To be completely honest, Steven Spielberg’s The Adventures of Tintin wasn’t moving my needle. I’m not familiar with the timeless character, who is huge overseas, and the director’s last two stabs at high-concept adventure -- The Lost World: Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull -- didn’t live up to expectations. And the idea of motion-capture still sounds better on paper than it looks on screen. Or so I thought. Then the most recent trailers, and a slew of European reviews, started singing Tintin’s praise. And now, at the very least, I’m excited.

This is helping. Hitfix is hosting an exclusive featurette, with insight from Tintin producer Peter Jackson and Spielberg, both of whom are longtime fans of Herge’s Belgian comics. The clip features an early test for Tintin’s dog, snowy, and a guest star standing in as Capt. Haddock. It’s worth a watch.



Mo-cap master Andy Serkis also stops by in the piece, which features a lot of “on set” footage – the set being a warehouse turned into a massive green screen, essentially, so the cast can act out each scene wearing suits that record their movements for eventual conversion. Similar techniques were seen over the end credits of the animated Mars Needs Moms earlier this year, and you can see how far the process has come since The Polar Express.

Even with Spielberg and Jackson involved, I had my dobuts about Tintin. They have faded. And now, when Spielberg promises “unapologetic, shameless adventure” in the clip, I believe him. The Adventures of Tintin opens in the U.S. on Dec. 21.