Legendary directory Steven Spielberg just wrapped 32 days of motion capture for his latest project based on a comic strip about a young reporter and his faithful fox terrier Snowy. Yes, Spielberg is making on progress on The Adventures of Tin Tin, a movie that will expose a whole generation of children to a character that most Americans couldn’t possibly care less about. Just in case you are still reading this, and actually care about Tin Tin, here is the an excerpt from the story, originally run by the LA Times:
“Spielberg, who’s directing the first installment, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn, recently wrapped 32 days of performance-capture shooting in Los Angeles. Producer Jackson traveled from his New Zealand home base to L.A. for rehearsals and the first week of shooting, and then appeared via an elaborate video-conferencing setup for the rest of the shoot, using a specially designed iChat-type system in which the Kiwi filmmaker can see everything on the set in real time and simultaneously talk with Spielberg. The film is scheduled to hit theaters in 2011. ”
All kidding aside, I’m actually all for this project. I myself am a father of two young children, so I see a lot of the “kid movies” that have been coming out lately. The one thing I find lacking in them, one thing that was a big part of the movies I watched as a little one; wholesome values. A lot of these movies nowadays are entertaining enough for my kids, and I really couldn’t care less if they are entertaining for me, but what ever happened to using movies as a means of teaching children valuable life lessons? Could this maybe be a reason for the seemingly meteoric rise in youth violence and school dropouts? A discussion for another day on another site, but consider it. Tin Tin is a comic strip from another time; a source material that hearkens back to a day where kids were innocent and the grown-ups were the ones that were immature, violent and abusive, the way things should be. It’s possible that Tin Tin could mark the beginning of a new era for children’s movies. More likely though is that a potential to teach children some valuable life lessons will be perverted into one giant fart joke with twisted hidden sexual under-tones. Oh well.
Adults could look forward to Tin Tin not only because it would be a fun experience for your children, but also because Tin Tin was always known for it’s engaging, well-researched plots that straddle a variety of genres; swashbuckling adventures with elements of fantasy, mysteries, political thrillers, and science fiction. The stories within the Tin Tin series always featured slapstick humour, accompanied later by sophisticated satire, and political and cultural commentary. So you can bet there will be some things for you to enjoy too.
The Adventures of Tin Tin: The Secret of the Unicorn will hit theaters some time in 2011.