tintin the secret of the unicorn summary


[22] The actual design of the building was based upon the Château de Cheverny, albeit with the two outer wings removed. Goofs When Tintin shows Thompson and Thomson the newspaper Barnaby was marking with blood after being injured, there is a large, round bloodstain at the end of the newspapers name. Boy-reporter Tintin (we, the viewing public, were assured) was orbiting the Earth in Professor Calculus’s rocket, to bring amazing news to the world. The Secret of the Unicorn is the eleventh volume of The Adventures of Tintin. Peter Jackson's company Weta Digital provided the animation and special effects. The Bird brothers are arrested. The Secret of the Unicorn was the first of Tintin's adventures to be conceived as two separate episodes. The plot of The Secret of the Unicorn was continued in the twelfth Tintin adventure, Red Rackham's Treasure. After informing Haddock about the riddle, the captain tells him of how Sir Francis Haddock is shown the treasure of the infamous pirate captain Red Rackham somewhere in the West Indies, before killing him in single combat and blowing up his ship. By combining the three parchments, Tintin and Haddock discover the coordinates of the hidden treasure, and begin to plan for an expedition to find it which would be depicted in Red Rackham's Treasure. Periods interlocked, enriched one another, were amplified and married in a stunning fluidity. When they are outside saying goodbye, the only bloodstain in that area is a finger-thick stain of blood going downwards at about the middle of the page. [24] Liger-Belair produced plans of a 17th-century French fifty-gun warship for Hergé to copy; Le Brillant, which had been constructed in Le Havre in 1690 by the shipwright Salicon and then decorated by Jean Bérain the Elder. [58] The film is partially based on The Secret of the Unicorn, combined with elements of Red Rackham's Treasure and The Crab with the Golden Claws. [20] Red Rackham's looks and costumes were also inspired by the character Lerouge, who appears in C. S. Forester's novel, The Captain from Connecticut, and by the 17th-century French buccaneer Daniel Montbars. [10] The inclusion of three hidden scrolls has parallels with Verne's 1867 story, The Children of Captain Grant, which Van Melkebeke had recommended to Hergé. Tintin and Thomson and Thompson track down the pickpocket, Aristides Silk, a kleptomaniac who has a penchant for collecting wallets, and obtain the Bird Brothers' wallet, containing the missing two parchments. The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011) - A review. Hergé Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. It is the sequel to The Shooting Star and is the first of the volumes to follow a two-part story. Isn't she a beauty?' Tintin Wiki is a FANDOM Comics Community. Repairing it, and showing the ship to Haddock, the latter is amazed that it is actually a model of the The Unicorn, a 17th-century warship captained by his ancestor, Sir Francis Haddock. Published as book Follows the unquenchably curious young reporter Tintin and his fiercely loyal dog Snowy as they discover a model ship carrying an explosive secret. The story was serialised daily in Le Soir, Belgium's leading francophone newspaper, from June 1942 to January 1943 amidst the Nazi German occupation of Belgium during World War II. [23] In introducing Francis Haddock to the story, Hergé made Captain Haddock the only character in the series (except Jolyon Wagg, introduced later) to have a family and an ancestry. In the preceding book, The Secret of the Unicorn, Tintin and Captain Haddock discover three parchments detailing the whereabouts of The Unicorn, a 17th century naval ship commanded by Haddock's ancestor Sir Francis Haddock. The film takes place in an alternate reality from the series, and combines story elements from The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn, and Red Rackham's Treasure. [10] It was Hergé's discussions with Van Melkebeke that led him to craft a more complex story than he had in prior Adventures. [57] A video-game tie-in to the movie was released October 2011. Preceded by This arc was the first that Hergé had utilised since Cigars of the Pharaoh and The Blue Lotus (1934–36). Tintin and Haddock have confidence that the pirate captain's treasure is in the remnants of the sunken ship.Both Tintin and Haddock hire a fishing trawler, the Sirius, in order to hunt for the treasure. [28] Admiral Haddock's grandfather, also named Richard, commanded the ship of the line HMS Unicorn during the reign of King Charles I. The Secret of the Unicorn remained Hergé's favourite of his own works until creating Tintin in Tibet (1960). [15], In previous works, Hergé had drawn upon a variety of pictorial sources, such as newspaper clippings, from which to draw the scenes and characters; for The Secret of the Unicorn he drew upon an unprecedented variety of these sources. The Secret of the Unicorn was set entirely in Belgium and was the last Adventure to be set there until The Castafiore Emerald. Directed by Stéphane Bernasconi, the series has been praised for being "generally faithful" to the original comics, to the extent that the animation was directly adopted from Hergé's original panels. [11] Van Melkebeke had been strongly influenced by the adventure novels of writers like Jules Verne and Paul d'Ivoi, and this influence is apparent throughout the story. 1959 The Unicorn was a ship captained by Sir Francis Haddock, sailing in the service of King Louis XIV of France (King Charles II in the English iteration).. History. [14] He further added his opinion that it was "the most successful of all Tintin's adventures". By Simon Doyle. The Secret of the Unicorn (French: Le Secret de La Licorne) is the eleventh title in the comic series The Adventures of Tintin, written and illustrated by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. LS | TC | TA | CP | BL | BE | BI | KO | CG | SS | SU | RR | SC | PS | LB | DM | EM | CA | RS | TT | CE | FS | TP | AA | guide to abbreviations. [39] They went on to state that The Secret of the Unicorn-Red Rackham's Treasure arc represents "a turning point" for the series as it shifts the reader's attention from Tintin to Haddock, who has become "by far, the most interesting character". [30] In Belgium, it was then published in a 62-page book format by Editions Casterman in 1943. The story revolves around young reporter Tintin, his dog Snowy, and his friend Captain Haddock, who discover a riddle left by Haddock's ancestor, the 17th century Sir Francis Haddock, which could lead them to the hidden treasure of the pirate Red Rackham. Inspired by three volumes of the Tintin series - The Crab with the Golden Claws (1941), The Secret of the Unicorn (1943) and Red Rackham's Treasure (1944) - its plot follows the reporter Tintin (Bell), his dog, Snowy, and their accomplice Captain Haddock (Serkis) as they search for the treasure of the Unicorn, a ship captained by Haddock's ancestor Sir Francis Haddock; they are pursued by Ivan Ivanovitch … [41], Hergé biographer Benoît Peeters asserted that both The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure "hold a crucial position" in The Adventures of Tintin as they establish the "Tintin universe" with its core set of characters. [43] He described the adventure as "a new development in Hergé's work, a flight from the topical to epics of pirate adventures set in distant horizons". [17] Seeking further accurate depictions of old naval vessels, Hergé consulted his friend Gérard Liger-Belair, who owned a Brussels shop specialising in model ships. Author(s) Confiscated from its original owners, the German authorities permitted Le Soir to reopen under the directorship of Belgian editor Raymond de Becker, although it remained firmly under Nazi control, supporting the German war effort and espousing anti-Semitism. This only searches the 12,000+ titles on this website, not the 400,000+ books in our shops! [56], A 2011 motion capture feature film directed by Steven Spielberg and produced by Peter Jackson was released in most of the world October–November 2011, under the title The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn,[57] and in the US on 21 December, where it was simply titled The Adventures of Tintin. Based mainly on the album – the eleventh in the series – that gives the film its sometime-subtitle, The Secret Of The Unicorn uses that story as its main plot element, although several characters, in particular Haddock, have found themselves utilised in alternative ways and some (the Bird Brothers, as noted above) removed completely. The story of this comic book was later continued with ". [26] The final two pages of the adventure mark the first appearance of Tintin's iconic costume of a white shirt under a blue sweater; having worn a variety of clothes in previous volumes, notably a brown suit and a yellow shirt with a red tie, he would don this attire in all subsequent books. At Tintin's flat, Snowy accidentally knocks the model over and breaks its mainmast. Fifty guns. Having repaired it, and shown the ship to Haddock, Tintin discovers that the ship is named the Unicorn, after a ship commanded by Haddock's ancestor. [3], The Secret of the Unicorn was serialized amidst the German occupation of Belgium during World War II. English translation [12] Hergé acknowledged Van Melkebeke's contribution by including a cameo of him within the market scene at the start of the story; this was particularly apt as Van Melkebeke had purchased his books in Brussels' Old Market as a child. For 'tis from the light that light will dawn, and then shines forth the Eagle's cross". It is also revealed that Barnaby survived and has made a full recovery, much to Max Bird's enragement. [51] To this he adds that in solving the enigma, Tintin shows that he is "the best reader" in the series, and it is this which establishes him as "the oeuvre's hero". Jean-Marc Lofficier and Randy Lofficier asserted that Sir Francis Haddock was "the best realised character" in the story, conversely describing the Bird Brothers as "relatively uninspired villains". The Secret of the Unicorn (French: Le Secret de La Licorne) is the eleventh volume of The Adventures of Tintin, the comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé. At home, Tintin discovers a miniature scroll, and realises that this must have been hidden in the mast of the model which Snowy had broken. They are behind the theft of Tintin's model and Sakharine's parchment, knowing that only with all three parchments can the location of the treasure be found. [45] He also highlighted that the scenes in which Captain Haddock relates the tale of his ancestor carries on the "merging of dreams and reality" that Hergé had "experimented with" in The Crab with the Golden Claws and The Shooting Star. The public reacted positively". Later the model ship is stolen, and it is revealed that Sakharine owns an identical model of the Unicorn, although this is also stolen as well. [52] McCarthy praised Hergé's Silk as one of the pivotal characters in the series who can "exude a presence far beyond that which we might expect from a novelist, let alone a cartoonist". [14] However, as Tintin expert Michael Farr related, whereas Cigars of the Pharaoh and The Blue Lotus had been largely "self-sufficient and self-contained", the connection between The Secret of the Unicorn and Red Rackham's Treasure is far closer. This was apparent from the first appearance of the story as a series in a newspaper: just over a month separated the last strip of The Secret of the Unicorn (14 January 1943) from the first strip of Red Rackham's Treasure (19 February 1943). Tintin escapes from the Bird brothers' country estate, Marlinspike Hall, whilst Captain Haddock arrives with police officers Thompson and Thomson to arrest them. As the sh… Returning home with the model, Snowy knocks it over and its mainmast broke. While browsing on the Brussels Voddenmarkt/Marché aux puces at the Vossenplein in the Marollen, Tintin purchases an antique model ship which he intends to give to his friend, Captain Haddock. 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). [4] After joining Le Soir on 15 October 1940, Hergé became editor of its new children's supplement Le Soir Jeunesse, with assistance by old friend Paul Jamin and cartoonist Jacques Van Melkebeke, before paper shortages forced Tintin to be serialised daily in the main pages of Le Soir. [16], In his psychoanalytical study of the Adventures of Tintin, the academic Jean-Marie Apostolidès characterised the Secret of the Unicorn-Red Rackham's Treasure arc as being about the characters going on a "treasure hunt that turns out to be at the same time a search for their roots". It is the sequel to The Shooting Star and is the first of the volumes to follow a two-part story. [5] Some Belgians were upset that Hergé was willing to work for a newspaper controlled by the occupying Nazi administration,[6] although he was heavily enticed by the size of Le Soir's readership, which reached 600,000. [16] In drawing many of the old vessels, Hergé initially consulted the then recently published L'Art et la Mer ("Art and the Sea") by Alexandre Berqueman. June 11, 1942 - January 14, 1943 The Secret of the Unicorn was the ninth story of The Adventures of Tintin to be produced and was divided into two thirty-minute episodes. [29], Another individual known as Captain Haddock had lived in this period, who had commanded a fire ship, the Anne and Christopher. Later, Tintin is kidnapped by the perpetrators of the shooting: the Bird brothers, two unscrupulous antique dealers who own the third model of the Unicorn. Description. Three Unicorns in company sailing in the noonday sunne will speak. The story revolves around young reporter Tintin, his dog Snowy, and his friend Captain Haddock, who discover a riddle left by Haddock's ancestor, the 17th century Sir Francis … Summaries. [55], In 1991, a collaboration between the French studio Ellipse and the Canadian animation company Nelvana adapted 21 of the stories into a series of episodes. [47], Literary critic Tom McCarthy highlighted the scene in which Tintin was imprisoned in the Marlinspike crypt, observing that it had parallels with Tintin's exploration of tombs and other secret chambers throughout the series. They are revealed to be the Bird Brothers, two unscrupulous antique dealers who own the third and final model of the Unicorn. Alone of his crew to survive the capture, Sir Francis killed Rackham in single combat and scuttled the Unicorn; but later built three models, which he left to his sons. Hergé was at the height of his powers". [27], After publishing the book, Hergé learned that there had actually been an Admiral Haddock who had served in the British Royal Navy during the late 17th and early 18th centuries: Sir Richard Haddock (1629–1715). To unravel the riddle, Tintin and Haddock must obtain three identical models of Sir Francis's ship, the Unicorn, but they discover that criminals are also after these model ships and are willing to kill in order to obtain them. [49] He further draws parallels between the model ships containing the secret parchments with the Arumbaya fetish containing a rare diamond which appears in The Broken Ear. While Tintin is out, the ship is stolen from his apartment; in the investigation, he discovers that Sakharine owns an identical model, also named the Unicorn. The Unicorn 'Triple masted.Double decks. The Secret of the Unicorn [59], This article is about the comic book volume. For this action, Haddock was brought before an admiralty tribunal in 1674, where he was ordered to forfeit all profits from the transaction and suspended from his command for six months. [25] [37], The series' Danish publishers, Carlsen, later located a model of an early-17th-century Danish ship called Enhjørningen (The Unicorn) which they gave to Hergé. This book marks the first appearance of Tintin's blue crewneck jumper which is depicted in the last few panels of the story. [33] The first printing sold 30,000 copies in Francophone Belgium. [8] Without the need to satirise political types, entertainment producer and author Harry Thompson observed that "Hergé was now concentrating more on plot and on developing a new style of character comedy. Red Rackham's Treasure Barnaby then turns up at Tintin's doorstep but is shot down by unknown assailants, whilst Tintin is then kidnapped by the perpetrators of the shooting. The story was adapted for the 1957 Belvision animated series Hergé's Adventures of Tintin, the 1991 Ellipse/Nelvana animated series The Adventures of Tintin, the 1992-3 BBC Radio 5 dramatisation of the Adventures, the feature film The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn (2011) directed by Steven Spielberg, and the film's tie-in video game. [44], Michael Farr believed that the "most remarkable" factor of the book was its introduction of Sir Francis Haddock, highlighting that in his mannerisms and visual depiction, he is "scarcely distinguishable" from Captain Haddock. (Paramount Pictures) Facsimile in full colour of Sir Francis Haddock fighting off the pirates on the deck of the Unicorn from the adventure, The Secret of the Unicorn. In THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN, the intrepid young reporter Tintin, his ill-tempered friend Captain Haddock, and Tintin's faithful and funny terrier, Snowy, get swept up in a complicated mystery that leads to a search for lost pirate treasure. By combining the three parchments and holding them to light, Tintin and Haddock discover the coordinates (20°37'42.0" N 70°52'15.0" W, 82 km north of the Dominican Republic[2]) of the lost treasure and plan an expedition to find it. [47] Discussing the character of Sir Francis Haddock, he states that this ancestral figure resembles both Tintin and Haddock, "the foundling and the bastard", thus making the duo brothers as well as close friends. As told by Captain Archibald Haddock, the pirate Red Rackham raided The Unicorn after his own was destroyed in combat against it. Constructed in 1605, Enhjørningen had been wrecked in explorer Jens Munk's 1619–20 attempt to navigate the Northwest Passage. Hergé had accepted a position working for Le Soir, Belgium's largest Francophone daily newspaper. With the production of the movie The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn the collaboration between director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams got into a new chapter.A chapter which Williams fills with fascinating compositions on an adventurous ride. [53], Pierre Fresnault-Deruelle discussed the scene in the story in which Tintin was imprisoned in the crypt of Marlinspike Hall. [47] He adds that when Captain Haddock reenacts his ancestor's fight with Rackham, he adopts his "very soul, his mana, and is transformed in the process". [11] Elsewhere he asserted that it "explores this prelude with extraordinary narrative virtuosity". [50] He identified the mystery left in Francis Haddock's parchments to be another appearance of Tintin's adventures being "framed by enigmas". [43] Assouline also expressed the view that the ancestral figure of Sir Francis Haddock reflected Hergé's attempt to incorporate one of his own family secrets, that he had an aristocratic ancestor, into the story. It is revealed that the Bird Brothers have only one of the parchments, as two were lost when their wallet was stolen. Progressive jazz mixed with orchestral cues are a big part of the soundtrack, but always with the signature if Williams himself. The Secret of the Unicorn was a commercial success and was published in book form by Casterman shortly after its conclusion. The Secret of the Unicorn was the fourth to be adapted in the second animated series; it was directed by Ray Goossens and written by Greg, a well-known cartoonist who was to become editor-in-chief of Tintin magazine. 1943 But, Sakharine and his henchmen are after the scrolls, so they kidnap Tintin and imprison him on the SS Karaboudjan, a large ship that is searching for the Unicorn. Tintin and Captain Haddock learn there are violent rivals who are after the treasure of the Unicorn themselves. [45] Noting that unlike The Shooting Star, this two-book story arc contains "scarcely an allusion to occupation and war", he praised the arc's narrative as "perfectly paced, without that feeling of haste" present in some of Hergé's earlier work. Followed by [19], The character of Red Rackham was partly inspired by Jean Rackam, a fictional pirate who appeared in a story alongside female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read that Hergé encountered in a November 1938 edition of Dimanche-Illustré [fr]. With the production of the movie The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn the collaboration between director Steven Spielberg and composer John Williams got into a new chapter.A chapter which Williams fills with fascinating compositions on an adventurous ride. [42], Biographer Pierre Assouline stated that the story was "clearly influenced ... in spirit if not in detail" by Robert Louis Stevenson's book, Treasure Island in that it "seemed to cater to a need for escapism". The Secret of the Unicorn (French:Le Secret de La Licorne) is the eleventh title in the comic series The Adventures of Tintin, written and illustrated by Belgian cartoonist Hergé.