Although the Tintin comics were published in the 1930s, '40s, and '50s, they were popular around my house when my kids were growing up in the 1990s. My youngest son in particularly loved them and we bought him all the books. We all went to see the animated The Adventures of Tintin the other morning.

For those of you that don't know the story, Tintin is a young Belgian reporter (as is the original artist, Herge) who, with the help of his fox terrier, Snowy, is always after a story. The movie is a combination of two of the Tintin books, The Secret of the Unicorn and it's sequel, Red Rackham's Treasure.

First, the technical stuff. The movie is in 3D animation with heavy use of motion capture. The results are just stunning. You won't be fooled into thinking you're seeing a live action movie, and I don't think director Spielberg meant you to be, but there is so much detail that every scene just pops off the screen. We saw in in flat screen because none of us really likes 3D movies which explains why we were at the theater at 10:15 in the morning. Every other showing was in 3D.

The story concerns the long-ago sinking of ship The Unicorn by pirates. The captain of The Unicorn and the captain of the pirate ship, Red Rackham, survive and the fight for the treasure sunk with the ship is now rejoined by their decedents. The movie is full of action (not all of it believable but it's a cartoon after all), exotic locales and humor. It sounds like IM: Ghost Protocol, except it's more believable and funnier. My kids tell me that it's full of references to other Tintin books. There is also a lot of stuff going on in the background, usually involving Snowy, that is funny.

Take the kids. If they are familiar with the Tintin books they (and you) will love this movie. If they are not familiar with Tintin, this will expose them to some of the best comic book writing of the 20th century. ( )

Positively stuffed with charming little moments and memorable characters, but the plot feels a bit by the numbers, and several of the action sequences are much too long. ( )

Tintín, un joven periodista dotado de una curiosidad insaciable, y su leal perro Milú descubren que la maqueta de un barco contiene un enigmático y secular secreto que deben investigar. A partir de ese momento, Tintín se verá acosado por Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine, un diabólico villano que cree que el joven ha robado un valioso tesoro vinculado a un cruel pirata llamado Rackham el Rojo. Pero, con la ayuda de Milú, del cascarrabias capitán Haddock y de los torpes detectives Hernández y Fernández, viajará por medio mundo, sirviéndose de su proverbial astucia para burlar a sus perseguidores y encontrar antes que ellos El Unicornio, un navío hundido que puede proporcionar la clave de una fabulosa fortuna y de una antigua maldición.

Goodguys and badguys race to find a secret treasure.

I didn't have much fun. The action scenes are a mess. The awful animation is like watching cardboard cutouts. Beautifully painted cardboard cutouts, but still cutouts.

Concept: D
Story: D
Characters: D
Dialog: D
Pacing: D
Cinematography: B
Special effects/design: B
Acting: F
Music: B

Enjoyment: C

GPA: 1.6/4 ( )

Substance: A pretty standard action-adventure-mystery plot, with a message of "do or do not, there is no try" embedded in a rather muddled treasure-and-revenge story. AT one point, Tintin asks himself, "How could I be so stupid?" and the viewer echoes that refrain throughout the show. However, it can be great fun if not taken seriously, and I loved the derelict last-of-the-true-sailors Captain Haddock.

Style: Based on the popular Belgian-French comic by Georges Remi (1907–1983), who wrote under the pen name Hergé, so why are all the voice-actors British?
Animated CGI in a "realistic" syle; I think I would have preferred live action, but the cost of the stunts would have been enormous. I assume they wanted to keep the flavor of the graphic comics.
Wikipedia: "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011) was Steven Spielberg's motion capture 3D film based on three Hergé albums: The Crab with the Golden Claws (1941), The Secret of the Unicorn (1943), and Red Rackham's Treasure (1944).[114] Peter Jackson's company Weta Digital provided the animation and special effects. The movie's reception was positive; Jackson will direct and Spielberg will produce a second movie of a planned trilogy." ( )