Hergé said only Spielberg could do Tintin justice and he was right.

Rating: 8/10 (7 December 2011)

As many reviewers here, I'm was a Tintin fan from a very young age. It was always a gift when I got a new graphic novel to read. As said in the title of this review, Hergé said that only Steven Spielberg could do Tintin justice in making a film and he was not mistaken. Spielberg honours the artist is such a magnificent manner, in the beginning of the movie which was a bliss!
The basic plot is to find the location of the Red Rackham's treasure. Tintin embarks on an adventure that takes him into a dangerous game in finding the scroll that will reveal its mystery. I don't want to spoilt too much of the plot, so I'm going to keep it very basic. In between I'll also explain where some changes were made and why this was, in my opinion, a necessary sacrifice.
The beginning of the first act is basically the same as in the plot. Tintin finds a replica of the Unicorn, which was a ship that held a magnificent cargo as he later discovers. Only minor changes were made such as the removal of Professor Calculus. All characters needed a proper introduction, because they are unknown to public, as graphic novel 'The Secret of the Unicorn' didn't introduce the characters at all. These characters also don''t know each other, which is why a scene such as Haddock meeting Tintin was inserted, so that they are properly introduced as in the graphic novels. So in case. You just knew them from previous albums. My guess is that Calculus will get a proper introduction in the sequel. Spielberg introduced this marvellous characters this in an inventive way, by firstly combining three graphic novels together. This isn't a full adaption of 'The Secret of the Unicorn'. Some wouldn't call this faithful to the graphic novel or to Hergé. And I can't completely disagree with them. But is that necessarily a bad thing?
A film is a different medium than a graphic novel so from when I heard the news that a film was going to made based on Tintin, I knew immediately that they were going to be changes. In my opinion the combination of three graphic novels was a good move, which allowed Spielberg to use the best work of Hergé, so I wouldn't call that unfaithful. And as long as it is faithful to his work than I am pleased.
The second act brings you to a very action-packed scene on a boat that takes them to Morocco. These scenes were based on the graphic novel of The Crab with the Golden Claws. It's in this act that we get introduced to Captain Haddock, which the villain Ivanovitch Sakharine First I have to tell you that Sakharine was no villain in the original graphic novel. But making him the villain was interesting to see, because it bound it to a new story to enjoy. Haddock slowly starts to remember the original story of his ancestor Sir Francis. In the graphic novel he find the story in his journal. In the film he slowly begins to remember it in a truly inventive way and in sequences, rather than just immediately. This made the film more funny and the visuals were spectacular. When we get to Morocco we see scenes of another graphic novel namely the King's sceptre.
A scene I really enjoyed is the chase scene. Most of the chase is, as if it was filmed in one very long shot, that doesn't cut. This made it like a roller-coaster ride, which was truly action packed and very enjoyable to watch. The climax of the film is not found in any of the graphic novels, mainly because Sakharine, as I said earlier, he was no villain at all in the original story. The ending is based on Red Rackhams' Treasure and this is where I got confused about the sequels. Because the ending implies that there will be no direct follow-up to the story and I hope that I'm wrong.
About the visuals and the 3D, I can only say that I wasn't disappointed. This was a big budget movie, so I didn't expect that Spielberg would use Hergé's actual style to make an animated feature like they already did in the past. I've already seen evidence of past live-action films and the attempt Spielberg made in some early tests that another live-action film would have looked quite silly. Motion capture was a very good choice, to stay faithful to Hergé's drawing style to some point and make this a very colourful and detailed spectacle.
As for the 3D, I can only say that it was very subtle. It didn't distract me in any way. Spielberg found a nice balance so that this film can be enjoyed in 2D as well in 3D. It won't let you down. And I'm not a big fan of 3D, but I did enjoy this. The style of the visuals combined with the setting really brought me back to the past setting seen in the graphic novels. And John Williams' music only improved this with his music, which never lets me down. The Soundtrack, in my honest opinion, isn't Williams' greatest work, but it is very good.
So was this a faithful film to Hergé's work? I would definitely say it was. But every Tintin fan will have a different opinion on this. There might have been changes in the scenes and of course the general story, but that doesn't make it less faithful to his actual work. And that is, what in the end, what matters.