Parenting Australia

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

I hadn’t heard of Tintin as a kid. I read Ginger Meggs, Andy Capp, Katzemjammer Kids and Marvel Comics. Much later I heard of Hergé’s Tintin, but I never read one. So I saw this film without preconceptions or prejudices; unlike Tintin fans, who were worried the characters would be ‘Americanised’. They should not have feared, for that Svengali of film, Steven Spielberg, was its director and he has created a masterfully animated adventure film.

Using motion capture technique (where animation is overlayed on an actor’s movement) with picturesque backgrounds, superb colourisation and shading, a breathtaking cinematic experience is created. Walt Disney would be gobsmacked!

The plot is convoluted, as Tintin, an avid adventurer and newspaper reporter, is constantly running into trouble, or running after it, in order to solve the riddle of The Secret of the Unicorn. Expect almost constant action and a fair does of violence. Cast; Jamie Bell (lead in “Billy Elliot”), Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Daniel Craig.

The original comic book (published in 1946) had as its subheading; "The Journal for the Youth from 7 to 77". For this film, I’d say from the age of 7 to 100. Tintin will delight old fans and make many new ones.

Rated: PG (Action Violence) Release: 26^th Dec. (107mins)

Fog is a librettist (contemporary opera), stage director, 3D projection designer and was a technician on local and international films. Currently dividing his time between the mountains and the Eastern Suburbs, fog likes to write poetry and film reviews (www.screentrek.com). Currently, fog is co-writing a zombie film script.