Since Tintin and the Blue Oranges in 1964, no director has dared to adapt the adventures of the famous Belgian reporter for the big screen. 47 years later, Steven Spielberg adapts The Secret of the Unicorn — named after the eponymous comic book — into CGI and 3D. The film, which releases on October 26, already looks promising.
Steven Spielberg has always been seen by Hergé as the best possible director to adapt The Adventures of Tintin for cinema.
However, the American director only became acquainted with the tufted-haired reporter in 1983, the year of the Belgian artist’s passing. After several years of consideration, the idea of adapting Hergé’s hero’s adventures took shape. It is the first time since The Crab with the Golden Claws (1947) that a director has taken on this challenge.
Spielberg’s new movie draws from the eponymous adventure and its logical sequel, Red Rackham’s Treasure, as well as from The Crab with the Golden Claws. It is from this album that the controversial Omar Ben Salaal, an opium trafficker, is taken. The character is voiced by the only French actor in the cast, Gad Elmaleh.
CGI and Motion Capture
Animated, not acted. The Secret of the Unicorn was actually entirely created using computer-generated imagery. However, the director’s team aims to provide the feature film the authenticity of a live-action movie.
This is why actors like Daniel Craig, Gad Elmaleh, and Jamie Bell shot their scenes using motion capture, a technical process that captures a human’s movements to transpose them into a virtual world. This system was notably used by James Cameron to create the groundbreaking Avatar.
Simply put, the actors perform with sensors and cables attached to their bodies. “The first time I had to put on this suit, I thought it was just for me. But when I saw Daniel Craig — who played James Bond — arrive in the same one, I felt reassured”, recently shared Gad Elmaleh on TF1’s 8 PM news program.
In 3D
Like most animated films, The Secret of the Unicorn will not escape the third dimension. This should significantly enhance the sensational aspect of the action scenes, which are too numerous to count on one hand.
Even better: watching the trailer allows one to witness the perfection of the CGI and dive into the adventure with Tintin, Snowy, Captain Haddock, and all the heroes from Hergé’s collection. To see the result, patience is required until October 26.
