The Adventures of Tintin [Soundtrack]

John Williams (Composer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (December 13, 2011)
• Original Release Date: 2011
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Sony Masterworks
• ASIN: B005KWAWJ2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,250 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Original score to the 2011 motion picture composed by John Williams. Sony Classical.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The return of the king, December 14, 2011

By 

Jon Broxton (Thousand Oaks, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Adventures of Tintin (Audio CD)

I think you have to be Belgian, or at least a Francophone, to fully appreciate all the subtleties and nuances of Tintin. Created by the Belgian artist and author Georges Rémi under his pen name Hergé, the character first appeared in print in 1929 and went on to appear in 23 adventure novels spanning a 46-year period up until 1975, followed by the posthumous publication of a final story in 1986, three years after Hergé's death. Not only that, the stories have been adapted for radio, theatre, and a popular 1960s animated television show with its famous voiceover proclaiming that you are watching "Hergé's Adventures of Tintin!" Despite all that, and for reasons I have never fully understood I was never a fan of the franchise - unlike Hollywood giant Steven Spielberg, who is not a Francophone, but who is adapting the story for its first major big screen adventure using state of the art-motion capture technology.

The plot of the film - which combines elements of three of Hergé's stories (The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure) - concerns a young reporter named Tintin (Jamie Bell), his dog Snowy, and his friend Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis), who discover a series of clues left by Haddock's ancestor Sir Francis Haddock, which could lead them to the hidden treasure of the pirate Red Rackham (Daniel Craig). In order to unravel the riddle, Tintin and Haddock must obtain three identical models of Sir Francis' ship, the Unicorn, but discover that criminals are also after these model ships, and are willing to kill in order to obtain them. The film is co-produced by Peter Jackson, who first championed the use of motion-capture technology through his Lord of the Rings films, and is the first animated film Spielberg has ever directed.

Of course, with Spielberg at the helm, the film also heralds the return to the film score world of John Williams, an event that has been breathlessly anticipated by score fans since the release of Indiana Jones and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull in May 2008. It's been a long 3½ years to wait for new music from the now 79-year old maestro, especially for those who remember when he would score three or four films a year for the greater part of a decade. Not that he hasn't been busy - he wrote an original piece for Barack Obama's inauguration as US president in 2009, as well as a trio of concertos for viola, harp and oboe, and has continued to conduct his concert series at the Hollywood Bowl - but considering his age and reputation, new film scores from him will always be momentous occasions, and this is no exception.

If one was to resort to broad generalizations, one could say that The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is Williams' lost fourth Harry Potter score, infused with hints of stylish Gallic-flavored jazz. That's not to say that Tintin is in any way unoriginal - on the contrary, there are some wholly original and entirely unexpected pieces on the score - but instead it is a score which is immediately and entirely steeped in the stuff that makes Williams great, and which will appeal to fans across all his compositional styles. For example the opening cue, "The Adventures of Tintin", which introduces Tintin's undulating motif, is influenced by his progressive jazz style, a wild and effervescent combination of The Terminal, Catch Me If You Can, and the Cantina Band from Star Wars, filtered through a set of Euro-flavored orchestrations including an accordion, harpsichord, muted clarinets, tubular bells, and lots more besides. It reminds listeners that, before anything else, Johnny Williams was a jazz man, and he's lost none of his flair and knack for that style of writing.

Things soon move into more familiar territory with "Snowy's Theme", which is a direct descendent of his cheerful and playful Harry Potter music, by way of "Jim's New Life" from Empire of the Sun, albeit with a much more florid piano motif. This cue also introduces one of the score's defining features - the constant sense of movement and fluidity that encompasses the entire ensemble, flowing, jumping from section to section, passing melodies across the orchestra, never resting. It's not quite music in the Carl Stalling style in that Williams never gets involved in the classic Mickey Mousing that Stalling did so wonderfully, but Williams certainly goes out of his way to recapture Stalling's colorful style, his endless motion, and his way of bringing a multitude of different instruments to the fore in each cue. If anyone ever doubted that Williams, at nearly 80 years old, was in danger of losing his touch or didn't have the energy to write music of such life and grace and skill, the music heard here will allay those concerns in an instant.

Snowy's Theme, like Hedwig's Theme from the Potter scores, is a recurring presence throughout the score, appearing during the second half of the vaguely Middle Eastern and quite mysterious "The Secret of the Scrolls", "Snowy's Chase", the central section of "Marlinspike Hall", and many more besides. Appropriately, Tintin's theme and Snowy's theme tend to play in parallel to each other, and regularly feature side-by-side in the same cue, cementing the solid friendship between the boy and his dog. "The Secret of the Scrolls" also introduces the recurring rising motif that seems to signify the mystery at the heart of the story. It's similar in approach to the Ark theme Williams wrote for Raiders of the Lost Ark back in the early 1980s, and receives its most glorious statement at the end of "Red Rackham's Curse and the Treasure".

The final main theme is the theme for Tintin's best non-canine friend, Captain Haddock, which has an appropriately nautical flavor suited for adventure on the high seas. Haddock's theme first appears in its fullest form in "Captain Haddock Takes the Oars" performed on vaguely comical bass clarinets, but is harmonically linked to the undulating theme for Sir Francis Haddock, Captain Haddock's ancestor whose lost treasure is at the core of the story. This theme actually appears in the preceding cue, the wonderful "Sir Francis and the Unicorn", playing in counterpoint against several rousing statements of the mystery theme for heroic horns and tremolo-laden strings.

The action music, of which there is a significant amount, will be the aspect that collectors latch onto the most, and in these cues Williams really shines. Tracks such as the breathlessly exciting "Escape from the Karaboudjan", the rollicking buccaneering adventure of "Sir Francis and the Unicorn", and the sensational pair of "The Pursuit of the Falcon" and "The Clash of the Cranes" contain some of the most vivacious and energetic action material Williams has written in many years. One minute the strings are churning away, then a second later the woodwinds will chime in with a little phrase, whooping and diving, before the percussion section takes over with a timpani rhythm that catches the ear... it's wonderfully overwhelming, the way the music jumps so rapidly around the different sections of the orchestra, giving them all a moment to shine. Most important, however, is the way in which Williams always works in clear and identifiable statements of his themes within the fabric of the action material, maintaining the score's identity. He has, of course, been doing this for years and years, and even today virtually no-one does it better.

Listen for the moody, almost Jurassic Park-ish suspense chords in "Marlinspike Hall", the awesome flutter-tongued brass runs in "Escape from the Karaboudjan", the effortlessly inventive dancing violin ostinati in "Red Rackham's Curse and the Treasure" which recall Erich Wolfgang Korngold's best swashbuckling music filtered through Williams's own score for Hook, the interplay between heroic variations of Tintin's theme and Haddock's theme in the astonishingly fast-paced "The Flight to Bagghar", and dozens and dozens of other moments of instrumental creativity too numerous to mention. The flighty woodwind writing in "The Pursuit of the Falcon" will remind listeners of parts of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and the rhythmic string performances in that cue are sensational too.

There is more jazz to be heard, too, in the comedic and lugubrious "Introducing the Thompsons" - which, oddly, has echoes of the Imperial March in its melodic line - or the snakelike "Capturing Mr. Silk", the central melody of which has a most unexpected resemblance to the tuba theme Williams wrote for Jabba the Hutt on Return of the Jedi. There is also an evocative romance sequence for a swooning solo violin and stereotypical Gallic orchestrations in "The Milanese Nightingale", and even a piece of bel canto opera in "Presenting Bianca Castafiore", in which renowned soprano Renee Fleming follows a lushly re-orchestrated version of Rossini's The Barber of Seville with an aria from Gounod's Romeo and Juliet, breaking a stack of champagne flutes on the conclusive high note!

The final two cues, "The Return to Marlinspike Hall and Finale" and "The Adventure Continues", recapitulate much of the film's thematic material in near-concert style, with the Mystery theme, Tintin's theme, Snowy's theme, and Haddock's theme all getting their moments at center stage, albeit interspersed with some more sinister atmospherics, before a series of virtuoso settings of the violin ostinato from "Red Rackham's Curse and the Treasure" bring the album to a wholly satisfying close, complete with the now-traditional fake-out ending that Williams works into many of his suites.

Listening to The Adventures of Tintin, it really brings home what a masterful composer John Williams is. When you compare this score, with its multitude of themes, its harmonic complexity, its instrumental creativity, its orchestral brilliance,... Read more ›

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars multidimensions, December 29, 2011

By 

Alan N. Sandomir - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Adventures of Tintin (Audio CD)

Though not among the best of Williams work, it is still a nice return to the Johnny Williams epoch. Williams, too
often, is accused of an impressive uni-dimensionality of style. I have always found the charge to be impressively false. He is no spectral presence in the dimension of jazz--which is on display here. Rather than playing at Berlioz, he plays at Kenton and Mancini. This cd reminds us of his multi-dimensionality.

It is also unusual in that the music, in this film, somewhat calms the dizzying frenzy of what is "splashed" upon the screen. Like many, I found the film quite unwatchable because of hyperactive camera work and bad pacing--I think this is not a problem for a younger audience that likes the gyrations of the carnival. Williams usually turns up the kinetic drive in Spielberg films where the emotional energy would otherwise be lacking. Here, Williams often turns it down. I think that is significant, reminding us that Williams is more than a composer; he is an editor.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best (Also Only) Williams Score in Four Years!, December 13, 2011

By 

Stuart McCunn (New Haven, CT) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Adventures of Tintin (Audio CD)

This is John Williams first score since 2008 when he wrote the music for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I liked that score, although it was far from his best work. I do feel that the problem was with the film (duh) and not so much with his music. The opportunities for writing a big epic score just weren't there like they are with Tintin. This movie is fun, playful, and features numerous quirky characters and exciting action scenes. The scale seems somewhat larger than the latest Indy with adventures in Brussels, a 17th Century sailing ship, Bagghar (a Moroccan city), and a dockyard. On the whole this album is good. Very good. This film seems to have rejuvenated Williams in the same way it rejuvenated Spielberg. The tracks are exciting and memorable and the style is distinct enough that it sets the tone for the series.

To go into more detail on some of the tracks:
"The Adventures of Tintin" sets up some of the themes which will be displayed later in the album. It seems very jazzy and chaotic, changing tone numerous times throughout. If I had to describe this track in one word it would be "fun." They use this for the opening titles which are a quite excellent traditional animation and tell an entirely unrelated story of the theft of some sort of glowing globe.

"Snowy's Theme" is a nice an perky number that hopefully fits in quite well. It sounds like a theme set up to establish a cheerful and innocent setting shortly before everything goes crazy. It has a screeching violin giving just the right hint of excitement popping up when needed. I really like this one and am glad to see that hints of it appear throughout the album.

"The Secret of the Scrolls" is a moody and mysterious piece which kind of reminds me of his theme for the Crystal Skull. It is still its own piece and it feels more versatile given how they mix it in with some of the other themes. In fact it is used later in some quite good action scenes in a way which I could never imagine the Crystal Skull theme being used.

"Introducing the Thompsons and Snowy's Chase" is the first real action track. It starts off with a dull, plodding number which I can only assume represents the Thompsons. Then it goes into the action music which features "Snowy's Theme" rather strongly. The violin from that theme pops up a lot more in this track as befitting the exciting nature of the scene.

"Sir Francis and the Unicorn" is my favorite track in the album. It starts off slowly and mysteriously with the theme from the "Secret of the Scrolls" which then rises in tempo and becomes all out action music. It's followed by a superb action piece which is similar to, but different from, the Tintin theme. It's all very epic and exciting and just feels booming and important. You can actually hear this music in the trailer as you watch the attack on the Unicorn which is exactly where it shows up in the finished film. The Unicorn fight is one of the best in the movie and the music goes perfectly with the scene.

"Captain Haddock Takes the Oars" is one of the quieter tracks that really works. It feels somewhat whimsical and pedantic which fits with a very drunk Captain Haddock. Somehow this sounds the way I think when trying to reason something out while hammered.

"Red Rackham's Curse and the Treasure" is a lot like "Sir Francis and the Unicorn." They are both definitely action themes and they do their job well. This one uses a lot of the main Tintin theme to good effect.

I really dislike "Presenting Bianca Castafiore." In fact, it's the only track here that I can't stand. I get that she's supposed to be irritating but the track doesn't have to add breaking glass sound effects. It's very annoying. This is basically just an opera track with Bianca singing at the top of her lungs.

"The Pursuit of the Falcon" is another good action theme. What's really great about all these themes is that while they're similar in style the tunes are completely different. And yet they're all quite catchy. Really, this music is as good as anything Williams did for Indiana Jones. Which isn't to say that it's the same style, although there are similarities. It's even more playful and direct which fits Tintin's more simplistic character.

"The Return to Marlinspike Hall and Finale" is sort of a wrap up. It calms down several of the earlier themes and feels very reflective.

"The Adventure Continues" is basically Tintin's theme played without distraction. This is the end credit music. As you'd expect from Tintin it's thrilling and seems to promise the hope of further adventures. I had sort of figured based on this that there'd be some kind of animation during the end credits but there isn't.

I do have to admit that there is no theme here so instantly catchy as the Harry Potter theme or the Raider's March, but that should not diminish what is in all respects an excellent score. The music is catchy and exciting and seems to effortlessly capture the lightheartedness and whimsy that makes the series so endearing. Many of the themes seem bound to become classics. I didn't realize until I heard it again how much I had missed John Williams' music. It is very nice to have him back. After a break of four years to get this and War Horse is a real treat!