Rating: 
Summary: Triple fun
Review: This animated French film contains a tip o' the chapeau in an early scene: It's a glimpse of a poster of Monsieur Hulot's Holiday. Belleville owes much to Jacques Tati's classic comedy. Both movies find humor in the daily details of life, rely on little dialogue and are artfully constructed. Hulot is Tati's signature character, a well-meaning, pipe-smoking boob in flood pants who sets off little fires everywhere his springy feet take him. In Holiday, they take him to a beach town, an ideal spot for sweet-natured sight gags that celebrate youthful mischievousness and gently poke fun at polite society. Hulot returns in Mon Oncle, a delicious satire of antiseptic modernity and a bourgeoisie eager to climb the social ladder in a new postwar world. Tati opts for the old world; Hulot's neighborhood may be crumbling, but it's full of life and soul.
Rating:
Summary: Triple fun
Review: This animated French film contains a tip o' the chapeau in an early scene: It's a glimpse of a poster of "Monsieur Hulot's Holiday." "Belleville" owes much to Jacques Tati's classic 1953 comedy. Both movies find humor in the daily details of life, rely on little dialogue and are artfully constructed. Hulot is Tati's signature character, a well-meaning, pipe-smoking boob in flood pants who sets off little fires everywhere his springy feet take him. In Holiday, they take him to a beach town, an ideal spot for sweet-natured sight gags that celebrate youthful mischievousness and gently poke fun at polite society. Hulot returns in Mon Oncle, a delicious satire of antiseptic modernity and a bourgeoisie eager to climb the social ladder in a new postwar world. Tati opts for the old world; Hulot's neighborhood may be crumbling, but it's full of life and soul.
Rating: 
Summary: Totally Fun,Totally French!
Review: "The Triplets of Belleville" is a French film. It also happens to be animated, but it is geared towards adults more than children. I loved it though. I feel that it is one of the best films of the year. It was funny, dramatic, and drawn. It was done with hand-drawn animation like "Brother Bear," and "Sinbad Legend of the Seven Seas," aside from computer animation like "Finding Nemo" and "Monsters Inc." It was my first movie from another country, and I will be seeing more, if they are as good as "The Triplets of Belleville."The movie is about Champion, who is a lonely young boy that lives with his grandmother Madame Souza. Souza senses that something is wrong with him, and does everything in his power to cheer him up. Giving him a dog named Bruno, and giving him a train set both failed, and then she finds out that the thing that would make him happy is a new bike. Years later, Champion is a young man who is filled with training for a bike race. During the race, Champion and two fellow bikers are kidnapped and place in the back of a truck. The men who kidnapped them are part of the French mafia, using the boys as a way to get money. When Souza finds out, she and Bruno get a boat and follow the mafia to the city of Belleville. When they make it there, they meet three legendary singers known as The Triplets of Belleville, who were big in the 30's. With help from them, the loving grandmother does everything she can to save Champion from the clutches of the French mafia. I wouldn't call "The Triplets of Belleville" to be a comedy, but it did have light comedy. It was more about the lenghts of how somebody would go to make sure somebody else in safe, in this case the grandmother and Champion. The film is short at only about 75 minutes lenght, and it was smart. It is one of the best animated films along with "Spirted Away" and "Finding Nemo," and although I really loved it, I think "Finding Nemo" had a more broader audience to get the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. I recommend "The Triplets of Belleville" but it is not really a childrens animation. There are great scenes and characteristics of the characters in this film. The grandmother is a trainer, who trains Champion with a whistle in her mouth that she still uses when a mechanic tries to fix her car. The dog barks at the train whenever it passes, because he hurt his tail on the toy train set earlier in life. When the grandmother meets the triplets, they put on a concert using a bike wheel. It is scenes like that which make the movie a bright, funny, entertaining ride. It is a one of a kind movie, that is funny, as well as sweet. ENJOY! Rated PG-13 for images involving sensuality, violence and crude humor.
Rating:
Summary: Nostalgic, surreal, bizarre, sublime kidnapping animation...
Review: The grandmother, Madame Souza, goes about her countryside routine, which includes watching reruns of Triplets from Belleville on TV as she discovers her young grandson Champion bored and unhappy. Madame Souza is heartbroken as she is aware of Champion's emotional state and she tries to cheer him up by getting him a dog, Bruno. However, Bruno does not remove the emptiness within Champion. One day Champion receives a surprise, a tricycle, and this tricycle becomes the beginning for a long and affectionate relationship between the grandmother and Champion as they connect through cycling. Madame Souza does everything she can for her grandson which includes coaching him for the Tour de France, the world's most prestigious cycling race. During the race Champion and two other cyclist are kidnapped by mischievous characters dressed in black trench coats. Madame Souza pursues the kidnappers and this brings her to the enormous coast city, Belleville. Disoriented and penniless in the vast city Madame Souza seeks shelter in the shadows of the tall buildings and this is where she encounters her favorite entertainers, the Triplets of Belleville. The light in which Triplets once were dancing has now faded, but despite their fall from the top they offer Madame Souza room and board as she continues her quest for her grandson, Champion. The prologue of Triplettes de Belleville displays a cascade of animation nostalgia as it displays good old animation techniques used in the early days of film history. The black and white opening also displays a surrealistic theme that can be compared to Dali and Cocteau. This opening supports the story's fantastic and unique theme as it unfolds as if a painter was actively participating in the painting that takes place in time instead of a canvas as it slides by frame by frame. Triplettes de Belleville is a visually stunning experience as Chomet connects with the audience through their eyes instead of their ears. Each frame is thoughtfully nurtured as they contain imagery that awakens feelings and reflection, which gently slides Chomet's message across to the audience. In the end, Chomet provides a sublimely bizarre cinematic experience through the use of 2-dimensional drawings and paintings instead of the contemporary 3-dimensional digitalized animation that that leaves the audience in emotional contemplation.
Rating:
Summary: Vive la cinema anime!
Review: "The Triplets of Belleville" does so many things, and does them well; so well, in fact, that this art house animated delight puts Disney/Pixar productions to shame for any number of reasons. First off, how many animated productions can you name from the above studio that spoof classic American culture (The Andrews Sisters, Fred Astaire, eating habits, etc.), and, in addition, put an intellectual spin on said cultural factoids? In hindsight, it would appear that Sylvain Chomet and associates took great pleasure in poking fun at their own cultural nuances as well (including the "Inspector Clouseau Twins?!?" [does this qualfy as French or American culture?], the wine industry, etc.). Seriously, how many fat Frenchmen do any of you out there know, let alone have seen? What's hilarious about this aspect of "...Triplets...", is that it exposes America and some of her faults on the lighter side of "cut-to-the-chase" humor - in that we Americans should look at ourselves in the mirror more often, and therefore need to cut down on our lavish tendency to overindulge at times (bulging as a result). In so doing, many of us would be securing a healthy future for ourselves as well as for our friends and families. Paticipating in "Tour de France"-like physical endeavors on a reguar basis would also further America's cause in becoming a stronger, more independent nation, as far as health benefits are concerned. Furthermore, exercising would also allow us to feel better about ourselves - thinning out the fatty rhetoric as a result, of which this animated spectacle contains none (fat, that is, at least none of the contentual, artistic variety, anyway). On the flip side, "The Triplets of Belleville" is a foreign affair that has pure entertainment value written all over it, and, at times, doesn't need any hidden, theoretical messages (such as the above example) to detract from its overall, colorful charm. When making the trip to "...Belleville", be sure to take along a pot of hearty ragout du mouton (for the "linguistically challenged" that's the French translation for mutton stew), some aged, ripe fromage du camembert (camembert cheese), and a bottle of fine Chardonnay to wash it all down with. Oh, and Vive La France, vive la cinema anime!
Rating:
Summary: would have rated a 5 but....
Review: I would have rated TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE a 5 but for the fact that not being French, I'm sure there were things I didn't get. (How's that for American cultural arrogance?)
But seriously, I thoroughly enjoyed this unique and surreal animated film. The plot involves a grandmother (and a faithful dog) who travels to the city of Belleville in search of her grandson, a Tour de France cyclist who has been kidnapped in order to perform for the amusement of gangsters. When the city proves too much for her she s rescued by the titular Triplets, three elderly sisters who were singing stars of an earlier era.
The hand drawn animation tells the story here, there's almost no dialogue, only a jazzy score. This is about as close as we can come nowawdays to feeling what it must have been like to watch a silent movie.
Many reviewers have interpreted the film as somehow anti-American. The huge city of Belleville is obviously inspired by an American metropolis-- a caricature of the Statue of Liberty adorns the harbor- but the cyclists are being held in a building labeled "French Wine Center". Whatever the target of the satire, TRIPLETS obviously celebrates a pastoral, peaceful way of life, looking back to a less complicated time in French history.
Fans of animation and of inventive, joyous, world cinema will enjoy THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Utterly imaginative.
Review: Let me say that I had no clue as to what this movie was about when I went to see it. I knew it was animated, it had to do with an old lady, and it was done by a french guy. What a fantastic film. It is indescribably original in every aspect. The artwork is stunning in detail and effect. The movie has basically no dialogue and yet conveys incredible amounts meaning. The attention to detail in every scene is amazing -- especially since the little things are used to convey things that words would have been used for. This film is loaded with humor on a variety of levels -- everything from subtle repeatative musings to outright gags to exaggerated depictions of things in every day life. Overall, this film is very intelligent and entertaining. It is not at all a traditional american holywood film. It is rather short -- coming it at 78 minutes -- and that is another refreshing aspect. No three hour saga filled with extended filler scenes. I would definitly advise seeing this in the theater for the first time if you can. I'm certainly going to add this to my DVD collection once it becomes available.
Rating:
Summary: Finding Champion
Review: If you're like me, the thing that first drew you to this movie was the music. The unique, jazzy score nabbed me in the preview (which featured "Belleville Rendezvous"). However, once I saw the movie, I was intrigued (and amused) by the story as well. Champion, a Tour de France cyclist, is kidnapped by the American mafia during the event along with two other riders who couldn't cut it on one of the climbing stages. He is taken to the city of Belleville in America (New York with Quebec style) to be used in an underground gambling setup. Mme. Souza, his grandmother, along with his dog Bruno, tries to track him down and teams up with the Triplets of Belleville, an aging song-and-dance group. The animation is amazing, and while it is certainly not aiming to be realistic, that is one of its charms. (I loved the proportions of the cyclists' legs and arms!) There is little dialogue, though the expressiveness of the characters is sufficient to convey the story. There is a fair amount of background talking in French as well, but it is not necessary to understand it to enjoy the movie. And of course, the music, which attracted me in the first place, did not disappoint. The preview song was very indicative of the old jazzy sound of the film, and there was even an orchestral Mozart piece to accompany the trip across the sea. This movie will definitely make you smile.
Rating:
Summary: crazy and jazzy old ladies!
Review: The Triplets of Belleville are a musical act from the 1930s. In a parallel story, a grandmother raises her depressed young grandson to adulthood, where he becomes a Tour De France contender. During the grand race, he and two others are abducted. Thus the grandmother and their faithful dog search for him, accidentally stumbling on the diabolical French mafia. But to their aid come the now-aged triplets, still tapping out their famous beat. Together, this coterie of elderly ladies prevail in finding out precisely what happened to her grandson and how to rescue him and the others. There is no dialogue and therefore no subtitles in this jazzy cartoon. It is interesting to note how many times "69" appears like a subliminal message! And everyone in Belleville is so fat -- even their Statue of Liberty is fat, which leads me to think Belleville is actually New York and the French are having a bit of fun. C'est la vie!
Rating:
Summary: Traditional animation lives in Tripletes
Review: Most animation circles are saying traditional, hand drawn animation is going the way of the dodo. There are too few who stubbornly cling to the textured and mood driven art of the line and thankfully, one of them is Sylvain Chomet's "Triplets of Belleville".
This beautifully crafted film is not only a tribute to the 20's and 30's Fliecher films (i.e. Betty Boop and Felix the Cat) and the golden age silent comedies of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, but a modern challenge to the recent computer animated features. "Triplets" showcases strong characters, exaggerated but dramatic landscapes, a bluesy, smoky jazz soundtrack, and humor to couple with the dramatic storyline. The pencil lines to which the characters are confined seem to tremor by their vitality, as if any second they will burst beyond the two dimensional screen!
Chomet always paid close attention to motion and detail and it shows in this wonderful work of art. The very thoughts of the dog during his dreams, the enlarged thigh muscles of Champion during his training, even Grandmother's expression of concern by batting her lazy eye is so unique.
We can be captivated by thirty seconds of painstakingly realistic computer animation, this is true. But "Triplets of Belleville" is captivating beyond its 80 minutes of screentime. You won't be able to take your eyes off of it.
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