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Steven Spielberg has won the seal of approval of Tintin's native land - Belgium - for his new movie version of the classic cartoon.
In Tintin's home city of Brussels, local critics had a sneak preview of The Adventures Of Tintin - The Secret Of The Unicorn, and knives were sharpened in case the Hollywood director had desecrated one of Europe's greatest cartoon characters.
But the reviewers were won over by the new computer-animated movie, which used performance-capture technology to create cartoon versions of actors Jamie Bell, Andy Serkis, Daniel Craig and Simon Pegg.
"Bull's eye," headlined the Dutch-speaking De Standaard newspaper. "A pure jewel" the Francophone Le Soir had on its front page.
Spielberg will come to the October 22 world premiere in Belgium in person, knowing the critics themselves have rolled out the red carpet.
The Adventures Of Tintin, co-produced by Peter Jackson of Lord Of The Rings fame, will be released in Europe, Asia and the Middle East ahead of a debut in the US - where Tintin is largely unheard of.
The cartoon books have been translated into 70-plus languages from Chinese to Armenian, and sold in the tens of millions of copies.
Tintin's creator Herge, who died in 1983, is a national hero in Belgium.
