2011 / DVD
SF elements: Tintin
I grew up watching the TV cartoon version of Hergeeeeeé's Adventures of .... Tintin! , and this 3D motion-capture animated version remains true to some of those memories. It has a rather slow start, as we meet young reporter Tintin and his faithful (and probably brighter) companion Snowy, as they stumble onto a case of missing treasure. In turn hindered and aided by the bumbling Thomson Twins (one with, one without, a "p") and the drunken Captain Haddock, the race is on to find the Third Clue to the location of long lost pirate treasure. Once the action gets going, it's non-stop (yet curiously managing to retain the episodic feel of the TV series), and some of the set pieces, particularly the chase through Bagghar, are superb. The ability to play games in animation makes some of the stunts laugh-out-loud outrageously funny as well as thrilling.
And if it doesn't end on a classic TV cliffhanger, it does end on a massive hook.
reviewed 6 May 2012