Review: The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

I had mixed feelings about a Tintin film, since I had seen photographs from a live-action version when I was a child and wasn't impressed with it.  The characters looked like caricatures and not real people and that disappointed me.  However, when Stephen Spielberg explained his motivation for making the film, and when I heard that Peter Jackson was involved and was a huge fan of Tintin, it piqued my interest.

I've been a Tintin fan for over 30 years.  One thing I enjoy about the stories they appeal to people of all ages.  I find myself discovering new things every time I read them, especially since there were things that I didn't comprehend as well as a child.  Among other things, Captain Haddock's exclamations became funnier and funnier as I got older.

One thing that I enjoyed about the Tintin film was the way they depicted the friendship between Haddock and Tintin.  They captured it very well. I'm not sure how those new to Tintin felt about that unlikely friendship, but to me it worked.

Using scenes from Crab with the Golden Claws to introduce the pair was well done, especially given that this was my first introduction to Tintin as a child.  My very first Tintin book was Crab with the Golden Claws, and to this day I think it's a fitting introduction, despite the fact that there are several books that predate that one.  However, this one introduces Haddock.

There's plenty of action in the film, perhaps a bit too much, but that didn't lessen my enjoyment.  I do feel that we could have replaced one or two sequences with more character development, but since they're working on a sequel there will be time for that in the next film.

One thing that didn't add to the film was the 3-D technology.  So much was happening so fast, it was just too much to notice the 3-D effects, except in one or two scenes.  Perhaps it would be better for me to compare it to a 2-D version to understand the difference.  But right now I don't think the film needed to be in 3-D.

Fortunately, while I avoided most spoilers, I did read a couple which helped prevent me from being disappointed as I watched the film.  It helped my expectations.  One  tidbit came through in the trailers (and that Puppy Chow ad) and that was Captain Haddock's Scottish accent.  Most Tintin fans never considered him Scottish, so that was a surprise, but knowing it ahead of time allowed me a chance to accept it before seeing the film.

The other tidbit was that Calculus is not in the film.  I won't get into how they acheived this, but since he'll be the focus of the sequel and since it was important to introduce Tintin, Haddock, Snowy and the Thom(p)son Twins, it made sense.

 Overall I liked the film and would like to see it again.  I'll definitely get the DVD.

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