We may be the best audience for Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tin-Tin (2011). We are fans of Herge's comic strips, so we came in with some background, but we're not fanatics, so we don't get upset when the movie takes liberties.
Herge's comic strip is about Tin-Tin, a plucky boy reporter and his dog, Snowy. He gets into wild adventures with his friend Captain Haddock, and the help or hindrance of two Scotland Yard types, named Thompson and Thompson. It is all drawn in bright colors with black outlines, a style called ligne clare. The movie gets the adventure just right, but chooses a different graphic style.
The movie is made in fully rendered 3D computer graphics, almost photorealistic, with motion capture that gives the scenes a strong live action feel. It almost seems like a live action version at times, and since modern live action can include a lot of CGI anyway, well, maybe this animation is meeting live action half way. The faces of the characters are clearly based on the comics, but much more realistic - except most of them have large cartoon noses, a bit disconcerting.
I am tempted to say that this work falls into the "uncanny valley", where a representation is too real to be artistic, but not real enough to fool you. But I didn't really get that. I just forgot about how Tin-Tin is "supposed" to look and rolled with the adventure.
And what a great adventure: A model ship, a hidden treasure map, a reclusive aristocrat, kidnapping, pickpockets, pirates, travels all over the global. Tin-Tin meets Capt. Haddock - a wild drunken sea captain played by Andy Serkis (voice and motion capture artist extraordinaire). Tin-Tin is played by Jamie Bell, little Billy Elliot himself. The bad guy, Sakharine, is Daniel Craig, and Thompson and Thompson are Nick Frost and Simon Pegg - great casting.
There are a couple of great set pieces: The pirate battle shows the Pirates of the Caribbean how it is done. There is a great chase through a Mediterranean village, and there is a seaplane scene that really reminded me of Porco Rosso - a Studio Ghibli film with a Herge-inspired look.
But I'm going to say that the star of the show is little Snowy, who always knows what is going on, even if nobody pays him any mind. Good dog!
In conclusion, Capt. Haddock says many colorful things, but never "Bashi-Bazouks!" This calls for a sequel.
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