INTERVIEW: ADVENTURES OF TINTIN Cast & Crew Discuss Their Motivation Creating the Film; Tease Sequel Details

During the US press circuit promoting the release of the hit, animated film Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Jaime Bell & Nick Frost offered their thoughts on why they chose to join the project.

Combining three of Belgian artist Georges "Hergé" Remi's comic stories --The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure -- the film depicts Tintin's first encounter with Captain Haddock and the discovery of a clue to the treasure of his ancestor Sir Francis Haddock. They set out to find it with protection from a prison escapee, the nefarious Red Rackham, as well as Detectives Thompson and Thomson.

For director Steven Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy, The Adventures of Tintin was a labor of love twenty-plus years in the making. Although they met the character's creator in the early 80's, it wasn't until this decade that the project came to fruition: "We flew out to Europe years ago to meet with Hergé," explained Spielberg. "We stayed in touch with his family for years after his passing. With the help of Peter [Jackson], Joe [Letteri] and the rest of WETA I think we finally were able to do justice to such a beloved character." Regarding the Easter Egg shown at the beginning of the film which features an animated version of himself Hergé interacting with the character he created, Spielberg sees it as a fitting homage, "You know, in the end I think he would have gotten a kick out of it."

One of the most easily discernible aspects of Tintin is it's resemblance to another popular adventure property: Indiana Jones. While they do share a similar tone as well as many of the same action beats, producer and long time Spielberg collaborator Kathleen Kennedy explained that Tintin is a much more lighthearted endevour.

"We approached this as something that would be really fun. We had a great time when we first came up with doing the Indiana Jones series, and I know there’s been a lot of comparison. But I think the challenge here was to try to come up with an adventure story that was a departure from that, that was something unique to Tintin. And that’s why we stayed so focused on this for so many years, is that we thought it definitely had a tremendous amount of fun, great characters. And sometimes those are the best movies to get involved with, because you’re not hung up on deep, deep subtext or meaning. This was just a fun buddy story."

Jaime Bell, who voiced and provided motion capture work for the film's central protagonist, understood full well the responsibility of embodying the beloved and iconic character for the first time in mainstream cinematic history: "I’m a European, I grew up with Tintin. In Europe it’s hard to grow up without seeing that ginger coif and his dog. It’s just, it’s impossible. It’s a generational thing that’s handed down to you. Friends of mine learned to read, reading Tintin. It’s ingrained, culturally. Being a massive fan before this film, and now being in the film, is obviously a very massive responsibility. The books have sold over 200 million copies. It’s been translated into 80 languages. The readership is from like ages 7 to 70. Lots of people internationally all have an ownership over this character. And you are that representative of that character. So for me it was important to evoke the spirit of Hergé and the books, and of that beacon that he is. And I really feel like Steven really achieved that."

Making up one half of the borderline incompetent yet very endearing police duo Thompson & Thompson, Nick Frost was very thankful to work with such a creative team made up of highly sought after actors and crew members. "I think for me and Simon [Pegg], it was a chance to play two very iconic characters in the Thompson twins. And you know, and a chance to work with Steven and Kathy and Jamie and James Bond [Daniel Craig]. I like making films, and it was great to be on set every day and try and bring to life these two bumbling Interpol police officers that Hergé had created."

Though they do get their fair share of screentime in the first film, Spielberg revealed a detail that should make fans of team Frost & Pegg anxious for the follow up: "They have a much bigger role in the next Tintin movie that Peter Jackson’s going to direct, the Thompsons do."

Snagging the opportunity to display mock offense, Jamie Bell asked the acclaimed director if Tintin is even going to be in the sequel; to which he got a resounding 'No' from the entire panel. Frost jokingly added, "You’re dying at the beginning of the next movie. We’re calling it Thompson and Thompson, but we’re going to capitalize the T’s."

Directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by Peter Jackson with a screenplay by Stephen Moffat, Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish, The Adventures of Tintin features the voice talent of Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Gad Elmaleh, Toby Jones and Mackenzie Crook and is now playing in theaters worldwide.