The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011)

"There are plenty of others willing to call you a failure. A fool. A loser. A hopeless souse. Don't ever say it of yourself!" Captain Haddock

This film suffered by something completely out of its and my control. After getting about 30 minutes in (just after all of the exposition is laid out and the story is about to take off), the brand new bluray started to skip and judder. Continuation of the film had to be put off until a new disc could be acquired. The pacing of the film is brilliant, and I think that I would have enjoyed the second part so much more if I had gone straight into it after watching the beginning. I just found it quite difficult to get back into it after putting some time in between viewings.
That being said, the film is fun and interesting. I like the amount of ground that it covers. The characters go to so many different places and end up is so many different situations. It's what every action film wishes it could be but doesn't have the budget for. It really keeps you guessing as to what's coming next and how they're going to manage to get past it. The uncanny-valley-ness of it didn't really bother me. Enough of the characters were caricatures, and what needed to look real was beautiful and relatable by contrast. I especially loved the animation of Snowy. He is so realistic (probably the most realistic animated character, but because he's a dog it's not so creepy) and so brilliant. I love when a film makes great use of a leading animal despite the fact that they cannot talk. The animation of Snowy and the obvious relationship between Snowy and Tintin are remarkable. The two really are an incredible team. Basically, the film is fun and entertaining for both younger and older audiences. I'm assuming that fans of the comics would have a special level of appreciation of the film as it is brilliantly bringing life to these fantastic characters. Definitely worth a watch, but try to do it all in one sitting if you can.
Let me all mention the killer cast that worked on this film. Such a wonderful marriage of filmmakers, writers, producers, directors, actors and special effects. Seriously. This team is full of all stars.

Rank: 51