The Adventures of Tintin (film)

"The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn" redirects here. For the comic, see The Secret of the Unicorn.

The Adventures of Tintin
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySteven Spielberg
Screenplay by
Based onThe Adventures of Tintin
by Hergé
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJanusz Kamiński
Edited byMichael Kahn
Music byJohn Williams
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 22 October 2011 (2011-10-22) (Brussels)
  • 25 October 2011 (2011-10-25) (United Kingdom)
  • 26 October 2011 (2011-10-26) (New Zealand)
  • 21 December 2011 (2011-12-21) (United States)
Running time
107 minutes[2]
Countries
  • United Kingdom
  • United States
  • New Zealand
LanguageEnglish
Budget$135 million[3]
Box office$374 million[4]

The Adventures of Tintin (also known as The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn)[2] is a 2011 animated epic action-adventure film based on Hergé's comic book series of the same name. It was directed by Steven Spielberg, who produced the film with Peter Jackson and Kathleen Kennedy. Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright, and Joe Cornish wrote the screenplay for the film. It stars Jamie Bell as Tintin, Andy Serkis, and Daniel Craig.[5][6][7] In the film, Tintin, Snowy, and Captain Haddock (Serkis) search for the treasure of the Unicorn, a ship once captained by Haddock's ancestor Sir Francis Haddock, but they face dangerous pursuit by Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine (Craig), who is the descendant of Sir Francis's nemesis Red Rackham.[8]

Spielberg and Hergé admired each other's work; the director acquired the film rights to The Adventures of Tintin after the author's death in 1983, and re-optioned them in 2002. Filming was due to begin in October 2008 for a 2010 release, but the release was delayed to 2011 after Universal Pictures backed out of producing the film with Paramount Pictures, which had provided $30 million in pre-production; Columbia Pictures replaced Universal as co-financer. The delay resulted in Thomas Brodie-Sangster, who was originally cast as Tintin, departing and being replaced by Bell. The film draws inspiration from the Tintin volumes The Crab with the Golden Claws (1941), The Secret of the Unicorn (1943) and Red Rackham's Treasure (1944). Principal photography began in January 2009 and finished that July, with a combination of voice acting, motion capture and traditional computer animation being used.

The Adventures of Tintin premiered in Brussels, Hergé's home region, on 22 October 2011. It was theatrically released in Europe by Sony Pictures Releasing International on 26 October and in the United States by Paramount on 21 December 2011 in Digital 3D and IMAX 3D formats.[9][10] The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised the stylised motion capture animation (particularly the faithful character designs to Hergé's works), visual effects, action sequences, cast performances and musical score. The film was positively compared to Spielberg's Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).[11] The Adventures of Tintin was also a commercial success, grossing over $374 million,[4] and received numerous awards and nominations, including being the first motion-captured animated film (and first non-Pixar film) to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film,[12] while John Williams was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score.[13] A sequel directed by Jackson has been announced, but has since stalled in development hell.


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  1. ^ "Sony Pictures Teams Up with Paramount for Tintin". MovieWeb. 2 November 2008. Archived from the original on 12 January 2015. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  2. ^ a b "The Adventures of Tintin – The Secret of the Unicorn (PG)". Steven Spielberg. BBFC. Archived from the original on 15 February 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
  3. ^ Thompson, Anne (9 October 2008). "Films up in the air after studios split". Variety. Archived from the original on 26 October 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2011.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Box office was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ "Steven Spielberg : "Peter Jackson va bientôt travailler sur la suite des Aventures de Tintin"". Premiere.fr. 23 March 2018. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  6. ^ "Tintin: Steven Spielberg says it's up to Sir Peter Jackson to revive the franchise". Stuff. 24 March 2018. Archived from the original on 11 August 2018. Retrieved 9 February 2019.
  7. ^ Masters, Tim (2 November 2011). "Tintin 2: Horowitz says story 'still under discussion'". BBC. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2019.
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference empire was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ "Tintin Has World Premiere In His Hometown". Associated Press. 22 October 2011. Archived from the original on 4 March 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023 – via TODAY.com.
  10. ^ "The Adventures of Tintin Official Movie Site". Paramount Pictures. Archived from the original on 13 October 2011.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Rotten Tomatoes was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ "2012 GOLDEN GLOBES Nominees and Winners – Complete List!". Broadway World. 15 January 2012. Archived from the original on 5 May 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2012.
  13. ^ Goldberg, Matt (29 February 2012). "Saturn Award Nominations Announced; HUGO and HARRY POTTER Lead with 10 Nominations Each". Collider. Archived from the original on 15 November 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2012.