At 80, comic-book hero Tintin is ready for Hollywood

BRUSSELS — He turns 80 this year but still looks 18, with the same fair-haired quiff. Like Madonna and Sting, two other famous blonds, he goes by one name. Mention him and a European is likely to cheer, while an American is more apt to go, "Huh?" But that's destined to change now that Steven Spielberg is making a movie based on his life.

He is Tintin, intrepid cub reporter and nemesis of evildoers, whose long career in numerous cartoon strips and comic books, with faithful dog Snowy at his side, has made him one of Belgium's most celebrated exports (up there with chocolate and waffles).

His slightly nondescript but instantly recognizable face is everywhere in Brussels these days, stamped on magnets, posters, key rings and other souvenirs to commemorate the 80th anniversary of his creation. Academics comb the cartoons for clues to Tintin's ontological meaning and his sexuality. A $20-million museum devoted to his creator is set to open in June outside the Belgian capital.

And amplifying all the buzz -- the Tintin-nabulation, you might say -- is a big-budget 3-D adaptation (using a high-tech motion-capture process) from Spielberg, who bought the movie rights to Tintin's adventures more than 25 years ago. Joining Spielberg on the project, envisioned as a trilogy of films, is director Peter Jackson of "Lord of the Rings" fame. The first part of filming just wrapped in L.A. (see accompanying story).

In a neat bit of foreshadowing in 1932's "Tintin in America," his sole voyage to the States, a victorious Tintin finds himself surrounded by paparazzi and a Hollywood agent who shouts: "Paranoid Productions are starring you in their billion-dollar movie spectacular!" Spielberg's first Tintin film is budgeted at $130 million.

Not too shabby a fate for an illustrated, French-speaking eternal Boy Scout whose humble origins trace to a conservative Roman Catholic magazine in Belgium between the world wars. "Tintin is a pure Belgian product, with a universal impact," said Claude Javeau, a professor emeritus at the Free University of Brussels.

The character's action-packed international romps gave Belgians a window on the wider world from their tiny country, while fans across the globe, especially fellow Europeans, embraced his unassuming, kindhearted and resourceful personality. It also helped that Snowy was adorable.