Personally, I don’t think Steven Spielberg was the right talent to bring Tintin — who is only a couple of years younger than Mickey Mouse — to the big screen. But it’s too late now, because ready or not, America, Tintin is coming to a movie theater near you for Christmas. Last week, Tom Ashbrook, who apparently has a soft spot for the intrepid boy reporter, devoted an installment of his radio show On Point to the world of Tintin.
[audio:http://audio.wbur.org/storage/2011/12/onpoint_1216_2.mp3|titles=On Point with Tom Ashbrook: Tintin!]Tag: herge
Hergé today, gone tomorrow
Tintin is huge! Created by the late Georges Remi, aka Hergé, spunky and intrepid boy reporter Tintin is hugely popular everywhere — except in the United States. Way back in March 2007, I noted that Stephen Spielberg intended to produce a Tintin movie, and I posted a bit of video from the documentary Tintin Et Moi.
[flv:http://s3.amazonaws.com/dogratcom/Video/2011/Oct/Tintin.flv 400 250]
For some more background on Hergé and Tintin, watch this short video with Michael Farr, author of the excellent book, Tintin: The Complete Companion. I own a copy of the original 2002 edition. The book has been out of print, but it’s scheduled to be republished.
As things turned out with The Adventures of Tintin, Peter Jackson produced and Spielberg directed. The movie opens this week exactly where it should, in Europe. But even if it’s a blockbuster success there, will it catch on here in America, when it’s released on December 21?
http://youtu.be/nlE4kXKwG7Y
Despite excellent early reviews for The Adventures of Tintin I’m not a fan of this sort of motion capture animation, but seeing the name Steven Moffat in the credits gives me hope. Moffat is an outstanding writer, whose work on the BBC’s Doctor Who is some of the finest, most enjoyable television I have ever watched.
http://youtu.be/vY_Ry8J_jdw
BBC Radio 4 Extra is running audio dramatizations of Tintin adventures that you can hear at this link. And while you’re on Radio 4 Extra, don’t miss a repeat presentation of Brian Sibley’s outstanding adaptation of the Titus Groan books, by Mervyn Peake and his wife Maeve Gilmore.