In 1929, a French cartoon series appeared as a children's supplement in Belgian newspaper Le Vingtieme Siecle. Very few would have suspected the international success story that would follow. Written and drawn by Belgian artist Herge, the series focused on the adventures of boy reporter Tintin and his faithful sidekick french terrier dog Snowy. The stories revolved around Tintin's globetrotting adventures in the post depression world, with a number of stories drawing upon real world events (such as the moon landings). Tintin's adventures were infused with Herg's own sense of wonderment, adventure and humor. A colorful cast of supporting characters such as Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus and the Thompson twins rounded out the ensemble. Although Herge may not have known it his beautiful art style and knack for adventure storytelling ensured that on January 10 1929, a star was born.
Tintin books have entertained fans for almost a century now. The series spawned a set of comics (24 in all). Its legacy remains as one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century. It has been translated in over 50 different languages and sold more than 200 million copies.
My earliest memories of Tintin come from reading the comic series as a child in the library. My parents would leave me for hours at a time at the local library while they went grocery shopping and I quickly became familiar with Tintin's adventures. I was immediately drawn to Tintin because I loved the art style of the books and enjoyed the swashbuckling nature of the stories. It reminded me in many ways of the classic serialized adventure stories of Indiana Jones as Tintin seemed to have the same quality of jumping from one inescapable predicament to the next. It was a classic formula of adventure and humor which I always thought would be perfect as a feature motion picture. As the years passed, I stopped reading Tintin as real life took hold. However, recent news of a Tintin movie being produced brought with it a wave of nostalgia.
Recently it was announced that Tintin would be made into a feature film to be released in 2011. Spielberg first acquired the rights to Tintin after Herg's death in 1983 and re-optioned them in 2002. The film was to be made into a motion capture 3-D feature (think Beowulf and Monster House) with live actors recording movement and audio to be translated into a digital model. The film is set to be the first in a trilogy of films with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson collaborating on the effort. The first film combines the stories of "The Crab with the Golden Claws" and "The Secret of the Unicorn" which tells the tale of Tintin's first encounter with Captain Haddock. Although it has seen a long development cycle and has already seen a delay in release date, the first film has wrapped principle shooting and is currently in post production.
I have mixed feelings about the Tintin books receiving the Hollywood treatment. Part of me wants to relive my childhood adventures with Tintin. Another part of me fears that those same childhood memories will be sullied by another big budget Hollywood feature. The fear is that Hollywood will change the source material to make it more marketable to the masses. Tintin will be a relatively new character to the majority of moviegoers who see it in 2011 and I wonder if the original source material will be as charming in the 21st century. It is often tempting for filmmakers to alter characters, plot points and narratives to make it more stylized and appealing to the young demographic it desperately wants to cater to. I am not sure how Tintin will translate on the big screen but I do feel secure in knowing that two of my favorite directors will be at the helm. My hope is that Spielberg and Jackson keep to the original adventure spirit of the books and not take the easy way out by bringing Tintin into the modern world of film making where big explosions and action can take the place of story development.
With heavy star power behind the production and within the cast, I cannot see Tintin being anything but a commercial success. As Hollywood struggles to find original property to film, more and more source material will be mined from classic cartoon, comics, and literature. I realize I am being naive but sometimes I wish Hollywood would ask us for permission before filming our childhood properties. I may not have millions invested but I do have an emotional one. With movie technology as advanced as it now is, Hollywood can now make a movie out of just about anything they want. The question is, should they?
