Coluna Claquete – January, 27th 2012

When a character from a book, game or comic book is adapted into a movie, I always wait for the fans reaction, who consider themselves co-owners thereof, and with full right to complain if the version is not true to the original. Curiously, “The Adventures of Tintin – The Secret of the Unicorn” seems to have overcome this barrier – and with praise.

The character of Tintin was created by the belgian Georges Prosper Remi (better known as Hergé) in 1929, and was published in numerous newspapers, magazines and books until the 80’s, becoming one of the most popular comic book heroes in the world, translated into more than 50 languages ​​and more than 200 million copies sold.

Tintin is a young belgian reporter who always gets into adventures alongside the faithful dog Snowy, a fox terrier who is always beside the master, often delivering him out of a bind.Other characters that made up the universe were of Tintin were Captain Haddock, a rude sailor, and drink lover, the confused policemen Dupond and Dupont, a mad scientist, Trifólio Girassol, and the opera singer Bianca Castafiore.

In all this long life, Tintin has subtle changes, which reflected not only the external influences, such as the Nazi invasion of Belgium, as well as the author’s own maturity and worldview.

Hergé, as it was applauded by fans, has received numerous complaints, ranging from misogyny, because almost all its characters are male, racism, because of the way the black characters were shown, and even fascism, probably to work in a newspaper controlled by the Nazis during the German occupation.

For a long time desiring to bring the character to the movies, Steven Spielberg had been negotiating with the author himself, but at his death in 1983, everything had to restart. In 2002, DreamWorks bought the film rights for the entire series.Finally, on May 15, 2007, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson officiated the completion of a trilogy adapted from the stories, to be held on computer graphics and motion capture.

The method, already used by Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” to create the character Gollum, is to shoot live action actors with special clothes, to recreate them in a virtual environment, adding any additional details.

To interpret the main characters, the actors hired were Jamie Bell (Tintin), Andy Serkis (Captain Haddock) and Daniel Craig (Sakharine). Serkis is already a veteran in the technique, as was the one who gave life to Gollum in Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings”.

The current film uses elements of the stories “The Crab with the Golden Claws” and “The Secret of the Unicorn,” with a bit of “The Treasure of Rackham the Terrible.” The screenplay is not a strict interpretation, because many of today’s viewers have never heard of Tintin and the characters need to be presented to them.

Tintin found early in the film by buying a replica of a sailing ship in a street fair. Tintin is surprised by the interest of two strangers who want to buy the miniature at any cost, which he refuses.

Curious, he decides to research the original ship, which served as a model for the replica, and discovers that the true Unicorn disappeared in a shipwreck while returning from the Caribbean, and the entire crew had died, except for the captain, Sir Francis Haddock.

When Tintin returns home, finds the whole apartment was trashed, and that the miniature had vanished. The more he researched it, the more mysterious things happen, including the death of one of the persistent buyers.

Tintin discovers that the possible reason for the interest on the thumbnail was a hidden message, and that in fact there were three replicates of the Unicorn, each with a distinct message, and the three together would lead to the discovery of a secret.

The young man saves the message in his wallet, which is stolen by a pickpocket Then, he is kidnapped and taken to a ship, leaving for an unknown address.

Tintin escapes the cell with the help of Milu, and soon he meets Captain Haddock, who was kept drunk and locked in his own cabin. The two decide to escape, and are adrift in a lifeboat, only managing to escape when they are spotted by a seaplane.

The events, then, precipitate, and besides facing a storm in the small plane – which Tintin pilots for the first time in his life – still need to survive the caustic African desert.

In the midst of a crisis of abstinence, the captain Haddock reveals to be a descendant of Sir Francis Haddock, Captain of the Unicorn, and a family secret was passed about the ship’s real story. The problem is that when Haddock’s grandfather told him the secret before he died, he drunk so much that he had forgotten everything the old man had said.

With much effort, Tintin helped the captain to remember the secret, which, in fact, was what happened in the final moments of the Unicorn, when Sir Francis faced the pirates led by Rackham, the terrible. Only then they discover that the villains they face now are controlled by Sakharine, which itself is descended from Rackham.

Tintin and Haddock have to prevent Sakharine to steal the third replica of the Unicorn, which contains the final message, which culminates in a dizzying chase through the streets of Morocco, and a final duel of titans in the port of Brussels. Will our heroes be able to discover the secret of the Unicorn?

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson got the rare feat of maintaining a fidelity to spirit of the comic book hero, while presenting him to the new generations, combining three stories in a smooth manner, without break of continuity.

The motion-picture technique worked well, although it is halfway between a real film and animation. Andy Serkis is a veteran in this technique, as he played it in Gollum from “Lord of the Rings”, and Cesar in “Planet of the Apes: The Origin.” He even joked that he was afraid that Jackson wanted to cast him as the dog Milu.

Although not thoroughly explore three-dimensional effects, this is one of the best 3D productions of recent years. {Unlike other films whose action scenes leave viewers stunned, the sequences of persecution and the duel at the port were masterful, perfectly visible, and wrapped in an engaging soundtrack, transmiting the emotion idealized by the authors.

“The Adventures of Tintin – The Secret of the Unicorn” is a movie for the family, fun and full of action, much to the taste of today spectators. The ending makes clear that there will be a continuation, which – we hope – keep the level of the current movie.