D, but I’ve always been a big fan of IMAX 3D and really enjoyed certain sections when it looked like the dust Tintin’s flashlight was hitting or the woodchips that were exploding or even Captain Haddock’s nose were really in front of my face. Aside from a few moments when the camera pans so quickly a few things seem out of focus, this is a movie that the 3D really works well in, especially on the enormous screen. However I’d say that if you see it in 2D you shouldn’t feel like you’re missing too much because the 3D is more of a fun added bonus to the movie experience.

This is a movie you can take your kids to (they’ll LOVE Snowy), but it’s not just a movie for kids. I fear that many people will go to action packed Mission Impossible 4 and miss one of the best movies that came out this year. What really made the movie for me was Andy Serkis’ brilliant performance as Captain Haddock. Haddock is absolutely hilarious. When you’re not laughing at what he’s doing, you’re laughing at his lines, and when you’re not laughing at his lines you’re probably laughing at his face. He has a Scottish accent in the film (most of us didn’t see him that way in the books) but I fell in love with this version of Haddock immediately as Serkis brought it to life before my eyes. There were times when shots Haddock and a flashback of Sir Francis alternate with a fluency that could only really be acchieved using motion capture.The Thompsons also have a great part in the film, and the only thing I regret about their parts is that I wish they had appeared more in the movie! ”Tintin 2”, which has been officially confirmed, is said to give them a larger role. Daniel Craig did an awesome job as the villain Sakharine, and it’s funny to recognise James Bond playing a villain’s part. He is not the most evil of villains, but he certainly beats (in my mind anyway) the ”Bird Brothers” that were the somewhat pathetic villains in the original stories. I disliked to some degree how Allan, who was a main villain in ”The crab with the golden claws” became more of a wimpy sidekick to Sakharine, but it did work well in the story.

For Tintin Fans (the only spoilers here will be spoilers to non-Tintin fans)

If you are a Tintin fan worried that they’ve taken the stories and thrown in too many pointless action scenes, don’t worry about it. There were really very few sections that I didn’t instantly recognise from one of the books,even when the trailers sometimes make it seem like there are more, and they were anything but annoying. Actually I was very pleased that finally Tintin was doing something new because much of the fun for me in watching the movie was seeing what fun new things the writers could come up with for Tintin to do without insulting the fans. As I said before, the storyline was very familiar to me, and it was good to see some changes to it to make the movie more exciting. The scene in Bagghar with a brilliant cameo appearance of Castafiore and the chaos that follows is actually one of my favorite parts. If Herge could see it today, I think he’d laugh. And the other new scene at the end,a final clash between Haddock and the villain,is a great way to finish their side of the story. Never once do the new scenes seem to make the characters do something against their personality, and if they slow down the story at all it’s only so you can take a moment to enjoy yourself and laugh at what’s going on.
Tintin DOES use a gun (just like he does in the books) but as far as I could tell he never once killed anybody and hardly if ever wounds somebody. He shoots at motors or ropes to get what he wants or protect himself.
Any Tintin fan would be a fool not to go see this in theaters while they still can! Herge’s artwork is apparent from the first 3 seconds of the movie, and both the style and music of the intro feels like you’re watching the beginning of ”Catch me if you can” with about 14 million tributes to the different Tintin albums thrown in. It’s fun to watch moments throughout the movie that have elements thrown in from different books. There are more easter eggs in this movie that any I’ve ever seen, and if you have a good Tintin fan that can go with you to watch the movie you’ll enjoy yourself that much more, because you’ll both be the only people in the theater that know why you’re laughing at what’s on the screen. I won’t say what it is, but there’s a magnificent tribute to ”Explorers on the moon” that I really enjoyed. I can’t wait to own this movie on blu-ray and watch it with all the pizza and popcorn I couldn’t afford when I watched it in IMAX, this time with the remote control to pause the image and read newspaper clippings, compare character’s faces with the albums or look for more references.

Conclusion

You really have to see this movie. Europe loved it for good reasons. If you don’t know who Tintin is, you don’t know what you’re missing. If you DO know who Tintin is, you would make a grave error to not watch this because you are worried about ”what they’ve done to Tintin”. Don’t worry about it, trust me. No matter who you are, this is a must see. It’s the biggest installment in Tintin’s history since Alpha-Art was published.
If I could make a suggestion for the next film it would only be that the next story not revolve as much around a mystery and more around whether or not Tintin will be able to complete his clearly defined objective at all (i.e save Calculus from the Bordurians…hint hint…) I love that heroic side of Tintin that will do anything to save a friend, and I hope to see that developed more in the next film.

Go out America, and enjoy the film. Spielberg, Jackson, Weta, and the whole massive team in the credits, I applaud your hard work. The wait was worth it.

Stephen

For those of you newbies to Tintin, he is such an icon that the Vatican’s official newspaper actually just recently wrote an article on him. Specifically, on the debate that’s been going on in court on whether or not to ban ”Tintin in the Congo” for racism. Now, one might think that just because of the Vatican’s very nature the article would certainly be defending those poor congolese people of the past that were portrayed far from accurately. But the author actually took the time to look at the facts of the article and has chosen to vigorously defend Tintin as his movie comes out around the world, stating that Tintin has been a good example of Catholic values throughout the ages. The article must be remembered and pulled out in the future to hopefully silence all of those foolish people that talk of Tintin being racist, gay, nazi,…you fill in the blank. The article is especially upset that Tintin in the congo has, in the UK, been ”wrapped up like a pornographic magazine and consigned to the adults-only section” of British book shops.

Like an excellent lawyer in Belgium at the moment arguing that the book is simply showing stereotypes from the time of Hergé, ”L’Observatore Romano” also holds to the obvious fact that ”Tintin in the Congo” is simply a reflection of its time, the fruit of a man who had never seen what Belgium was really doing there and only had false stereotypes to go on. We know how much effort Hergé put into researching his future albums, so it would be unfair to characterize hardly any of his other albums based on this one album. Furthermore, the African people, while certainly shown as unintelligent and naive people, are not even portrayed as villains in the story, but rather the gangsters Tintin deals with there. Tintin has nothing against these people and neither did Hergé. There is really nothing in the book that would lead anybody except the most sensitive of Congolese person to truly be offended by the book, and then that guy would probably just see how his people were drawn on the front and find some other comic to read (or take Moulinsart to court…). As the Vatican put it, ”The comic book was published in the 1930s, and for that reason expresses the values of the era – but can it really perturb young Britons of today, raised as they are on the Internet, video games and fish and chips?”

The Vatican praises Tintin’s character, calling him ”an angel” helping widows and orphans…Tintin is said to be driven by ”a sacred moral imperative – to save the innocent and conquer evil….Tintin is a Western knight of modern times, an unstained heart in an invulnerable body.” It’s great to see people still defending Tintin in the press. ”Le Soir” was a Catholic newspaper when Tintin was around, yet another reason that the Vatican would be pleased with kids reading Tintin. I myself am not catholic, but I certainly support kids reading about Tintin’s heroic virtues rather than all of the junk out there for them to read.

Interestingly enough, while the Vatican sings Tintin’s praises, one zealous worker in Lebanon tried to cover up Spielberg’s name from a Tintin poster. Circuit Empire, in charge of cinemas in Lebanon, commented that ”He knew that Spielberg was blacklisted and he took it upon himself to black out his name,” pointing out that this was not some movement of several men but just one worker. The name was quickly uncovered and the posters are still seen today. Of course this was nothing against Tintin, but it’s funny to watch how different countries react to big American films like this and how it affects Tintin’s release. I found it interesting they also commented that technically according to the strict laws in Lebanon Tintin should be banned, but due to the popular black market selling films the law would be impossible to implement and people are allowed to see it on the big screens.  There’s a unique piece of Tintin trivia you can remember and tell other Tintin friends in the future…

Sources: http://uk.ibtimes.com/articles/246045/20111109/vatican-banning-tintin-book-politically-correct-lunacy.htm

               http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=10765314

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?

Congratulations brou for finding this amazing treasure trove of shots from the movie! I can’t believe how many there are! The weirdest thing is it’s from a page in a language that I’m not even entirely sure I know what it is! Some sort of Russian or something..maybe?  Anyway, with this many images from the film, the page could be in Swahili for all I care!

Not very many of these are familiar angles, but there are a few. It’s not hard to see Daniel Craig’s face hidden under all of the animated skin. Allan actually looks scared here, which isn’t common for him. The guy on the left, who we’re pretty sure is named Rackham, is definitely in charge.

Wow, this is a cool shot. In many way it’s parallel to the last shot, with Haddock gripping Tintin much like Rackham does Allan in a long hallway with a light at the back. I love the blue light in the background. I think this is a pretty good shot of Haddock. As fun as it is to see Haddock in rage, crying, or making some other silly face, it’s nice to have a few shots where Haddock doesn’t look quite as emotional.

In case your preference is silly Haddock faces, Serkis didn’t disappoint. I’m…not quite sure what to make of that face. I think Tintin looks incredible though. His eyes look very scared that whoever they are hiding from at the moment might hear them or find them. Interesting shot of Snowy’s front legs too, we don’t see Haddock hold Snowy very often. If ever…

This shot isn’t my favorite…Haddock looks slightly blurry, and Tintin doesn’t look very photogenic in this shot. I’m sure it looks great when it’s all in motion and he’s focused on flying while yelling at Haddock at the same time, but the face they froze looks kind of unnatural. I do like how claustrophobic they make the inside of the plane feel and how they show the awful storm going on right outside. This situation they’re in would have been a nightmare.

This looks like the shot from the trailer. You have to love how close they kept the parchments to the original parchments in the album. Even ”the Eagle’s cross” is still there.

What are they looking at? Tintin looks very surprised. Snowy looks curious.

We’ve seen this angle before…but Haddock looks more sad in this picture. It just goes to show you how quickly these character’s change their facial expressions. It’s best to watch them in movement to get the full effect.

Wow…I know some people don’t like it that Haddock has a bazooka/rocket launcher/ whatever it is, but I think this picture is hilarious! And pretty cool! It’s funny to think of how little Haddock knows about shooting weapons like that, and how much better Tintin would have been at it, yet somehow it was Haddock that wound up in the little sidecar. Snowy seems to be looking at Haddock with a face that says ”Are you kidding me?” From the video game trailer it looks like they will switch places at some point half way through the ride. That should be fun to watch…

Hmmm…Rackham is at Marlinspike, and poor Tintin is in trouble. There’s Nestor in the back looking as much like Nestor as ever…

Le Petit Vingtième! It’s only fitting that one of their newspapers would make it in the movie! This is one of my favorite shots so far, I love how much effort Weta put into this. I wonder what Snowy is looking for?

Another desert shot! Haddock must be about to dive into a mirage. Wow, the sand looks magnificent…

Never has Allan looked more evil. I can almost hear him yell ”Go get ‘em!”

This one’s beautiful. Look at that sky in the background. This must be the night they escape. At this point they think they are free, and it looks like somewhere along the line they picked up a tourist flyer advertising Baghar (there’s another image later that shows this) that they might be able to row to. Tintin’s face, while slightly unnatural in that pose, looks like he has a plan and is trying to convince Haddock of it or something.

Another shot from the trailer. I hadn’t noticed Snowy has Haddock’s hat.

Beautiful shot of the Thom(p)sons…Tintin’s face looks great too.

Another shot of the boat at sunset. The little tourist flyer might be all Tintin has to go on later to get to Baghar( I think that’s the city they go to?).

Another trailer shot. Ok, so there were more than I thought…It’s still a great shot of Tintin and Snowy.

Here’s, in my opinion, one of the best shot’s of Snowy we have so far.

The sequel to one of the shot’s we saw from the article in Empire. I love how great this looks, and how dangerous this scene feels. Poor guys! Shot at on a boat, then chased down on a life boat, then trapped in a seaplane in a storm, and then trapped in a desert with no water! This is going to be a great movie!

Source: http://www.falcon.cz/film/tintinova-dobrodruzstvi-tajemstvi-jednorozce/videa

Do any of you readers live anywhere near Madrid? I don’t know why you would, but in case you do, there’s a Tintin treat in store for you in the Gran Via de Hortaleza  Mall, right outside the Mar de Cristal metro stop on the Brown metro line. On display in the mall are a series of collectible Tintin items from the collection of a true Tintinologist. Among the objects on display were a copy of the world’s first edition of Tintin in Tibet, a copy of ”German Research in World War II” seen in the Calculus affair, and copies of Tintin books in every language from Vietnamese to Latin. Since many of you don’t live in Madrid, and I do, I was more than happy to go check out this display and see if anything there was worth a blog post. This post looks long but it really isn’t! It just has a lot of large photos. By the way I would appreciate it if you would look at them, because I was informed half way through taking them that photography was not allowed in the mall. Not to be left with an unfinished post, I evaded guards and risked imprisonment just so you could get a taste of the display.

It’s free, and consists of about 10 glass boxes with collector’s items in them running along a hallway on the ground floor. The first one I saw covered Tintin in the movies, and had a few copies of the movie books based off the two live action films. 

Above: a frame from the stop motion film ”The Crab with the Golden Claws”, the movie book for ”Tintin and the Golden Fleece” and the first Spanish hardcover ”Tintin and the Lake of Sharks” album version.

There was a bit m0re related to Tintin in the media.

From left to right: a copy of ”Destination adventure”, 2 DVD’s from the 90′s series,  a copy of ”Tintin and the blue oranges” on DVD, an advertisement for the film, and the movie book in french.

A large amount of the collection was related to Tintin trivia, which I love. Did you know that there was an extra page from ”Tintin in the Picaros” that was never published?  Hergé apparently didn’t like it and never included it in the album. The entire page is a conversation between two main villains from the book, and a comical sequence where the mustache of an important bust is broken off by a piece of ice. I guess Hergé decided, and rightly so, that leaving this in would stress credibility…The display had a copy of the missing page in every stage from draft to final product. I have zoomed in only on the final page.

The display also showed a copy of a ”fake” page completed by two of Hergé’s coworkers, Bob de Moor and Jacques Martin. Four years after ”The Castafiore Emerald” Hergé hadn’t even started a new album. The public wanted something new, and so did the newspapers. So while Hergé was on holiday in Sicily, the two created a fake page with Haddock and Tintin in an airplane, telling the papers ”a new album is on it’s way!”. It was only supposed to be a gag, but it gave Hergé some grief when he had to apologize to the world and reveal that the page wasn’t real. How could Hergé just smash the world’s hopes and leave them with nothing? He was suddenly forced into making a new album, Flight 714.  Fans have since added color to the page:

Hergé used a real book as a model for ”German Research in World War II” from The Calculus Affair. To settle further doubts to the lazy question ”Was Tintin a Nazi?”, Hergé wouldn’t even include the swastika from the cover in his album.

On the bottom right are the cigarettes from ”The Calculus Affair”. Bottom left is the book seen in The Calculus Affair. This book directly inspired the sound weapon, and almost definitely inspired the paint job for the moon rocket. In the back is a very collectible copy of the first edition of ”Tintin in Tibet”

I could hardly believe my eyes at the end of the display when I saw this board game, which I just posted about recently but with my ”Mille Bornes” post but had never seen in my life. Such a coincidence is almost characteristic of  one of Hergé’s albums!

But what really blew me away was the fact that behind a nice statue of Tintin and Snowy running was the very ”Travels of a Boy Reporter” Tintin map Chris Tregenza has worked so hard on, hanging up on the glass! The last thing I had expected to find at the display was anything related to this site. Apparently the owner of this great collection is a fan of this site. Well, if you are reading this, Tintinology hopes you will continue to follow this blog for years to come. And Chris, you can rest happy that your map has become popular among Spanish tintinologists and is deemed as a valuable part of one’s Tintin collection. Do check it out if you haven’t seen it already.

Source: http://www.naufrageur.com/a-bob-planche_bidon.htm

This is an overdue post that keeps getting distracted by more recent news. Regardless of it being month old news , I believe it’s good news for those of us looking forward to see ”The Secret of The Unicorn” on the big screen. The screen just got a whole lot bigger.

Imax will be digitally re-mastering the upcoming movie up converting it to  the superior quality image and sound experience Imax as well as transforming it into Imax 3D.  I personally am a fan of Imax, but after doing some research online I discovered that not all share my opinion. I do not go to Imax often but the experiences I have had with it, especially in 3D, have been very good. What are the benefits and disadvantages of seeing the potential best film of 2011 on an IMAX screen?

Cons

Over the last few weeks I’ve read up on what people have to say about watching films in IMAX. There are a considerably large amount of complaints against it,and unfortunately, most are directed at films that were not originally shot using IMAX film.

The biggest complaint about watching the big IMAX screen is, ironically, that the screen is too big!  Nearly all viewers say it is much better to sit towards the back or in the dead center,or you could find yourself turning your head a lot. Don’t make the mistake of sitting in the front row. I always sit close to the back,near the middle of the row.

Another complaint is that IMAX 3D tires your eyes. Some will say this is true,other’s won’t. Personally I love the effect of things flying out from the screen and the illusion that things are closer or farther away than they really are. But the effect is not for everybody. Know your own limits on what kind of 3D is better for you. You may want to see it in good old fashioned 2D.  Again,seating is key: your eyes will do better if you aren’t watching the 3D from row number 3.

Some complain about the low quality of movies converted to IMAX that were shot on regular film,saying they are too blurry or grainy. For the most part people agree that the best IMAX movies are those that were MADE to be IMAX movies. I do not believe that Tintin will have this problem because of it’s digital nature. I’m no expert,but it should be much easier to upgrade a digital movie compared to upgrading a movie shot on film. An example of a digital film that was just released for IMAX is Disney’s new movie ”Tangled”. I have not seen this movie in IMAX so I have no idea what it’s like, and to be completely honest, I don’t plan to. The same process will be used on Pixar’s upcoming film ”Cars 2”

And then there is the age old problem that IMAX is expensive. Depending on where you go,it can be more than some would be willing to pay. But come on! We’ve been waiting forever for this movie! I’m willing to save a few dollars now to pay for the best experience possible. Now…is IMAX really the bext experience?

Pros

While some don’t like it, many will agree that it is very impressive to watch a movie on the IMAX screen.   The standard IMAX screen is  22 × 16.1 m,but can be larger! Rather than the screen being in the center of the wall, the screen practically IS the wall. This adds to the illusion that you are actually in the movie rather than just a mere witness of the events.  I think seeing the movie in Imax will pay off when it comes to watching those wide shots of the Sahara dessert or of the Unicorn sailing across the sea. It is truly an incredible experience to watch a movie on an IMAX screen.

The 3D makes the effect that much better. Imax has been offering an excellent 3D for years and continues to offer one of the best 3D experiences. Imax is known for making things look like they are popping out of the screen due to the screen’s huge size.

The IMAX sound experience culminates the effect. I have heard no complaints whatsoever about the incredible quality of the sound,the perfect synchronization with the image frame by frame,and the excellent positioning of the surround sound that especially helps make the 3D effect more believable. Keeping in mind that John Williams is doing the soundtrack for the Tintin Movie,I recommend watching the movie where you will be able to hear the experience best.

You still have time to decide how you will watch the movie. But best I can tell, watching the Secret of the Unicorn in IMAX Digital 3D will be more than worth it. I’ve been waiting for this movie for over 2 years now,and I am very excited that it will be available on one of the best experiences in the movie business,if not the best experience. I am constantly amazed at how well this movie is coming along. Tintin movie news just keeps getting better and better. I hope the fans will be pleased.

sources: http://www.imax.com/movies/m/the-adventures-of-tintin-the-secret-of-the-unicorn-an-imax-3d-experience/

image found on: http://www.giftsandfreeadvice.com/free_advice/imax-screen-size-by-theater-list-real-imax-and-fake-imax-screens/

It’s not surprising with his big role in The Eagle and Tintin being the most anticipated of his next upcoming films that multiple reporters would interview Jamie Bell on Tintin. The following is the third interview I’ve found that has a section on his role in The Secret of The Unicorn. Some of this will sound similar to the other two interviews and there is almost no new information,but it’s fun to read none the less. The most interesting thing for me is the part at the end where he talks about Tintin’s voice.

Let’s talk about Tintin. Obviously, Spielberg is a director who’s in total command of his form, but here, he was working with technology he’s never used before. Could you see him figuring it out on set?
Oh, absolutely. He’d be like, “What does this do? Oh wow, it does that? I wish I could do that in the real world, I wish I could take out a lamppost and move it to the side of the street!” The simplistic things about motion capture that you can do with just the flick of a button are kind of amazing, but also, the use of light and color … for a filmmaker who’s incredibly visionary, I think it’s exciting because it gives him so many more options. The palette is endless, it’s infinite, and I think he definitely got a kick out of that. I think he said it made him more like a painter than he’d ever been before.

The look of the film is very painterly, just from the stills that have been released. Have you seen it in motion?
I’ve seen bits and pieces, yeah. It looks great. We call them “Tintin-ologists,” and as one of those people who’s really into it, it’s incredibly exciting. To see these characters come to life is something you’ve been waiting for your whole life, and when it’s you doing it … It’s actually got the vibe of a Hitchcockian film, a kind of noir film in a young person’s action-adventure film. It’s really great.

I’m assuming your friend Andy Serkis gave you advice on motion capture.
On everything. He’s the guru of that technology.

What’s the key thing you need to know if you’re doing it?
Just to overarticulate. He calls it “breaking through the technology,” and I like that idea because it means that you break through it and claim it for yourself. You don’t let it do the work for you, you attack it aggressively and control it. Look, if there’s anyone to listen to when it comes to motion capture, it’s that guy, so to have him next to me throughout felt great.

How do you know if you’re doing a good job?
You don’t. You trust your director, and I obviously have a great trust with Steven Spielberg. You’re in really good hands. There are some very specific beats with an action-adventure film, and you have to hit those moments of “I found a clue!” where you’re about to go into another adventure in the story. So the acting is still kind of the same, you’re still hitting these beats and those emotional peaks and lows. And you have to trust your animators, because that’s where the real work is done.

What’s your Tintin voice like?
Tintin is a native of Belgium, and we obviously couldn’t do it in French, although I would have loved to. So we kind of found an English sound that won’t distract people so much. You know, it’s very easy to upset people quickly when you’re taking on such a beloved character, so we want to remain as neutral as possible and not go too, too strongly in another direction. If Tintin had an American accent, I’m sure the rest of the world would be very upset!

Hello readers!

My name is Stephen,and due to a new time consuming business Chris Tregenza is very busy working on right now,I will be assisting him to keep this blog alive and running. It is just too great a blog to let fade away,and I jumped at the opportunity to help write the occasional blog post. I by no means plan on substituting Chris and as a fan of this blog will continue to look forward to his posts,but at the moment he does not have much time so I will probably post more than he will be able to for a while. I will work hard at keeping my posts up to the high quality of the blogs posts and the high expectations of the fans who follow this blog.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself.

I have been an enormous Tintin fan since I was in the second grade and my father gave me a 3 album set of Tintin in America and the two following albums. Since then Tintin has been more than just my favorite comic book character. For me he has outdone any fictional character from any comic book,novel or other story I have ever read,or from any movie I have ever seen. I own every Tintin album and have read each one so many times I lost count. A trip to Brussels for me meant a trip to the Tintin gift shop and the hand painted subway stop done by Hergé.

My favorite albums are the two moon albums,The Calculus Affair,and after that The Secret of The Unicorn duo. Since I heard of the project of a Tintin movie coming out for today’s modern audiences directed by 2 of the world’s best directors I have been sitting on the edge of my seat, waiting about as patiently as Captain Haddock waited for his broken stair to be replaced.  Right from the beginning I followed this blog,and you may rest assured that another true Tintin fan and Tintin movie fan is assisting with this blog. I will be checking leads and posting on new news as soon as I find things out.

I am such a huge Tintin fan for many reasons. For one thing Tintin and I instantly clicked in that we both love to travel. As a matter of fact I probably got a good part of my love for traveling reading Tintin. I have currently visited 10 countries. I loved,and still love,reading the books and being transported from my room,the car,or wherever I’m reading to the Land of Black Gold,to America,to Scotland,to Borduria…volcanic islands and tropical jungles, the Sahara dessert and the Artic ocean…and even the moon! Although this could be true with many fiction stories, it is a rare occasion to find all these great locations,especially in the world of comic books, mixed with delightful interesting stories and beautiful art. Tintin is not only fun to read,but it is fun to look at.

That’s one of the reasons I look forward to seeing the Tintin movie in 3D. Using the miraculous technology they have today they won’t reproduce something that looks like the exact drawings Hergé painted,but they will preserve the effect the stories give regarding how the viewer feels like he is literally right there with Tintin and Snowy searching for Red Rackham’s treasure,enjoying the storyline and visuals every step of the way. Digital 3D is a great way to do that and although we cannot know for sure I believe Spielberg and Jackson will pull it off.

Another thing I love about Tintin is the detail put into each book. Each page,each panel even, has lots of detail in it. I love going back and just reading the signs in Chinese,although I don’t understand them,or the numbers on the side of a tank,or some antique I never noticed before in Marlinspike Hall’s basement. I have always been one to make a big deal out of the little things. Tiny pieces of trivia fascinate me.  I love reading books or magazines with tidbits of useless Trivial Pursuit material. I don’t care if I’ll never need the info in real life. It’s just something that I have fun with,that interests me.  It’s cool to feel like you know something or noticed something that probably very few people on Earth know. After all who doesn’t like to learn a neat fact that they can show off around their friend’s with?

One of the things I hope to post is clever Tintin Trivia. I will work on posting on Tintin Movie news,but often there won’t be any,so I will work on finding information and news about Tintin. Tintin is so much more than just another comic book,and I’m convinced you could read the same book 20 times and still not see half the details and work Hergé put into his masterpiece. In a more modern sense the motion capture team is doing something similar with the Tintin movie. Just as Hergé put detail into every panel of his books, it’s clear from the first images that the makers of Tintin movie are putting immense detail into each frame of the movie. Unlike previous Tintin movie’s that seem to tone down the beauty and work Hergé put into the books,on this one they are working hard to make sure that it’s worthy of living up to it’s name. I am confident that will show on the big screen.

Of course there are more reasons,the characters,the humor,the suspense,.. but basically these are the biggest reasons why I am a Tintin fan and why I am looking forward so much for the Tintin movie. If you are new here and haven’t read Tintin I strongly recommend you do. To those of you who have followed this blog for a long time, I hope that you think of me not as a strange new writer on the blog but as a fellow fan who wants to make other Tintin fans happy. It’s my privilege to keep this blog alive and running.  Feel free to check here regularly for posts,I will do my best to post as much as possible.

Again,I hope to keep this blog as informative,as interesting and as much fun as possible. If any of you find a source to follow or write to, anything you think should be posted here, or even anything that just might be worthy of a post,feel free to write an email or leave a comment.

Stephen

A very quick update as I’m away for a long weekend in couple minutes.

The Empire magazine December issue has Tintin on the front, the two stills we have already seen plus an image of Tintin, Haddock & co in the desert (from Crab with the Golden Claws), an image of the Thompsons with Silk (the thief from Unicorn) and Tintin greeting Barnaby (who I cannot place off the top of my head). Additionally there are several behind the scenes photos and six pages of articles.

First impressions of the new images pretty much my reaction to the first two – parts of them look great (the Thompsons in particular) but the figures of Tintin, Haddock and Snowy in the desert look off somehow. Their shape or stances is just a little too cartoony for my taste.

Once I’ve had some time to read and digest the images over the weekend I’ll post more detailed thoughts. In the meantime, if you spot these images on the web, post the links in the comments below so that fans around the world can also see them.

Back soon, have a great weekend.