Article Directory :: Arts & Entertainment Articles

Tintin Books And The Hollywood Treatment

By Jimmy li

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 14Jul2009 Word count: 572 Viewed: 295 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

In 1929, a French cartoon series appeared as a children's supplement in Belgian newspaper Le Vingtieme Siecle. Very few would have suspected the international success that would follow. Written and drawn by Belgian artist Hergé, the series focused on the adventures of boy reporter Tintin and his faithful sidekick french terrier dog Snowy. The stories revolved around Tintin's globetrotting adventures in the post depression world, with a number of stories drawing upon real world events (such as the moon landings). Tintin's adventures were infused with Hergé's own sense of wonderment, adventure and humor. A colorful cast of supporting characters such as Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus and the Thompson twins rounded out the ensemble. Although Hergé may not have known it his beautiful art style and knack for adventure storytelling ensured that on January 10 1929, a star was born.

My earliest memories of Tintin come from reading the comic series as a child in the library. My parents would leave me for hours at a time at the local library while they went grocery shopping and I quickly became familiar with Tintin's adventures. The books possessed a swashbuckling adventure quality similar to Indiana Joenes which would translate quite well into film.

Recently it was announced that Tintin would be made into a feature film to be released in 2011. Spielberg first acquired the rights to Tintin after Hergé's death in 1983 and re-optioned them in 2002. The film was to be made into a motion capture 3-D feature (think Beowulf and Monster House) with live actors recording movement and audio to be translated into a digital model. The film is set to be the first in a trilogy of films with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson collaborating on the effort. The first film combines the stories of "The Crab with the Golden Claws" and "The Secret of the Unicorn" which tells the tale of Tintin's first encounter with Captain Haddock. Although it has seen a long development cycle and has already seen a delay in release date, the first film has wrapped principle shooting and is currently in post production.

I have mixed feelings about the Tintin books receiving the Hollywood treatment. Part of me wants to relive my childhood adventures with Tintin. Another part of me fears that those same childhood memories will be sullied by another big budget Hollywood feature. The fear is that Hollywood will change the source material to make it more marketable to the masses. Tintin will be a relatively new character to the majority of moviegoers who see it in 2011 and I wonder if the original source material will be as charming in the 21st century. It is often tempting for filmmakers to alter characters, plot points and narratives to make it more stylized and appealing to the young demographic it wants to cater to.

With heavy star power behind the production and within the cast, I cannot see Tintin being anything but a commercial success. As Hollywood struggles to find original property to film, more and more source material will be mined from classic cartoon, comics, and literature. I realize I am being naive but sometimes I wish Hollywood would ask us for permission before filming our childhood properties. I may not have millions invested but I do have an emotional one. With movie technology as advanced as it now is, Hollywood can now make a movie out of just about anything they want. The question is, should they?

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here

More articles by Jimmy li

Free Report!
Ten Essential Secrets Of Article Marketing ... Grab Your Free
Copy Now:

Need Content?
Regular Top Quality Content for your Blog, Ezine or Website ...
Delivered Direct,
For Free!
Click For Details