The "Market Artist" at the beginning bears the likeness of Hergé, creator of the "Tintin" comics. Furthermore, he draws Tintin's portrait in Hergé's style. Using Hergé's likeness is an homage to the artist's own private joke of incorporating the likenesses of friends and family in his Tintin comics. Humorously, the first lines of the film, as stated by the painter are: "Very nearly there, sir.
I have to say, your face is familiar. Have I drawn you before?" Tintin, responds: "Occasionally."
Originally, Steven Spielberg was going to do a live-action adaptation of Tintin, and called Sir Peter Jackson to ask if his visual effects company, Weta Digital, would work on the film, in particular, creating a CGI Snowy. Jackson, as it turned out, was a longtime fan of Tintin, and convinced Spielberg that live action would not do justice to the comic books, and that motion capture was the best way of representing Hergé's world of Tintin. However, Snowy would still be animated.
Steven Spielberg enjoyed working with the virtual camera so much, he did a lot of his own camera work in the movie. Much of the allure of filming in 3-DCG is that one can compose everything, including camera moves and lighting, watch a preview and then go back later and change things such as lighting, camera lenses (including morphing between lenses), camera moves, scenery, and just about everything else, whereas in live action one can only reshoot from the beginning and hope that the reshoots do not conflict with actors' schedules or budget limitations.
The first non-Pixar movie to win the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Picture since the category was first introduced. In addition, this film beat out Cars 2 (2011).
Steven Spielberg: Marks one of very few , as the design inspiration for Ben Salaad, the Sultan of Bagghar. He's made cameos in only 3 of his other films; Jaws (vocal performance), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Tourist at Airport), and The Lost World: Jurassic Park (Popcorn-Eating man). Spielberg has made more cameos in films by other directors than in his own.