Based on the hugely popular international comic about a young reporter and his faithful dog Snowy who hunt down clues, triumph over evildoers, and engage in all variety of fantasy and slapstick, Spielberg's adaptation of "Tintin" wastes little time in thickening the plot.

Tintin (voiced by Jamie Bell) is wandering the local market when he purchases a model boat, only to be accosted by a stranger who demands to know the price.

Tintin tells the man, who we soon learn is the dastardly Ivanovich Sakharine (Daniel Craig), that his new cherished model is not for sale. But soon enough his apartment has been ransacked, bullets have been fired and Tintin finds himself abducted by strangers. The model boat holds a secret - and there are those who would kill to possess it.

In all honesty, the plot matters not. There are secret maps, hidden treasure and age-old family rivalries, but the film's greatest flaw is its endless attempt to explain all these convoluted whirrings. By the end of "Tintin," I found myself unable to remember just why any of this heated dialog or plotting really mattered.

But in true Spielberg fashion, what matters here far more than the plot is the panache. The styling and characterization of "Tintin" is nothing short of a joy to behold. Tintin is so brave and cunning, Snowy is so adorable and resourceful, and by the time they hook up the brave but hapless drunkard Captain Haddock (Andy Serkis) on the open sea, Spielberg manages to evoke notes of both the Three Musketeers and the Three Stooges.

In long, fluid shots, deepened and enriched by a 3-D approach that emphasizes depth and heft, Spielberg orchestrates a tour de force demonstration of how the camera and the viewer can be liberated in an animated 3-D universe. Zipping up the mast of a pirate ship, pivoting around an airplane in freefall and tracking a three-minute real-time sprint from a tidal wave, Spielberg conjures the three greatest, and silliest, thrills of 2011.