Les Triplettes De Belleville

An orphaned boy, Champion, is raised by his grandmother, Madame Souza. Her gift of a tricycle starts a craze for cycle-racing that becomes the cornerstone of their life together. After years of relentless training, Champion makes it to the Tour de France, the toughest cycling event in the world. Alas, Champion and a handful of other top competitors are mysteriously kidnapped by a pair of sinister crooks with hangdog expressions. Supported by her faithful sidekick, her fat and flatulent dog Bruno, Madame Souza sets off to rescue her beloved Champion. An epic adventure leads them across the Atlantic to a vast seaport metropolis named Belleville, headquarters of the notorious French mafia. Lost and confused in the threatening darkness of the great city, Madame Souza and Bruno encounter the Belleville Triplettes, who, in their youth, were a glamorous close-harmony act. Now, these three batty old women are now a bizarre jazz combo. Mme Souza joins the band. At their very first gig, she discovers Champion is being held captive by the mafia Godfather himself! All hell breaks loose, and the chase is on! Do Mme Souza, her dim dog, and the Triplettes have what it takes to outsmart the ruthless French mafia and release poor Champion from its clutches? Product Description

One of my top 10 favorite films ever.

People mention that you 'may watch it more than once' I either watch it or listen to it at least once a week, sometimes over and over again while I work. You will be surprised how many details you will find. If you get it, you will want to see it over and over again.

I'm 30 years old, I am not an anime freak, or anything like that - it's just this film has struck some sort of chord with me. I don't know what it is. Give it a chance, listen to it in 5.1 audio, at night, with your significant other and some good wine.

I'd really like to see a high def version release.
Until then, I use a 1080p upscaling DVD player.

other favorite films:
Fellini's 8 1/2
Spirited Away
Princess Mononoke
Twilight Samurai
Yohimbo
The Work of Director Michel Gondry
Amelie
Tekkon Kinkreet March 28, 2008

This is a must see for any animator!

This film is brilliant!

It's a modern classic, the style is unique and a welcome break from todays cookie cutter retro-retro look. Granted it's from '03. But it's still new to so many people.

If you're unsure about whether or not you should pick this flick up,rent it. In French please. Once you've seen it once, you'll be convinced of your need to have it. August 8, 2007

The Art of Animation at its Best

I don't own many movies. There are few films I want to see more than once. I have watched this movie over & over again. I felt compelled to write this review because none of the others that I read mentioned the quality of animation in this film. If you appreciate the art of animation, this is the best example that I have ever seen. The "making of" bonus feature explains the technicalities of 3-D animation and the sound effects, but without even seeing this you will know that this picture is a unique study in animation. In addition to the rare & complex 3D images, there are several examples of animated characters watching non-animated films! Extraordinary! This movie is not about the plot, characters or anything that the other reviewers mentioned (in my opinion), it is a study in animation with an addictive sound track to boot! August 3, 2007

Not what I expected, but that's a pleasant surprise!

From what little I'd seen or heard regarding the "Triplets of Belleville" I was expecting it to be a kooky Gaulic cartoon featuring the eponymous triplets; which it certainly does near the end of the film, but they aren't the central characters of the film, nor as prominent as I'd imagined. The film is also far more satirical than I had suspected, focusing instead on a young boy, Champion, and his grandmother, Mademoiselle Souza, and their close familial bond. "Triplets of Belleville" opens with an old clip (a movie within a movie) of the triplets romping through their song "Rendezvous" and as the camera pans back we are in a stylized version of de Gaulle's France. Rather than simplistic, "Triplets of Belleville" works on many levels; the desire of the grandmother to fulfill her young grandson's ambition of becoming a Tour de France cyclist, a goal he attains only to become captured by the French Mafia along with other cyclists and is whisked away to Belleville.

Belleville is the perfect amalgam of the worst of American and Americanized France. The satire here is writ large - literally! Mademoiselle Souza doggedly pursues Champion to Belleville accompanied by the family dog Bruno, who likewise plays a pivotal role in the action. Mademoiselle Souza is befriended by the triplets and is pulled into their strange existence. There the story gets to lampoon Francophiles as much as the Americans. This unlikely group eventually tracks down Champion at the Mafia's headquarters where he and the other cyclists are being used for the amusement of a large audience of gamblers. Here the satire is sharpest - a commentary on the nature of society, celebrity culture, and how disposable-natured we are. The cyclists are chasing an illusory dream and their machinery becomes the escape vehicle for them, the triplets, Mademoiselle Souza and Bruno in a hilariously funny getaway.

Those giving the "Triplets of Belleville" a surface read will think it's the oddest cartoon in years as it is punctuated with infrequent dialogue and the images or as distorted as a Picasso painting. Dig deeper and you'll find a much more rewarding movie as there's a great deal of symbolism and satire packed in 81 minutes! The "Triplets of Belleville" isn't easy watching; it's frequently puzzling, mysterious, and otherworldly. Satire is a tough sell but if you like a thinking person's cartoon then "Triplets of Belleville" is the one for you! June 20, 2006

What if Lynch did animation?

I've seen a few animation films in my life, but "The Triplets of Belleville" is easily the weirdest of them all. There's something of Lynch about it that I just can't quite pinpoint. It is the perfect adaptation of the film-noir genre to the animation scene and the plot (or lack thereof) is developed under a gloomy, grim, dark and intriguing atmosphere.

The film seems to work on many layers and I honestly can't come up with a rational explanation for it, not on a single viewing anyway. I'd be interested in seeing it again, now that the initial weirdness is gone. But something tells me this is something to be experienced more than to be understood.

If you like out-of-the-ordinary stuff in unusual mediums, and in addition somewhat depressing, eerie cartoons somehow connected to the Tour de France sounds like a good idea, then this French animation film is for you. October 8, 2005

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