The DVD, Blu Ray, and TVD releases for February 21, 2012

The Adventures of Tinin

***1/2 (out of ****)

When I first saw a trailer for The Adventures of Tintin I couldn’t help but think to myself “Oh no, another creepy looking Polar Express movie.” Then I never thought about it again, until one day I was walking around downtown and happened by the local movie theater. Ever since I was a child it has been tradition for me to circle the whole building and study each movie poster. On this early December day I saw The Adventures of Tintin poster hanging the wall. I took a quick glance and started to move on, when I was suddenly drawn back to the poster.

The stuff of nightmares!

What drew me back were a few names associated with the picture which I hadn’t noticed before. First I saw Steven Spielberg had directed it and started to become interested in what Spielberg could accomplish with animation (especially because over scoring doesn’t usually hurt animation). Secondly, I saw Edgar Wright, director/writer of Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and Scott Pilgrim, was one of the collaborative writers on the film. I now was close to ignoring my initial reaction to the film. However, it wasn’t until I saw Steven Moffat as the other writer, that I fully came on board with the film. Steven Moffat wrote for the hit british show Coupling and was a co-creator of the also british Sherlock program currently running. Moffat is also the current head writer for Doctor Who. With these three names, I couldn’t resist the movie any longer.

With just the opening of the film, you start to feel like you’re in capable hands. It’s a strange blend of 2d mixed with a popping out effect which nicely establishes many of the characters in the film. However, with this opening and just the first 5 minutes of the film, you get the sneaking suspicion their is a whole world which has taken place before this film. So, I immediately paused the film to go do some extensive research… and after looking at the “Adventures of Tintin” Wikipedia page for about 10 minutes I discovered a few interesting things. Tintin was a comic that first appeared in 1929 in a French newspaper. Tintin is a young Belgian reporter who always has his fox terrier Snowy by his side. From their it’s a bunch of side characters and villains (some of whom show up in the film), and basically each comic was literally an adventure Tintin would go on. This world of Tintin was vast and rich, and it was probably about time for a film version.

This is a picture of my brain.

From the first frame of animation the viewer will be blown away. Just the look and feel of each person and texture is so real it borders on creepy. However, the film is so alive and colorful, and each character has at least some cartoonish features, that it mostly suppresses the creepiness. The subtle movements of each character and animal were so impressive and life like, as a viewer you are almost distracted from the story for a short while. I found my self rewinding a certain scene 5 or 6 times just to watch Tintin’s hair move in the wind. I know, creepy of me, but it was just so impressive.

However, some of the bigger movements of the characters did seems somewhat twitchy. They were still good, and the major chase scenes were done perfectly, but the jumping out of windows and falling down sometimes didn’t seem quite right. However, what the film does nail is its fighting. Normally, I’m not a fan of fighting in animation, but this film made it look real. Which is impressive, because it wasn’t real. Obviously. Yet, when someone get’s hit or stabbed or smashed in the face with a bottle you really feel for them.

Not from the film, but still F*** YEAH TINTIN!

This brings up another point, Tintin has a hell of a right hook, and doesn’t hesitate to use it. He ALSO has a gun! And uses that as well. People get beaten up, shot, stabbed, eaten by sharks, and killed. This movie doesn’t pull punches, yet, with lack of any blood and no over-violence, is still appropriate for children.

What was most impressive to me was the “camera” movement. It grounded the film, treating it like a live action film. It wasn’t fancy movement when it didn’t have to be. Although, a scene like following the dog Snowy through an entire house it was stylized. Basically, the film picks and choses when to be fancy, which is totally the appropriate approach to this animation style.

Over all, I very much enjoyed this film, though, I think it will be lost for a demographic. The story is entirely to complex for any young child to follow, and many adults will write off an animation that wasn’t extremely popular. Still, I believe many people will enjoy this film. -KM

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