FAQ- Should a Tintin Movie Be Made

The upcoming Tintin Movie trilogy follows a recent trend over the last 5 years to turn popular/cult comics into movie. There reasons for this are that it allows movie studios to tap into existing audiences with fans of these comic characters along with the added benefit that the lead character of any movie will be already in the consciousness of much of the movie going public at some level.

The use of comic books for the source of a movie also allows for special effects to be used in such a manor that they cannot be questioned as part of the integrity of the film as often this is the only way to portray the comic character in the most authentic way.

The problem through is that many films get caught up in the largess of special effects and the movies themselves suffer as result as the plot lines and acting in those movies are often very weak.

This leads to some very poor movies getting made that benefit no one from the movie houses involved, the actors involved in the film and it certainly adds no benefit to the much loved comic character that has been portrayed in the film.

The recent spate of films that have angered many comic fan purists include adaptations of the comic/graphic novel characters such as The Punisher, The Ghost Rider (Johnny Blaze) and The Daredevil.

These comic/graphic novel characters were successful incarnations that captured the hearts and minds of comic fans and provided an escape to many. Then to see these characters butchered in films that many see as both movie studios and comic creators "cashing in" leave true fans angry and cold.

The question being asked by many is whether a Tintin movie should be made. I have added this debate to my site in a democracy poll I have done. The common consensus is that many true fans do not want to see a movie being made. The Herge creation that is Tintin is a much loved European character and one that many feel should not be adapted especially by Hollywood. The illustrations in the adventure albums drawn by Herge are true works of art that have inspired the likes of Warhol. The true Tintin fans worry that the feel of the albums can never be caught successfully on the big screen.

I believe they can be and that the Tintin movie venture should be embraced. The fact that it has taken 25 years to get to the position now with Steven Spielberg involved in the project is a plus. Spielberg first agreed to create a Tintin movie back the 1980's and was given the rights to bring the much loved Walloon character to the big screen. At the time Spielberg felt that he could get the look of the movie to be close enough to the feel of the book. The project took a back burner and Spielberg option for the movie ran out.

In the meantime there have been many people linked with the Tintin movie but it could never get made. It took until this year for another deal to be struck. Spielberg is involved once more along with Peter Jackson of Lord of the Ring's fame.

This can only be good for true Tintin fans. Spielberg himself is a fan and now feels that the look of the albums with the ligne claire illustrations can now be translated to the big screen. This is where Peter Jackson will come in providing valuable technological expertise. Jackson along with his partners as the Weta Workshop will use technology developed for Lord of the Rings. The character Gollum was created by Weta using motion capture techniques on actor Andy Serkis then using key frame animation and subsurface scattering rendering techniques enabled the first completely convincing portrayal of an animated humanoid in a feature film. This technology will bring a realistic portrayal of Tintin to the big screen. Jackson said "We're making the character look photo realistic; the fibers of their clothing, the pores of their skin and each individual hair. It is possible that the work, certainly the first one will start next year".

The people at Weta devoted one whole year to make sure the look of the Tintin albums were translated to the screen and the 20 minute demo they produced wowed the backers of the Tintin Movie trilogy. It is this dedication to detail and the story telling ability of these two titans of film (Spielberg and Jackson) that should ensure a Tintin movie is made that will please devoted Tintin fans and movie goers in equal