DVD Review: The Adventures of Tintin (The Second Season)

DVD Reviews, Reviews

When a movie adaptation of a book hits the theater, fans are expected to wait a year or so for the sequel of the sequel novel. Kids getting out of a screening of The Hunger Games can’t run down to the videostore for Catching Fire. They could read the novel and imagine the upcoming film. But who wants to read for days when the movie is only going to last two hours? Those who got hooked on Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin can see further adventures of the Belgian reporter and his little white dog right now without turning pages. The Adventures of Tintin: Season Two is an animated series that sticks rather closely to Herge’s original comics. Seven tales of action and excitement are ready to peel off the DVD set.

“The Shooting Star” starts off as merely an extra star in the Great Bear constellation. Tintin notices that the extra star is also growing larger. He goes to the local observatory to find out what’s going on. Turns out it’s a meteor heading toward the Earth. Will the world survive? “The Broken Ear” features a stolen museum piece that is mysteriously returned. Tintin discovers this is a replica. Who took it? The trail leads the reporter to the Republic of San Theodoros. He becomes yanked around in a military power struggle. “Tintin and the Picaros” returns him to San Theodoros. he must save the opera singer Bianca Castafiore along with Thomson and Thompson. This one is startling because the formerly drunk Captain Haddock can no longer touch the booze. This was the last Tintin comic completed before Herge’s death.

“King Ottokar’s Sceptre” gets nasty when Tintin’s apartment gets a harsh makeover. He recovers a lost briefcase filled with royal seals and turns out mysterious men don’t appreciate his meddling nature. Ultimately this leads to the suspicion that someone is looking to swipe the sceptre of King Ottokar IV. “Tintin in Tibet” brings in the Yeti. This is more of a travelogue as he, his dog Snowy and Captain Haddock climb the Himalayan mountains looking for a friend. They do have help from a local sherpa. But are they really a match for the Yeti? “Land of Black Gold” exposes trouble in the Middle East. Car engines are blowing up because the gas is bad. Tintin investigates by going to Khemed. “Flight 714″ almost takes Tintin, Captain Haddock and Professor Calculus to Australia. Their travel plans get detoured when a pal offers them a flight on his experimental aircraft. The plane gets hijack. This is a rather scary episode since Tintin swears he’s dying at one point.

This animated version of The Adventures of Tintin brings to motion what’s fascinating about the comic books. The international action mixed with intriguing mysteries. Of course the biggest mystery is how huge is Tintin’s expense account at the newspaper. He never seems to call into an editor to get approval to jaunt around the globe. People who got a major rush watching the CGI Motion Capture version of Adventure of Tintin, the animated show is perfect for a marathon night. The seven adventures found on The Adventures of Tintin: The Second Season provide the thrilling goodness without having to wait for Spielberg finishing the sequel.

The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The transfers bring out the beauty of the animation that’s based off Herge’s comic book panels. The audio is stereo. The soundtrack isn’t overly complicated, but does a good job of mixing atmospheric sounds with an energetic score.

There are no bonus features.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Second Season brings all the goodness of the hit European comic to the TV screen. The animation resembles the Herge’s original art. The episodes reflect the substance of the comics. It’s like letting the comic book read itself to you.

Shout! Factory presents The Adventures of Tintin: The Second Season. Starring: Colin O’Meara, David Fox, Wayne Robson and Susan Roman. Boxset Contents: 7 episodes on 2 DVDs. Released on DVD: March 20, 2012. Available at Amazon.com.

Joe Corey is the writer and director of "Danger! Health Films" currently streaming on Night Flight and Amazon Prime. He's the author of "The Seven Secrets of Great Walmart People Greeters." This is the last how to get a job book you'll ever need. He was Associate Producer of the documentary "Moving Midway." He's worked as local crew on several reality shows including Candid Camera, American's Most Wanted, Extreme Makeover Home Edition and ESPN's Gaters. He's been featured on The Today Show and CBS's 48 Hours. Dom DeLuise once said, "Joe, you look like an axe murderer." He was in charge of research and programming at the Moving Image Archive.