TORONTO – When Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin: the Secret of the Unicorn” began opening across the globe in October, one thing about the theatrical rollout was clear – the adventure would begin anywhere but the United States.
The animated 3D spectacle, based on the Belgian comic books about a curious boy journalist and his loyal dog Snowy, has a European sensibility that makes it a tougher sell in North America, says its British star, Jamie Bell.
“To North Americans, when you say ‘Tintin’ they think he’s a dog,” Bell says during a recent promotional stop in Toronto.
“So that’s an issue.”
And so it should be little surprise that the big-budget feature makes its North American debut not in Los Angeles, and not in New York, but in La Belle Province. “The Adventures of Tintin” opens in Quebec on Friday, one-and-a-half weeks before heading to English Canada and the United States on Dec. 21.
The sneak peek is merely relative, though – much of the rest of the world has already gotten an eyeful of the cutting-edge graphics and performance-capture techniques used to bring Herge’s rosy-cheeked muckraker to life.
The U.K., France, Sweden, Romania, India, Malaysia and Qatar are among the myriad markets that already have the film in theatres.
Bell describes Tintin as “quintessentially European” but also says that shouldn’t limit the film’s appeal on this side of the pond.
“The truth is no one knew who ‘Shrek’ was before he became Shrek so I think the way that you handle that is you just approach it in the way you would any original film – we’re introducing a character that has a legacy and a lifespan elsewhere in the globe but for these audiences they’ll be seeing it for the first time and that’s exciting.”
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“The Adventures of Tintin: the Secret of the Unicorn” wastes no time in setting up intrigue for the intrepid reporter with the distinctive swooped-up bangs and button nose. Moments after purchasing a model ship at an outdoor market, Tintin learns it harbours a centuries-old secret and ties to a ruthless villain.
It’s a mystery that actually combines three Tintin books – “The Crab with the Golden Claws,” “The Secret of the Unicorn” and “Red Rackham’s Treasure.”
Andy Serkis (“Lord of the Rings,” “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”) co-stars as the relentlessly soused Captain Haddock while Daniel Craig (“Casino Royale,” “Quantum of Solace”) plays the nefarious Ivanovich Sakharine.
Spielberg has said he took pains to stay faithful to the grand adventures and artistic style of the books.
The powerhouse director first reached out to Herge, whose real name was Georges Remi, in 1983 but the illustrator died before the two could meet. Spielberg later acquired the film’s rights from Herge’s widow and teamed up with “Lord of the Rings” architect Peter Jackson as a producer and possible director of a second film.
Bell, who launched his career as the toe-tapping star of “Billy Elliott,” says he’s been a massive fan of the Tintin comics since he was a boy, noting he wanted to be just like the young sleuth when he was eight years old.
“I don’t think Steven (Spielberg) would have wanted to cast someone who kind of had to play catch-up on Tintin,” says Bell, who admits his first taste of the tales was through the 1991 France/Canada cartoon, “The Adventures of Tintin.”
“I knew who the guy was, I knew his spirit, I knew his earnestness, his intrepidness, how much of a beacon of excellence he was for young people and that’s what he was for me, too. And also just having a physical background – Tintin’s an extremely physical character and hitting some of those pauses and recreating some of those visually striking movements, I think for a dancer comes a little easier.”
Bell describes the performance-capture process as akin to virtual puppeteering, noting he donned speed-skating-esque suits dotted with sensors for the shoot.
The set itself was relatively bare, he adds, noting it mostly consisted of people on computers to monitor his movements, which were later applied to digital character models.
Giant posters of Herge’s illustrations were set up around the room for constant inspiration, he says, and the books’ simple aesthetic, introduced in 1929, were constantly being referenced.
“At any point in the movie (we) wanted to be able to pause the film and bring one of the comics in next to the screen and be like, ‘See? It’s pretty similar,'” says Bell.
“I think we really achieved that. I think the film looks beautiful. I don’t think I’ve seen an animated film that looks as stylish, as beautiful, as photorealistic as this before.”
Bell says true Tintin fans will catch a nod to Herge at the very beginning of the movie, when Tintin sits for a caricature artist who looks a lot like the Belgian illustrator.
“No one is going to get that who doesn’t know ‘Tintin’ … but to the fans, of course, everyone’s like, ‘Wow,'” he says of the brief encounter, which concludes with the caricature artist handing Tintin a simple drawing of his face.
“Herge is literally handing over his own artwork to his own creation, that is now a fully fleshed, photorealistic human.”
“The Adventures of Tintin in 3D” opens in English and French in Quebec on Friday, and in the rest of North America on Dec. 21.
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