Destination Moon (The Adventures of Tintin)
Destination Moon (The Adventures of Tintin) book cover

Destination Moon (The Adventures of Tintin)

Hardcover – November 1, 1989

Price
$39.95
Publisher
French & European Pubns
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0828850261
Dimensions
12.09 x 9.17 x 0.35 inches
Weight
15.2 ounces

Description

The Adventures of Tintin (also known as The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn[4] in the United Kingdom) is a 2011 American performance capture 3D film based on The Adventures of Tintin, a series of comic books created by Belgian artist Hergé (Georges Remi). Directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Peter Jackson, and written by Steven Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, the film is based on three of the original comic books: The Crab with the Golden Claws (1941), The Secret of the Unicorn (1943), and Red Rackham's Treasure (1944).[5]Spielberg first acquired rights to produce a film based upon the Adventures of Tintin series following Hergé's death in 1983, and re-optioned them in 2002. Filming was due to begin in October 2008 for a 2010 release, but release was delayed to 2011 after Universal opted out of producing the film with Paramount, who provided $30 million on pre-production. Sony chose to co-produce the films. The delay resulted in Thomas Sangster, who had been cast as Tintin, departing from the project. Producer Peter Jackson, whose company Weta Digital is providing the computer animation, intends to direct a sequel. Spielberg and Jackson also hope to co-direct a third film.[6] --Wikipedia

Features & Highlights

  • The Adventures of Tintin (Les Aventures de Tintin) is a series of comic strips created by Belgian artist Herge the pen name of Georges Remi (1907 1983). The series first appeared in French in Le Petit Vingtieme, a children's supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtieme Siecle on 10 January 1929. Set in a painstakingly researched world closely mirroring our own, Herge's Tintin series continues to be a favorite of readers and critics alike 80 years later.The hero of the series is Tintin, a young Belgian reporter. He is aided in his adventures from the beginning by his faithful fox terrier dog Snowy (Milou in French). Later, popular additions to the cast included the brash, cynical and grumpy Captain Haddock, the bright but hearing-impaired Professor Calculus (Professeur Tournesol) and other colorful supporting characters such as the incompetent detectives Thomson and Thompson (Dupond et Dupont). Herge himself features in several of the comics as a background character; as do his assistants in some instances.The success of the series saw the serialized strips collected into a series of albums (24 in all), spun into a successful magazine and adapted for film and theatre. The series is one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century, with translations published in over 50 languages and more than 200 million copies of the books sold to date. The comic strip series has long been admired for its clean, expressive drawings in Herge's signature ligne claire style. Engaging, well-researched plots straddle a variety of genres: swashbuckling adventures with elements of fantasy, mysteries, political thrillers, and science fiction. The stories within the Tintin series always feature slapstick humor, accompanied in later albums by sophisticated satire, and political and cultural commentary.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
60%
(793)
★★★★
25%
(330)
★★★
15%
(198)
★★
7%
(92)
-7%
(-92)

Most Helpful Reviews

✓ Verified Purchase

tintin - destination moon

terrific book - adored by our son and my husband as well.
recommend it for growing minds.
-mamma of a five year old.
✓ Verified Purchase

What Professor Calculus Is Capable of

A trip to the moon? At the time "Destination Moon" was written, it had not been done. The planning of a trip to the moon is the apotheosis of Professor Calculus's scientific abilities. Readers of "Destination Moon" also have the rare privilege of seeing normally near-deaf Professor Calculus understand and respond to the spoken word, thanks to a hearing aid; after all, this is necessary if you are building a moon rocket.

Always a master of atmosphere, Herge establishes an aura of secrecy from the start. After Tintin and the Captain arrive in Syldavia, the fictional country introduced in "King Ottokar's Sceptre," they are abruptly whisked upward to a high-up mountain valley by secret police. The setting is the Sprodj Atomic Research Center, where a nuclear rocket is being constructed.

In addition to planning the trip to the moon, Tintin and company battle sabotage and spying in connection with the moon rocket and its planned flight. Not only do the villains penetrate the Center, they manage to gain control of a test rocket that is destroyed to keep it out of their hands. Mixing nuclear science and spying, Herge manufactures a drama with undertones of the most cataclysmic type of danger and also leaves the reader gasping about what might be in store in the sequel.

Herge made tremendous efforts to present an intricately detailed and realistic moon rocket 16 years before Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. In general, he displays technical skill in his design of the rocket and understanding of rocket science, but it has been pointed out that some of the science is flawed.

Captain Haddock, aside from falling victim to his customary slapstick goofs, is embattled by the prospect of what he is being asked to do: "Me, go to the moon?" Indeed, we see the ultimate clash of egos between the Captain and Professor Calculus. When he feels insulted by Captain Haddock, Professor Calculus gets hot-headed. After making an extended tantrum parade, he gets amnesia because of an accident, and how he gets his memory back makes for a great scene.

I give no spoilers by saying the book ends as the rocket proceeds to the moon. The excellent sequel, "Explorers on the Moon," completes the saga. I rate "Destination Moon" four stars, but it is a four and a half, just below round-up to five stars, which I almost gave it.