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Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of 'The Unicorn' got just one Academy Award Nomination...
Not for Best Animation or Best Special Effects sadly, but for Best Music Score (which means this is John Williams' 47th Oscar Nomination!).

I'm not a big enough fan of the film to mind much about whether it gets Oscar nominations, but I'm surprised that the one category it has been nominated in is Best Music Score, which I thought was one of the more forgettable aspects of the film, compared to the the motion capture and CGI which (whether one likes the result or not) were undoubtedly skilfully done and technically interesting.

I'm normally a big fan of John Williams' film music, but I thought his Tintin score lacked a memorable theme.
When you come out of many of the films he's done the music for - Star Wars, Superman, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T., Schindler's List, Harry Potter, etc., you have the tune in your head for days, even after having only seen the film once.
In fact, some of these films, like Raiders, have at least two memorable tunes or themes in the same movie.

With Tintin, though all the music worked fine in scenes where it was background music (and fine in the trailers) I found it completely lacking in a memorable main theme-tune. Given the subject matter of the film - plucky boy adventurer travelling the world - this seems surprising.

Something as catchy, memorable and right as the main theme from Tintin and the Golden Fleece would have been great!

(That's easier said than done of course, and I realise I'm being more than a bit cheeky criticising the great John Williams. Even his less memorable tunes, like the Tintin ones, are a thousand times more memorable than any tune I'd be able to come up with!)

How do you win a Golden Globe for best animation and not get nominated for the Oscars best animation?

Well to be fair, the Oscars' Animated Feature Film nominations, even without Tintin, make a pretty high-quality list, which (unlike the Golden Globes list) has found room for a couple of interesting non-English-language/Holllywood films: the French animated film, A Cat in Paris, and the Spanish animated film, Chico and Rita, both of which have been highly acclaimed by audiences and critics, and which, from the trailers, look very interesting to me.

I'm not saying that Tintin couldn't have replaced any of the three Hollywood animated films on the nomination list - Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss in Boots, and Rango.

Of the three, I've only seen Kung Fu Panda 2, and though I liked it, I would personally say that Tintin was more original.

But at least all three of these films, and the two non-Hollywood ones, are popuar and critically well-reviewed movies too.

Plus, maybe the Oscars selectors felt the movies on their nominations list counted more as true animation than Tintin's largely motion-capture technique.
Maybe they're going to need a motion capture category, if the use of this technology keeps expanding!

...And that makes me think of how Beauty and the Beast was nominated for Best Picture because there was no Animated Film category back then... Hopefully there will be a niche for Tintin by the time the sequel comes out!

Anyway, I am disappointed about the lack of no nomination for Best Animated, but I'll still take comfort in the Golden Globe win, at least!

I've always loved the opening theme to the Ellipse-Nelvana TV series.
Thought this and the visuals which accompany it were top stuff!
I thought it would have been a nice homage to include this in the opening movie sequence for the film but can understand John Williams probably wanted something original and fresh..

Balthazar - I couldn't have put it better. The musical score of any film is so important to its tone and story, and I was gloomy about the Tintin soundtrack for several days after having seen the movie xD
Of course, John Williams is brilliant, and I've loved so much of his work, but this time... it felt rather generic.
Great as background music, but ineffective as a theme for our beloved character.
As Simon points out in his great review of the movie, there are similarities between the soundtrack and some of William's previous scores :( Indiana Jones and Harry Potter being the more obvious ones to me.

That said, some of the music was amazing :D
The best tracks include the stylised opening tune (though opinions are divided on that one), the pieces during the flashbacks to Sir Francis' time, and my favourite - Pursuit of the Falcon. Utterly beautiful and engaging, and one of the few pieces to actually feature the main theme in an exciting way.

Some argue that Williams was aiming for a more "subtle, European feel" ... to which I say, it's Tintin! It has to be exciting and adventurous and gung-ho - he's a boy adventurer!
Hergé was quite "American" in his love for heart-pounding action and intrigue. A young Tintinophile watching the movie needs the experience of a true adventure, which stays in their hearts and inspires them to become avid Tintinologists several years later ;) Conversely, the music is very skilfully written with gorgeous harmonies and such, even if it doesn't capture the essence of what Tintin is all about.


Yes, exactly :D I saw the film twice with my father, who is an avid fan of both Tintin and Spielberg. He said the exact same words - the soundtrack was good as background music, but didn't complement the adventures of a boy reporter. This from a man who has experienced decades of classic films which included the work of both Spielberg and Williams.

From the beginning I had wanted Hans Zimmer to compose the soundtrack - an amazing, innovative mind.
Think Inception, Sherlock Holmes, Pirates of the Caribbean, Dark Knight, Lion King.
He has the ability of perfectly capturing the feel of an entire universe as envisioned by its creators. As a metaphor in the animation industry, Williams' image is somewhat similar to Disney - solid, classic, golden, while Zimmer is like Pixar - brilliant, innovative, forward-thinking. Perhaps Spielberg chose Williams because he was a 'sure thing,' maybe even a 'safe option,' given his reputation and their decades-long working relationship.


A thousand times yes! :D
Amazing music - adventurous, bold, poignant, full of feeling. Especially the orchestral arrangement - just beautiful! :D

I too loved the opening theme for the Ellipse-Nelvana TV series as well as all the other music used in the series. I grew up watching the TV show, so perhaps a large does of nostalgia is also mixed in with my appreciation of it.

I really did enjoy John Williams's score as it was used in the film, but as others have pointed out, it doesn't have that one essential main theme that you hum even if you've only heard it once. Then again, it's easier to say than done to achieve that and we've already been given enough enduringly classic music from Williams for me to not mind too much.

It is interesting to consider whether the score wil win - Williams has also been nominated for Steven Spielberg's War Horse, thus the vote could be split and another score might win instead.

The nominations in full are:

The Adventures of Tintin (2011): John Williams

The Artist (2011): Ludovic Bource

Hugo (2011): Howard Shore

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011): Alberto Iglesias

War Horse (2011): John Williams

Against such formidable competition as Howard Shore and Ludovice Bource, I'm unconvinced that The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn will win. If Williams does get an Oscar, I think it will be for War Horse, a score that I consider to be superior to his Tintin one anyhow.

That's such great news! but i think it deserves more than one nomination. it was the best movie i have ever seen in my entire life!

kitty

Agreed! :D I like the books more than the movie, but since it was really, really good and features Tintin ... one of my favourite films of all time :D

I think, by now, that most people don't take the Oscars too seriously. A lot of deserving films/actors were kind of snubbed this year. There's a lot of politics/favouritism behind the scenes o_o


I know right, it seems so weird o_o