The Fredösphere

My first impulse was to start this post with the phrase, "my lifelong love affair with Tintin", but I think I'll rephrase that to avoid any confusion.

As a lifelong fan of the bande dessinée called Tintin (there—much better), and as the designated reviewer of graphic novels for the SF podcast StarShipSofa, I was thrilled to hear rumors of serious Spielbergian consideration the Belgian strip as the basis of cinematic treatment. As more news confirmed these rumors, I got only happier.

By the whiskers of Kurvi-Tasch! Today, a French co-worker of mine has alerted me to the release of a Tintin trailer on Youtube:



Interesting. . .but we only get a glimpse of the CG Tintin at the very end, and what we see is not promising. No wonder Tintin is so shy; were I that ugly, I'd be shy too. [Insert insulting retort here.]

Perhaps he'll get a makeover before the final version of the movie gets made. Unlike human actors, CG characters can (presumably) undergo major cosmetic surgery during production. I remain guardedly hopeful. It is Spielberg, after all: he'll give it his trademark patina of plasticized perfection, won't he?

UPDATE: CB Droege at TGDaily.com speculates on the contrast between Tintin's cartoonish face and the near-photorealism of the rest of the movie—that it may be deliberate. An odd choice, I think, but perhaps it is an homage to Tintin author Hergé's drawing philosophy, called ligne claire.

Labels: Comix, GraphicNovel, movie, VideoClip