Digithoughts

Growing up in Sweden, whenever I was given the choice between the A-Team, McGyver, or the Adventures of Tintin, I always chose the skinny journalist with the funny haircut over the foursome with the epic theme song and the paper clip magician.

There was something about the simplicity in the world of Tintin that appealed to me. He was a fearless adventurer, an explorer, someone who didn’t mind getting his hands dirty in order to solve a mystery. That most of his adventures could be tied to real life events and people meant that it was a history lesson without the burden of classrooms, tests, or cranky old teachers way past their expiration date. The Tintin stories, by Hergé (a pseudonym for the Flemish cartoonist Georges Remi), were transporting, and captured the essentials, the true spirit of discovery at the core of these events. The narrative focus and intensity in these books made you believe you had traveled all the corners of the world yourself.

After years of reading the beautifully drawn comic books, immersing into audio books, and watching the action packed 1990s cartoon series, I was absolutely thrilled to get passes to a recent preview of the new, big-budget Hollywood movie from Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. I didn’t expected it to be an easy task to transfer the mystery of Tintin, who’s been adventuring around the world since the early ’30s, onto the big, 3D screens of 2011.

I never saw Tintin as some kind of a Hollywood star, and, unfortunately, I still don’t. Spielberg and Jackson do a great job capturing the colorful personalities, the rapid plot developments and suspenseful storytelling....for about an hour. They followed the comic books, made sure there were no unnecessary interpretations, and the motion graphics were beautifully done.

Then, just as I was settling into my plush theater seat, surprised and satisfied that they managed to get it right, Hollywood marched in with its typical action-packed, gun slinging, tank demolishing 35-minute big BIG BIG finish.  Drivel....and just to end it all with a cliffhanger, a tease for the next movie.  It’s rather brave to assume that this would capture the American audience to the point where they have a burning desire to come back for more. No way this wannabe franchise fuels a “Harry Potter” or “Star Wars” sensation, though it’ll probably create a few new Tintin fans in the U.S.  

The world of Tintin isn’t spotless and glorified and up beat, and he’s not a boyish Indiana Jones with a distinctive haircut. The world of Tintin is a rough reality, with a plucky hero who perseveres; that’s the essence around all these stories. His cohort in adventure, Captain Haddock, is a rude, cursing, mean, and irrational alcoholic in the books. In the movie, Haddock is portrayed as a silly, funny, clumsy klutz that loves to drink. His edge is gone.

I don’t want to dis “The Adventures of Tintin” too much, because it was good and I liked it, but I was hoping for “something special,” and this very Hollywood movie isn’t it -- it’s like a dream that breaks after an hour and goes from exhilarating to sour, and when it ends I’m not sure the audience will remember the great first portion as much as the dissatisfying finish, a drowning in beautiful motion graphics and too much unnecessary action.

Robin Kadfalk Creative Coordinator

Read more from the Creative category. If you would like to leave a comment, click here: Comment or stay up to date with this post via RSS, or you can Trackback from your site.