Tintin Forums

I'm a huge Tintin fan and I'm really looking forward to this movie. I'm not a purist but I do expect the movie to stay true to Herge's characters and the spirit of the books and I think it will. I hope many people will be pleasantly surprised when the movie is released. As for Captain Haddock with the rocket launcher, it's over-the-top but I don't think out of place. Also, that scene is hardly a surprise, it was one of the first images we saw from the movie.

Since I really haven't seen anyone mention it here, there appear to be some TV spots being shown at Tintin.com...

http://www.tintin.com/en/#/tintin/actus/actus.swf?page=0&type=1&newsid =2164
http://www.tintin.com/en/#/tintin/actus/actus.swf?page=0&type=3&newsid =3067

Along with a sample of the soundtrack...
http://www.tintin.com/en/#/tintin/actus/actus.swf?page=0&type=3&newsid =3049

The Comic-Con footage still hasn't emerged. I was about to put a sarcastic question about when someone was going to steal it, but decided against it in the end.

The movie's not for Tintinophiles; it's for young kids.

I can't get enough of seeing Haddock firing the rocket launcher. It's simply ludicrous and I expect if Calculus was in it he'd be brandishing an AK-47 too. The next film is Tintin in Afghanistan apparently.

I was interested to read in the Mail article that Spielberg originally read the albums in French. I'd say that he's never really understood them to this day; he can see the potential for high jinks and flashy action scenes but I'd suggest he direct the next Transformers movie instead.

And what's with the portentous voiceover? "Four hundred years ago a power that could have changed the course of history was lost....."

LMAO

Don't be silly. Too much cynicism for my liking. The next movie is likely to be The Seven Crystal Balls.

Here are 5 sample scenes + 3 behind the scenes videos that will hopefully restore your faith in the movie.

Spoilers ahead so watch at your own risk. Enjoy!
http://videos.dhnet.be/video/iLyROoaf2pT9.html

Again, I’d put myself in the Tintinophile group, and I personally don’t have a problem with it, and I am by no means a “young kid” (although perhaps “young at heart”…). There never will be a “one size fits all” approach to how fans react to anything. I find the Leblon sculptures soul-less, and the Pixi figures lumpen and horrible, but to many they are an expression of their fidelity to the Tintin stories and Hergé as an artist, and I hope that my feelings in no way detract from the enjoyment which they may bring them; equally, some may see the way the characters appear in the film as soul-less, lumpen and horrible - but that is an expression of their taste, and if people, Tintinophile or Tintinophobe, like them and enjoy the film, more power to them.


Why ludicrous? The Captain goes armed in several books, Sir Francis (who’s more-or-less the same character) blows up a ship, and what about Tintinand Haddock escaping in the Tank in Calculus Affair? I think the chase looks very much in that vein.

Why? That would be out of character, and nothing in the clips so far has suggested that characterization of Tintin, Haddock or the Detectives will be so wildly different, so why would they change the Professor so radically?

Again, I’m not certain of your point; the books have quite a lot of gun-play and weaponry, from skirmishes with pistols, strafing by sea-planes, and such-like, to full scale desert battles and exploding artllery. Why do you see what has been seen of this movie as being so very different?


Maybe he just has a different understanding? He’s emphasizing the derring-do, adventure side of them, perhaps, but I think it’s a valid way to interpret the characters.

I’m happy to accept that, at the end of the day, the film might not be to my taste, but on the other hand we will only be able to judge whether he’s actually been successful when the movie comes out, and until then I think it’s fair to give him the benefit of the doubt.

They used the tank because it was the only available means of transport. It's not like they had time to go back and pick up the policemen's motorcycles or thumb a lift to the border. And they do no get to use the tank gun for, say, blasting their way through the barricade at the frontier post.


I do detect a touch of sarcasm here, but a modern take of "Broken Ear", "Ottokar's Sceptre", "Blue Lotus" or "Red Sea Sharks" in a different setting is not impossible. They take place in areas of conflict.

If "Cigars" or "Lotus" had been written today then they would probably have been set in Afghanistan which is both a war zone and a major centre of opium production. Consider "Iron Man", the 1960s comic had Stark building his first armour in Vietnam, the 2008 movie was in Afghanistan.


It would be interesting to know if Spielberg and Jackson were aware of the political and social issues that Herge raised in his books. Did they come across mention of such things in the course of their research, or were they just too focused on the adventure aspects?

That’s what I am wondering because it is a HUGE part of these books. It maybe a small undercurrent but it is powerful nonetheless. It is also an aspect that could be overlooked. Look I am glad with have a film about Tintin and I will see it because other than you guys I am the biggest fan I know. I got real good at one time at just seeing one frame of the books and knowing what story it came from after years of reading them over and over. Actually I did read that Herge wanted them to adapt to the big screen after seeing Indiana Jones. I have to find the source but I did read it. Jackson is great and I liked KK in 2005, 90 percent of what he did was great. If anyone has a better handle on Tintin it would be him from what I have read. I agree about Star Wars being ruined. There are tons of message boards complaining about the new blue-ray DVD set.

This is raised in several articles, links to which can be found here - though I imagine you've already read them, haven't you?

Basically, they claim that Herge was interested in a Spielberg version of Tintin but died just when the preliminary negotiations had begun.

I apologise if this has been mentioned before but does anyone else find it odd that the writers felt the need to turn a fairly minor red herring character into the main bad guy when the books are full of plenty of great villains to choose from?

Also I know that many of the reoccurring come from (or rise to prominence in) the last half of the series but they are one of the things that makes Tintin so amazing. There are only three movies so it seems like this one could do with appearances from the Professor or Bianca.

I have mentioned this myself in a post here.