Stephen Spielberg’s creative choice in The Adventures Of TinTin lessened TinTin’s dog Snowy. The 2011 film was adapted from the comic book series of the same name, mainly focusing on the eleventh book in the series, The Secret of the Unicorn. In the comic book series, Snowy, a white Wire Fox Terrier, plays a significant role as TinTin’s sidekick. He’s the cynical one in the friendship, while TinTin is optimistic, which balances out their dynamic. In addition, snowy is different from most dogs as he can understand human language and responds with funny comments in speech bubbles throughout the comic book series.
Snowy’s personality changes throughout the series as Captain Haddock’s introduction makes it unnecessary for him to be the cynical one. Instead, Haddock takes on that role, and Snowy becomes more light-hearted. However, he’s still an important part of the series and TinTin’s life. Snowy appears in Spielberg’s 2011 film as a CGI animated version of what he looked like in the comics. While he’s not a live-action animal, he’s much closer to a real dog, as Spielberg used some advanced technology to bring the comics to life on the big screen. Unfortunately, he had to make some other sacrifices for Snowy.
The Adventures Of Tintin Made Snowy Less Important Than The Comics
Unfortunately, The Adventures of TinTin made Snowy less important than he was in the comics. The film is focused more on TinTin, with Snowy acting as only his dog. Spielberg removed Snowy’s cynical nature and the speech bubbles that appeared in the comics, making him more of an animal companion than a sidekick.
This was unfortunate because Snowy was such a big part of the comics, and it changed TinTin’s story by not having Snowy serve as much of a purpose in the film as he did in the comic books. Cutting down the character felt like a slap in the face to the beloved comic book character and all the fans who loved Snowy’s personality.
Why The Tintin Movie Didn’t Include Snowy’s Thoughts & Speech
Snowy’s speech bubbles might have ruined the movie by making it appear more fantastical. All films have to make changes to the works they’re adapted from, and not everything can make the cut. This is because only so much information can be fit into a one to two-hour film. Including Snowy in the film as he was in the comics may have distracted from the movie’s plot.
It’s also kind of fitting that Snowy is different in the film because Captain Haddock appears in the movie, so it aligns with how Snowy’s character changed in the comics after Haddock was introduced. However, even after the captain joined the comic series, Snowy still has moments of inner monologue that could have been included in the film. So there’s a way Spielberg could have made Snowy a more prominent character while sticking to the movie’s plot.
How The Tintin Movie Could’ve Fixed Its Snowy Problem
Snowy didn’t need to have speech bubbles in The Adventures of TinTin for him to be a more important character. There are other ways the dog could have communicated with TinTin that would have fit into the movie and made him more than just a dog. The Mandalorian’s Grogu became a pop culture obsession and holds his own without saying a word, so it’s possible for a character to be silent and still significant. Instead of using speech bubbles, Snowy could have used facial expressions or noises to better convey his personality.
This has been done in films before, and had Spielberg utilized it, he could have made better use of TinTin’s friend. However, the film also could have included some of Snowy’s inner monologue from the comic books. It would have been great to have a narrator speak for Snowy. Someone like Patrick Stewart would have worked. Not only would it have made Snowy a more important character, but it would get fans of the actor excited to hear his voice in the film. Plenty of films have utilized voiceovers for animals in a proper way where it doesn’t come across as cheesy, and if anyone is capable of conquering this, it would be Spielberg.
While it’s understandable that the filmmaker had to make some changes to the story to fit everything into his movie adaptation, it’s unfortunate he sacrificed such a special character. With The Adventures of TinTin‘s sequel still in the talks, Snowy might be able to have the role he deserved to have in the first film.
