The Triplets of Belleville (2003)

If you love the style of the old Chuck Jones cartoons, or the Pink Panther, you'll definitely love this movie. If not, you may love it all the same. The animated characters are entertainingly – and artistically – grotesque, with understated emotions. They say it all with a barely noticeable shift of the eye or by fixing their glasses, or just by staring ahead. And yet understatement is the characters' chief strength, and for once we have an animated film that doesn't insult the viewer's intelligence. Call it retro if you like, but it is very effective.

Machines and houses can be just as grotesque as people in this movie: ships that look like they should rightly sink into the water like a knife, houses arched back subserviently under pressure from elevated railways, and a fat Statue of Liberty (just a hint as to how Americans are treated in this movie – but it is done without any malice). Nothing makes sense when viewed individually, and yet together it meshes into a true masterpiece of form and content.

The storyline is very simple: a French bicycle racer is being kidnapped by the French Mafia to be used for illegal gambling, leaving his grandmother to try and rescue him. Along the way she teams up with the aging Triplets of Belleville, who, no longer at the heights of their power, still have a trick or two up their sleeve.

But if all you're after in a movie is a strong story, you might be disappointed. The accent here is on superb animation and soundtrack, which creates a feast for the eye and ear (speaking of ears, it will be a while before you'd be able to get that tune out of your head). This makes the movie watchable more than once – you will only enjoy it more on subsequent viewings.

Bruno the dog also deserves a special mention: though grotesquely fat, it is probably the most true-to-life and well-developed depiction of a dog in any movie, filmed or animated. No cutesy stuff here, just real "dogginess." His dreams are especially interesting and add a surrealistic dimension to an already part-surrealistic production.

This movie should be a household name. Pity we're not more open to foreign films: most of us keep missing out on masterpieces like this.

Fmovies: This feature animation puts Disney to shame for all its brain-dead, middle-of-the-road, theme park-oriented, schmaltzy, claptrap nonsense that's popular with the masses in this world. Beyond the fact that this animation is all of stunning, beautiful, thought-provoking, funny, artistic and frightening enough to make anyone with talent doubt their worth, "Les Triplettes de Belleville" happily refuses to assault its audience with mind-numbing, cloying, useless, overrated, saccharin, and trashy music and songs by the likes of Elton John and Andrew Lloyd Weber. (How's that for hyphenating) It achieves as much as, if not more than, what Jacques Tati could do with real actors. It should make anyone who ever thought a stuffed animal or "Happy Birthday" balloons was tasteful, crawl into a corner where they belong.

Here's another film that is quite different from anything you've seen. It animated French film, and this unique artwork is really something to see - astounding in parts. Audibly, it's also unique as there is almost no dialog in here.

The strange story is a simple one: a mother and the family dog go after people who kidnap her son. That doesn't begin to explain the weirdness, however. The son is a great Tour de France cyclist who, along with two other races, is kidnapped and taken to New York City (Belleville). The mother and dog follow and are taken in by three eccentric old singers who eat frogs (I told you it gets weird.). Then, they discover where the son is and the chase is on. The ending, frankly, gets carried away and is the only part of the story that didn't really seem to fit in. It was just too plain stupid and clichéd, dumbing a clever film down..

With almost no dialog, it would be easy to bore the audience but the artwork is so good and the story is told so well with a lot of humor, that it keeps your interest and would be fun to watch a number of times.

The Triplets of Belleville fmovies. When I saw "The Triplettes of Bellville" on display at my video store I had never heard anything about it, so I had no idea what to expect. I chose it because to me, it looked bizarre- (which I love) and when I saw it was French it made me grab it right away. There was a show I used to watch called "OH CANADA" that had French / Canadian cartoons which were the most bizarre and enjoyable cartoons I had ever seen. They only showed it late at night because they weren't your typical cartoons, and more for adults than children. I was hoping Triplettes of Bellville would be something like that, and I was more than pleasantly surprised when I watched it. The first 5 minutes had me rolling with laughter and telling my partner "SEE! Isn't this great?!!" (He wasn't too sure of why I chose a cartoon for us to watch, but I kept telling him it would be good.) We both loved it, and commented how freaky and weird it was. It had many layers to it, and is one of those movies that I am sure the more you watch it, the more things you will see that you missed. I really loved the hidden meanings and psychological depth it had. For example, the part where we get to see a dog's dream...we were like "Woah- I bet that IS what dogs dream about!!!" I am determined to buy this movie, which I very rarely buy movies because they seem to lose their charm after you own them. I have already planned for my 3 sisters and I to get together just to watch this movie. I liked it so much that I am writing a review! (something I have never done!) I was a little upset when I heard that people were criticizing it, but then again, I have to expect that. It isn't the typical movie you would see in the theaters at any given time- but then again, that is EXACTLY why I loved it!!! So, if you love movies that are bizarre, different, and can take on many meanings, Triplettes of Bellville is the one to watch! I have been telling everyone I know to go see it!

I found "The Triplets of Belleville" to be one of the most charming movies I've had the pleasure of seeing the last couple of years. This delightful movie follows the adventures of Madame Souza, her son, Champion, and their dog, Bruno.

Madame Souza recognizes that something is missing from Champion's life. His parents are, clearly, gone. All he has left from them is a picture of the pair of them on a bicycle. As she silently pieces together what Champion needs to be happy, she and he discover a new life as participants in the Tour de France - he as a competitor and her as his coach and trainer.

They live a life of quiet, simple joys until he is kidnapped, an event that leads to a trip to Belleville for all three. This fictional city will prove oddly familiar to most viewers. Here, Madame Souza is befriended by the titular characters - I will leave the "book report" style commenting here.

There are so many delights in this picture, but I am going to focus on my favorite character, Bruno the dog. I don't think I have ever seen a movie capture a real dog as well as this one does. We see him from a puppy, learn the event that leads him to hate trains, feel anxious for him when he paws at his bowl while the silly humans finish their own dinners, and fear for him when his canine instincts lead him to places of danger.

Throughout this all, Bruno is gloriously canine. He dreams of the things that are important to him, he sees the world as smells and images. He is awesome. Or, perhaps, she is awesome. Bruno is a male name, but many have suggested he is a she.

Anyhow, the other characters are great fun as well, but my heart belongs to this big fat dog. Even if I hadn't loved the rest of the movie (I did), I would recomend it for Bruno alone.

Madame Souza raises her grandson Champion and tries to make him happier with a baby dog, Bruno. However, the boy remains sad, and the grandmother gives a tricycle for him. The boy gets excited with the gift, and trained by Madame Souza along the years, he finally competes the Tour de France. When Champion is kidnapped by two MIBs from the French mafia, Madame Souza and Bruno travel to Belleville to rescue him, with the support of the elder singers, the Belleville Sisters.

What a wonderful surprise "Les Triplettes de Belleville" is! An original, impressive and very bizarre dark story, that recalls the style of Tim Burton, supported by an amazing music score. The scene on the sea, while playing Mozart's Mass in C Minor, is fantastic and maybe my favorite. The city of Belleville, visibly inspired in New York, with a fat Statue of Liberty, is impressive. The intentional exxageration in the proportions of the ships and sky-scrapers is amazing and stylish. The grotesque and ugly characters are very unusual for heroes and even villains, and this movie is basically the opposite of the animations of Pixar and Disney. Madame Souza has a shorter leg; Champion has deformed legs and long nose; Bruno is horribly fat; the MIBs are plane; their boss is very short; the old singers look like witches; in common, all of them are very ugly. I really recommend this movie for viewers that aim to see a fresh idea of animation, with dark comedy and weird adventure. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "As Bicicletas de Belleville" ("The Bicycles of Belleville")