The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn – After discovering that his newly bought model of the ship ‘The Unicorn’ holds valuable secrets, Tintin is thrust into an adventure to track down a riddle. Befriending the whisky-soaked Captain Haddock along the way, the pair (plus Tintin’s loyal pooch Snowy) embark on a quest to find the other pieces of the puzzle before the dastardly antiques collector Sakharine can get there first.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011) – Director: Steven Spielberg

Rating: PG

Running Length: 107 mins

Starring: Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig

Genre: Action/Adventure, Animated

REVIEW: THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN

Based on the comic book series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé, Tintin is one of the world’s most famous fictional detectives. The animated TV series of the 1990’s is often fondly remembered but since then, Tintin has somewhat been forgotten about. That is until animated movie ‘The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn’ was released. If any director can inspire confidence at doing such beloved material justice it was Steven Spielberg, but what could easily been a half-hearted kids’ film turned out actually to be a beautifully animated, funny and exciting piece of cinema. Firmly on the right side of the uncanny valley (characters look life-like without being creepy) it is easy to get lost in the animation and take it for granted. That is until the incredibly beautiful scene of the two ships waging war on each other, with waves crashing and cannons blasting, the audience is placed right at the centre of the action and makes for edge of the seat viewing.

As well as being impressively animated, there are plenty of laughs to be had. An entire scene towards the end of the movie where Tintin, Haddock and Snowy attempt to get hold of a piece of the puzzle is one visual gag after another, the audience feeling every frustrating misstep along the way. With the promise of another exciting adventure at the end of the movie, it is a shame that sequel has not been forthcoming. With its mature storytelling but with plenty for kids to enjoy, ‘The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn’ is a rare gem.

Although many kids may not know Tintin from his historical fame, ‘The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn’ is a fantastic introduction to the character and adults can enjoy a well written and directed film with their kids, sharing plenty of laughs with the universally funny comedy throughout.

CONTENT: IS ‘THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN’ SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN?

Tintin buys a model ship from and immediately afterwards, another man tries to buy to from him. When Tintin refuses, the man tells him that others will want it and in a slightly threatening way says ‘These people, they don’t play nice!’

Believing that the owner of a large house has stolen his model ship, Tintin and Snowy sneak into the grounds at night and are confronted by a growling and snarling Rottweiler guard dog. It chases and corners them against a high wall where they have no means of escape. However the dog doesn’t attack.

Tintin and Snowy sneak around the house and it becomes clear that they are being followed. Shortly after, Tintin is knocked unconscious by this person.

When back at Tintin’s home, there is a knock at the door. Knowing that he is now in danger, Tintin approaches the door with a gun. After a brief conversation with the visitor, shots are fired from an unknown source outside, going through the door and injuring Snowy inside. The visitor has been shot and collapses to the floor. He dies shortly after. He reaches out and marks a newspaper with his finger, staining it with visible blood.

Tintin is pickpocketed and something important I taken. In his desperation to get it back, he runs into the road and is nearly run down by cars several times.

Tintin is captured and put inside a large crate to be sent to a country far away. On the way there, he is taken out and interrogated. While no torture is seen, his captor tells another man ‘Make him talk. Break every bone in his body if you have to’. 

Tintin discovers Captain Haddock who has been imprisoned in a room and plied with alcohol in order to keep him quiet. Throughout the movie Haddock drinks regularly and is clearly an alcoholic as he even drinks Surgical Spirits intended for medicine.

Haddock describes some of the ship’s crew who are sleeping. One has lost his eyes lids, he is shown to sleep with his blood-shot eyes wide open. Also another had been ‘sacked as a shepherd on account of his “animal husbandry”‘. This character holds a rat tightly that tries to escape his grasp.

As well as being an alcoholic, Haddock is also depressed and at one point tells Tintin ‘It’s better I end it now, put us both out of our misery’, However Tintin doesn’t entertain this and Haddock manages to pull himself together.

After their plane crashes, Tintin is knocked unconscious and lies on the front of it, sliding towards the still moving propellors. Snowy tries to pull him to safety but isn’t strong enough although Haddock soon comes to help.

In a flashback, a ship is attacked by pirates. When all appears lost, the captain refuses to help the attackers, telling the pirate captain ‘You’ll have to kill me first’. The pirate captain replies ‘Not first, I’ll kill your men’. The order is given and bound men are seen falling into shark infested waters after being forced to walk the plank.

CAN I SEE A CLIP?

VERDICT: IS ‘THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN’ FOR KIDS?

An excellently animated story of the world-famous detective, ‘The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn’ has plenty of action and comedy to enjoy. As the story is somewhat mature, it is unlikely to appeal to very young children and therefore we recommend this movie for kids aged 6 and over.

• Violence: 2/5 (a character is killed by being shot and there is some blood splatter around his body. There are a few punch ups and a sword fight but the content isn’t strong and no blood or gore is seen)
• Emotional Distress: 1/5 (Captain Haddock is depressed throughout but his determination to help Tintin and stop Sakharine overrides this so he continues despite his struggle)
• Fear Factor: 2/5 (the threat of Sakharine is realistic and his capability to kill those in his way is never in question)
• Sexual Content: 1/5 (the ‘animal husbandry’ joke is unlikely to be understood by kids but could be distasteful to adults)
• Bad Language: 0/5
• Dialogue: 2/5 (Sakharine threatens to kill and torture characters to get what he wants)
• Other Notes: Deals with themes of friendship, accepting people’s flaws, continuing despite having personal struggles, determination, bravery, and seeing something through to its conclusion, not giving up hope.

Words by Laura Record