This shoulda been a slam-dunk.
The Adventures of Tintin had it all: based on Hergé's legendary adventure comic, it featured producer Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings), über-director Steven Spielberg (need you ask?) and a script by the talented trio of Steven Moffat (Dr. Who), Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) and Joe Cornish (Attack the Block). The result is a classic adventure that will wow anyone who remembers Spielberg's beloved Indiana Jones trilogy - there are rumours of a 4th film but I don't believe it.
Unfortunately, Spielberg and Jackson decided to make the film using motion-capture, a controversial technique that's too real for animation but not real enough for audiences. While Spielberg is smart enough to render nearly all the characters in a cartoony style reminiscent of Hergé's artwork, the hero is trapped in the Uncanny Valley.
Paramount Pictures Presents The Adventures of Tintin, Starring Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig
When plucky reporter Tintin (Jamie Bell) buys a model ship based on the legendary Unicorn, he is immediately accosted by the sinister Ivanovich Sakharine (Daniel Craig) who demands Tintin sell it to him. When Tintin refuses, he is immediately hurled into a strange and dangerous adventure involving pirate gold and a gang of ruthless criminals.
With his faithful dog Snowy (Milou), the drunken Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) - descended from the Unicorn's last skipper - and incompetent detectives Thompson and Thomson (Simon Pegg and Nick Frost), Tintin must use all his wits to stay ahead of Sakharine and his minions.
The Adventures of Tintin is a classic adventure you just don't see these days, full of exotic locations, intrigue and entertainingly impossible stunts - Tintin's pursuit of of a hawk over the rooftops of a Moroccan town is a jaw-dropper. Everyone involved is clearly a fan and the movie's script - based on The Crab With the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure - is extraordinarily faithful to Hergé's original stories. If you love the comics, you'll be in heaven here. Adults and older kids were enjoying the onscreen fun but I noticed several younger children became fidgety around the 90-minute mark.
Jamie Bell and the cast do their job wonderfully but special mention has to go to Andy Serkis, whose Capt. Haddock is another stellar mo-cap role to his resume. Daniel Craig - who often gets hero roles in James Bond films and the upcoming Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - is almost unrecognizable as the villain.
Unfortunately - as flops such as Beowulf and Disney's A Christmas Carol attest - motion-capture runs into trouble when it tries to create human-appearing characters. Spielberg and Jackson are aware of this which is why nearly all the characters are heavily caricatured. Unfortunately, the most human-appearing character is Tintin, and his character is humanlike enough to be off-putting.
The Adventures of Tintin a Wonderful Adventure, Trapped in the Uncanny Valley
If Spielberg and Jackson had made their lead character less realistic and more caricatured, this movie would have been more successful. But Tintin the character gets trapped in the Uncanny Valley which hurts an otherwise enjoyable film. The Adventures of Tintin gets a 4/5.
Dominic von Riedemann - Dominic is the Animated Film Feature Writer, and winner of 11 Suite 101 Editors' Choice Awards.
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