The Triplets of Belleville (DVD, 2004)

I saw this movie on the big screen several years ago. I had heard prior to seeing it that there was practically no dialog but could not imagine how they could pull this off - that was until I sat through one of the most memorable movies of my life. The emotions evoked in me were such that the reality of the film got mixed up with the sureal. Bruno, the dog, reminded me of my own dog - a little overweight and barking at anything that moved. The grandmother was not unlike my own: 100% committed to my welfare and well-being.
I also happen to think that the French possess a great sense of humor but you have to look close to see. The waiter in the restaurant with the square-shouldered thugs is a prime example of self-deprivation and French humor. The audience almost got up and cheered near the end of the film when granny hitched a plot to rescue her grandson and the triplets were hilarious - especially when you consider how they go fishing for frogs. But I won't spoil the surprise.
I thought it was an incredible creative effort on the part of the French. I feel very lucky to have seen this film. The animation, vivid colors and imaginative backgrounds draw the audience well and deep into the total experience of the film. Bravo to the French!!!

This drama is about French poverty in cartoon like caricatures. It won the Cannes, Telluride, & Toronto Film Festival picks in 2003. The music was nominated for an Academy Award as was the animation. Sounding like old New Orleans, the French street music is in the back ground of most of the film. Since the words are hardly distinguishable, this animated drama is more like a silent or foreign film without subtitles. But I didn't need them to understand the story.

It's a tale about the French mob kidnapping Olympic Tour de France bicycle riders to supply themselves with a bicycle churning contraption that makes wine. A crippled grandmother and faithful bloodhound never stop searching for her kidnapped grandson bicyclist. They travel until one night, while outdoors near the ocean, three older ladies from Belleville hear the grandmother using her grandson's bicycle wheel spokes as a musical instrument. They join her in anything but traditional songs with the strangest instruments and then take her and her grandson's bloodhound into their home.

One of the elder triplets from Belleville, does the frog catching and cooking of frogs. This freaks out the old crippled grandmother and her missing grandson's bloodhound. After dinner, the grandmother realizes that these three older ladies are musicians who use the refrigerator, pots, and other non-traditional instruments to entertain. The triplets invite the grandmother and her missing grandson's bicycle wheel into their classic French Quarters musical band.

The underlying kidnapping story is not as interesting to me as the caricature animation and homespun music. The film is only 81 mins long and even children could enjoy it.

When I first saw The Triplets of Belleville, I knew I wanted to own it. I don't buy many movies because I don't watch many of them more than once. This all-animation film is brilliant and funny in a very odd way. It's for people who have a particular kind of taste, though. It's sophisticated and strange. The animation itself is great, characters are realized wonderfully. The concept is amazing: there are hardly any words in this feature-length film, and no one will need subtitles as everything is revealed visually. The closest I can come to a comparison is to invoke the films of Jacques Tati from the 1950s. These, too, are French and, while not animated, rely on almost no dialog to convey an understated type of humor.

This has got to be one of my favorite foreign animated films. Hardly any sub-titles since there is very dialogue. The entire story is told thru animation absolutely no translation required. It's a poignant story about a grandmother raising her grand-son and indulging him in his quest to race the Tour de France! Of course with some rather hysterical and tragic results. The family's dog's antics are hilarious. FYI the title song was nominated for a best song for a movie at the Oscars. The song alone is worth the purchase of this movie. If you want lengthy dialogue and lack no imagination this movie is not for you. But, if you want an intelligent animated movie, don't even wait! BUY BUY BUY

The story was odder, the people odder still...but delightful! A fantstic animation job, brilliantly done. A lovable grandmotherly type nearly whips her boy into "shape" to win the Tour de France. He ends up being kidnapped by the Mob; she goes on the hunt for him; in the process meets up with three elderly, destitute but happy ladies (former jazz singers) who take her in...no sense in spoiling it for you. It's a wild adventure and if you like good music, you'll love the Triplets of Belleville.
I had never heard of it until I followed a link on a blog. You never know where you'll end up when you start following links.