As the evening breeze carries away the last rays of sunlight, hushed giggles spread through the dark as the movie screen illuminates yet again at downtown San Antonio’s HemisFair Park. Movies by Moonlight, a growing San Antonio summer tradition, offers roughly a dozen summer evenings in the grass of the outdoor cinema just under the HemisFair arch.
In an effort to bring more locals downtown, Movies by Moonlight has partnered with Downtown Tuesday. Together, they offer low cost evenings of family fun. Every Tuesday during the summer, the outdoor cinema adjacent to the Magik Theater floods with eager San Antonio residents where they can enjoy pre-show entertainment, concessions, and a mixture of classic and soon-to-be classic family films.
The Knights of Columbus run the concession stands, providing guests with low-cost snacks and treats to enjoy during and before the film. A large benefit of the outdoor theater is that guests may bring in coolers filled with food from home or from downtown restaurants.
Another benefit to Movies by Moonlight is the informal, relaxed environment of Texas summer evenings which allows guests to come and go as necessary, so don’t be discouraged to bring restless toddlers.
In an effort to keep countless young minds entertained, pre-show entertainment begins at 7:30 p.m. For the recent “Alice in Wonderland” showing on August 14, Studio 88 provided entertainment in the form of music and dance performed by local San Antonio youth. Also, prior to this showing, Movies by Moonlight tossed around a few beach balls, which guests got to keep and take home.
Reaching the end of it’s 4th year, Movies by Moonlight will feature “The Adventures of Tintin,” inspired by the comic book series by Belgian artist Georges Remi, for its final showing. Director Steven Spielberg and producer Peter Jackson collaborated to release yet another work of wonder with this film about a young boy on a grand adventure through ships and seas with the fast-paced story line, bouts of humor and creative animation style.
The story line of “The Adventures of Tintin” follows Tintin, voice of Jamie Bell (“Billy Elliot”), a young journalist set on getting the full story no matter what it takes. Young Tintin is renowned for his investigative abilities, so when confronted with the mystery of a stranger willing to pay a ridiculous amount of money for an old model ship, the Unicorn, Tintin can’t help but find himself in pursuit of the truth. This pursuit takes Tintin, and his loyal dog, Snowy, from the depths of the desert to the peaks of the sea. There are pirates and planes, and lots more to be found along his adventure.
The comedy of the film has many layers. First, there’s the visual humor: the usual clumsiness for some laughs. Then, there’s the humorous alliteration surrounding the dialect, for example, a ship captain exclaiming, “Billions of blistering barnacles!” or “Ten thousand thundering typhoons!” And, yet another layer to the humor is that of over dramatization and plain old dimwittedness.
In one particular scene, Captain Haddock, a prime character in the film and a recovering alcoholic, asks, “What is this peculiar beverage? It had no bouquet, it’s completely transparent.”
To which Tintin responds, “It’s water.”
Not only does the film offer an original storyline and jokes, but the creative animated cinematography provides an adventure through a visual scale all on its own. The artwork of the transitions from one scene to another acts as a kaleidoscope of the animated world of Tintin. What may seem like an ordinary reflection in a puddle can turn into a whole new world, providing viewers with a fast-paced storyline that never falters to keep their attention.
“The Adventures of Tintin” will be showing in the summer’s final Movies by Moonlight on Tuesday, Aug. 28 with pre-show entertainment starting at 7:30 p.m. and the feature film at 8:30 p.m. Come ready with blankets, snacks, and your whole family for a free night of entertainment.
