The Adventures Of Tin-Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn: A Review

[ladyofleithian]

Just got back from seeing The Adventures of Tin-Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn. *sighs* Exhausted hadhafang is exhausted, but satisfied.

Trailers:

-Titanic 3D -- I haven't seen the original Titanic, but it definitely looks like something I should go see. At the very least, it'll be an interesting experience.

-Brave -- I'll admit, I had some degree of reservations about this (which I shouldn't, because Disney and Pixar are amazing. :3), but the trailer looks really, really good so far! I might have to go see it sometime.

-The Lorax -- *Sighs* Oh dear. I'll admit, I've never really been a fan of translating Dr. Seuss to the big screen in the first place, but this...doesn't look good. :/ Maybe it's me being a bit of a movie snob (which isn't the case, considering, believe it or not, I'll try just about anything), but the trailer for The Lorax really...I can't even pinpoint the reason, but it infuriated me. The only saving grace is that the people behind Despicable Me (a movie I loved) are doing it, and it could be a lot worse (the trailer for Horton Hears A Who, for example), but...I just have a bad feeling about this, to quote every Star Wars character in existence.

-Men in Black 3: That trailer, however, definitely made up for it. I'm not really a fan of the Men in Black series, but I like this trailer. It definitely seems awesome. :3

-Madagascar 3: I'll admit, I've never really been a big fan of the Madagascar series (it's just not my thing), but this...doesn't really look good either. Maybe it'll defy expectations and be amazing, but for now -- while The Lorax left me "WTFing" (more specifically, the moment the Lorax showed up was where it started to lose me. Now, I love Danny DeVito, but the trailer for The Lorax doesn't look promising), Madagascar 3 left me more "meh", really. Neither trailer sent me into a fit of homicidal rage, but I doubt I'll be seeing them when they come out (The Lorax for spring, and Madagascar 3 for summer). It's just...not my thing. Anyone who's planning to see 'em, let me know how it goes when you do.

And I hope I didn't come off as too assholish there -- it really wasn't my intent. It's mostly my very rough impressions, and you can't really judge movies based on trailers alone, after all.

The experience:

Fortunately, our theater wasn't very crowded (which was a good start. :) -- it was mostly me and my French class. So I definitely got to riff the movie (affectionately) as much as I wanted -- humming "Yakety Sax" over some of the slapstick scenes, for example, as well as getting to snark a bit in my notes -- for example, Sakharine, the villain, has a pet eagle, and I'll admit, at one point, I wrote, "Hey, dude? Shan Yu called. He wants his evil sidekick back." Which I guess isn't fair (it was probably in the source material), but let's say I saw Mulan way before this one, so...yeah.

But I think most of the time, though, I was on the edge of my seat, wanting to see what would happen next (and worrying about Snowy -- seriously, one of the cutest movie dogs ever. :3), and just...having a good time. It seems like quite a while since I've had that -- at least in general. (Yeah, I was pretty miserable most of the quarter)

The movie itself :

The movie was really, really good. The animation was gorgeous, the characters were engaging (Tin-Tin, Snowy and Captain were some of my favorites, along with the two policemen named Thompson and Thomson), not to mention (from what I read of Tin Tin in my French class) true to character (especially Captain), the plot (though it could get awfully cliche at times) was engaging, the villain was great, and it was generally an entertaining movie and a good reward for surviving a really, *really* stressful quarter.

It's also very quotable. I'll admit, I actually used my iTouch to take notes during the movie (not texting, just using the notes program to write down my impressions) because I did promise forcewatcher that I'd report back, so to speak, on Tin Tin, and I was worried that I'd forget a few things. It's kind of a miracle nobody caught me/yelled at me. (Note to self: don't do that again) For example, the two policemen both named Thompson (which is already funny enough. :) * seeking out a pickpocket that previously attacked Tin Tin, and we get this beauty:

PICKPOCKET: I'm not a bad person! I'm a kleptomaniac!

And then later, they find out that he's named Thompson too. Comedy gold. XD

Another funny line was one that I just remembered:

CAPTAIN: I lit a wee fire.

TIN-TIN: In a boat?

(Cue explosion)


Yeah... XD

Speaking of comedy, usually, it's not handled very well in some kids' films, but I think that they managed to make it entertaining without being too grating. You've got the slapstick in there that's actually funny (even if I was left cringing in sympathy at certain points, like poor Snowy -- I have a feeling Steven Moffat and Edgar Wright ** had this motto in mind: "When in doubt, hurt the poor dog."), as well as some nice Cringe Comedy. For example, the singer -- *shudders* I actually wasn't sure if I was supposed to be laughing at that (call me crazy, but I was worried about being an asshole. XD), but I have to say, Snowy and Cap's reactions were priceless. XD Especially the villain, Ivanovich Sakharine, manipulating things so the glass would break -- including the glass protecting one model of Sir Francis Haddock's ship so he can find the treasure himself -- right on cue while the woman is singing. Also, Tin Tin Driving Like Crazy, and Cap in a pink dress (It Makes Sense In Context). And this conversation between Sakharine and his sidekick, Nestor:

SAKHARINE: Do I pay you to talk?

NESTOR: You don't pay me at all.

It helps that you've got some seriously talented voice actors for the characters. Daniel Craig does an amazing job as both Sakharine and Sakharine's ancestor, Red Rackham (seriously, I think I wanted to hide under my seat at a few points), Andy Serkis was great as both Captain Haddock and Sir Francis (it helps that Andy Serkis is one of my favorite actors. Probably ever since Lord of the Rings. Also, King Kong, where he does an incredible job playing the titular ape. Guy's just a powerhouse of talent) -- it definitely says a lot about what a good actor he is that I actually didn't recognize him until I looked up the IMDB page (just to get my facts correct. :). I mean, holy shit. 0.0. And Jamie Bell makes a wonderful Tin Tin -- I think I fell in love with his character immediately. :3

The action scenes were amazing -- especially the flashback of Sir Francis facing off against Red Rackham. It definitely helped that the effects were breathtaking, especially the stormy sea. I think the bizarre thing (and one of the few things that nearly jarred me out of the movie at certain points) was just how lifelike everything seemed -- not just the backgrounds, but the characters. Visual Effects of Awesome doesn't even cut it, and if it doesn't win an Oscar for at least Best Visual Effects, I'm going to be disappointed.

Overall, definitely a great movie and a must see. :)








* Okay, to be fair, one of the names is spelled with a P and one isn't, but still... XD

** No, really, they're on there. I know someone who actually gasped in my theater when that part came up.