After 25 years, Tintin greenlighted

It was a quarter-century in the making, but then again, nothing is easy for cartoon heroes such as Tintin.

Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks, a division of Viacom Inc., has committed to produce at least one movie about the adventures of the intrepid Belgian reporter, said Nick Rodwell, head of Moulinsart NV, Tintin’s commercial studio in Brussels.

“After 25 years, they finally said, ‘OK, let’s go,’ ” Rodwell said Thursday of the protracted talks with Spielberg.

It wasn’t clear whether the film would be cartoon animation, computer animation or a movie with actors, or which of the 24 cartoon books of Tintin’s adventures would be picked. “If movie No. 1 works, we will continue,” Rodwell said.

Talks about a Hollywood movie on Tintin, who saves the lives of countless people and makes sure criminals end up behind bars, have long stalled on financial issues and production questions. The first plan surfaced just before Tintin’s creator, Georges Remi, a.k.a. Herge, died in 1983.

Tintin books have sold 220 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 77 languages.