The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson could not be accused of abandoing their inner child at too early a date. They are perhaps the dream team for taking an iconic comic book character and bringing his essense and spirit to an animated movie, which has a well written script, and I have no doubt that the action is state of the art technology (which is largely wasted on the likes of me). I love Tintin. He was created by the Belgian comic artist Georges Remi in 1929 under the pen name Hergé. He is a crime-fighting boy journalist of unknown age with immediately recognizable upswept and red hair. Accompanied by his intrepid dog Snowy, Tintin is smart, unflappable, and inventive in his seemingling self-appointed quest to solve riddles and righting wrongs (with little outside help and no adult supervision). The story and the movie so accurately capture the spirit of the original that it is a joy to watch if you have that connection. In my household, we have that connection. We even visited Château de Cheverny in the Loire Valley, which is the house that Marlinspike Hall is based on (and does not play a role in this movie, but is prominant in other Tintin adventures). The house is also famous because King Henri II gave it to his mistress Diane de Poitiers (who was a major piece of work in her day), but that is another story altogether. So we are big fans. The movie works without that emotional attachment and it doesn't dissappoint if you do have it. It is not 'Best Movie of the Year' material, but it is a very enjoyable walk down childhood memory lane.