Jackson offers glimpse of Tintin in action

A shot from 'The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn'. Photo / Supplied

Tintin fans can now see how their favourite characters will appear in an upcoming film of the much-loved comic books.

Sir Peter Jackson has revealed on Facebook how Tintin and other characters such as Captain Haddock and Snowy will be depicted in The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn.

Facebook also shows Sir Peter, the producer, working with director Steven Spielberg and Daniel Craig, who stars as the villain Red Rackham in the film.

Stars Andy Serkis (as Haddock) and Jamie Bell (as Tintin) are pictured in motion-capture gear, which was used in conjunction with animation technology to bring the film to life.

A preview trailer has also been released, which shows the hallmarks of both Sir Peter's and Weta Digital's work.

The film has been shot in California and Wellington.

In the Facebook post, Sir Peter said the film had been a long time coming. "Once the movie is 'shot' on the motion-capture stage, it takes another two years to complete. It's probably been five years since Steven and I started working on it."

He said the Tintin books by Belgian artist Georges Remi, who wrote under the pen name of Herge, were the first he had read as a child.

"I fell in love with them ... I would grab a new Tintin book and happily spend three hours totally lost in the adventure."

Tintin comics were first published in 1929, and have sold more than 200 million copies worldwide.

Sir Peter said it was a pleasure to witness the "skill and creative instincts" of Spielberg and be involved in the innovative technology on set.

"Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis are in front of you wearing motion capture suits, but point the camera at them, and on the monitor you see Tintin and Captain Haddock.

"This is not animation - it's live action film making in a real-time virtual world. You shoot many takes, just like a normal movie."

Sir Peter is scheduled to direct the second film in the series.

The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn is due to be released in 3D and 2D on Boxing Day.