NEXT month’s American debut of “The Adventures of Tintin” will serve as an introduction for many moviegoers to a character long adored by Europeans, the boy reporter with a nose for mystery and a trademark tuft of orange hair.

The widely anticipated movie, a 3-D animated feature with A-list credits — Steven Spielberg directed and Peter Jackson served as a producer — is to be released on Dec. 21. It is based on “The Secret of the Unicorn,” a title from the Tintin series of graphic novels published from 1929 to 1976, hugely popular in Europe but not nearly so well known in the United States.

In the first trailer for the film, which appeared on the Internet last spring, there is a scene with Tintin running breathlessly out of a doorway, only to see a blue coupe turn around and roar off into the distance.

The movie, like the book it is based on, takes its automobiles seriously, so the fleeing coupe is no generic old-timer. It is a faithfully recreated 1937 Ford V-8, animated to reflect the actual car as well as the unique style of the artist who wrote and illustrated the book.