The Triplets of Belleville (2003) Les triplettes de Belleville (original title)

Director:

Sylvain Chomet

Writer:

Sylvain Chomet (written by)

Release Date:

11 June 2003 (France)

Genre:

Animation | Comedy

Plot:

When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters--an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire--to rescue him.

Plot Keywords:

France | Tour De France | Mafia | Dog | Boy

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 21 nominations

Cast

Béatrice Bonifassi	...	Triplets (singing voice)
Lina Boudreau	...	Triplets (voice)
Michèle Caucheteux	...	(voice)
Jean-Claude Donda	...	(voice)
Mari-Lou Gauthier	...	Triplets (voice)
Charles Linton	...	(singing voice) (as Charles Prévost Linton)
Michel Robin	...	(voice)
Monica Viegas	...	(voice)

Directed by
Sylvain Chomet

Writing credits
Sylvain Chomet		(written by)

Produced by
Didier Brunner	....	producer
Paul Cadieux	....	co-producer
Regis Ghezelbash	....	associate producer
Colin Rose	....	associate producer
Viviane Vanfleteren	....	producer

Original Music by
Benoît Charest

Film Editing by
Dominique Brune
Chantal Colibert Brunner
Dominique Lefever

Production Design by
Evgeni Tomov

Art Direction by
Thierry Million

Production Management
François Bernard	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gérard T. Goulet	....	assistant director

Art Department
Caroline Ardies	....	background painter
Carlos Barrato	....	background designer
Karyne Bergeron	....	color design assistant
Kellie Devries	....	background painter
Samuel Dhaussy	....	background painter
Christophe Gautier	....	background painter
Bruno Ghigou	....	artistic supervisor
Grigor Kuzmanov	....	background painter
Monica Langlois	....	background painter
Alexei Nechytaylo	....	background painter
Carole Roy	....	color designer
Stanimir Stoilov	....	background designer

Sound Department
Germain Boulay	....	sound editor
Mathieu Cox	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric DeVos	....	sound (as Eric De Vos)
Xavier Drouault	....	foley artist
Alek Goosse	....	sound re-recording mixer
Eric Grattepain	....	sound effects editor
Gert Janssen	....	assistant sound editor
Marina Lerchs	....	adr mixer
Samuel Mittelman	....	additional sound
Henri Morelle	....	sound
Alexis Oscari	....	sound assistant
Stéphanie Perrin	....	sound editor
Denis Prud'hon	....	adr editor
Laurent Quaglio	....	sound
Carl Van Brande	....	sound supervisor
Griet Van Reeth	....	sound

Special Effects by
Fernandez Cyril	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Christel Boyer	....	digital compositor
Frédéric Dupuis	....	2D effects animator
Nicolas Ferrere	....	2D effects animation supervisor
Florian Fiebig	....	2D effects animator
Bruno Ghigou	....	visual effects supervisor
Yann Hradecky	....	digital effects
Rouja Koleva	....	2D effects animation supervisor
Julie Kuchlein	....	2D effects animator
Hugues Martel	....	2D effects animator
Dave W. Pelkey	....	2D effects animator
Simon Pelletier	....	2D effects animator
Raf Schoenmaekers	....	digital compositor
Sofi Vaillant	....	digital compositor
Pieter Van Houte	....	digital effects
Alexis Venet	....	2D effects animator

Animation Department
Ilze Albekeite	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Caroline Ardies	....	background painter
Isabelle Auclair	....	assistant animator: "Mme. Souza"
Carlos Barrato	....	background designer
Linda Best	....	assistant animator: "Mme. Souza"
Jolanta Bigele	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Liena Bizune	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Ian Blum	....	animator
Laura Bluma	....	assistant animator: Rija Film Studio
Michel Breton	....	background designer
Stéphane Cartro	....	assistant animator: "Bruno the Dog"
Lai Kin Chang	....	assistant animator: title sequence
Sylvain Chomet	....	animation director
Sylvain Chomet	....	animator
Sylvain Chomet	....	character designer
Kristine Cibulska	....	inbetween supervisor: Rija Film Studio
Roberts Cinkuss	....	animator: Rija Film Studio
Christelle Coopman	....	clean-up artist: title sequence
Vanessa Crahay	....	assistant animator: Studio Artdog
Fernandez Cyril	....	animator
Antoine Dartige	....	animator: "Champion"
Dace Darzniece	....	animator: Rija Film Studio
Dirk de Loose	....	animator: Studio Artdog
Kellie Devries	....	background painter (as Kelly De Vries)
Samuel Dhaussy	....	background painter
Diana Druke	....	assistant animator: Rija Film Studio
Xavier Dujardin	....	additional character designer
Xavier Dujardin	....	animator: "Gangsters" and "Godfather"
Frédéric Dupuis	....	assistant animator: "Gangsters" and "Godfather"
Paul Dutton	....	additional animator: "The Triplettes"
Paul Dutton	....	animator: "Gangsters" and "Godfather"
Joke Eycken	....	animator: Studio Artdog
Florian Fiebig	....	animator: "Bruno the Dog"
Dan Filippin	....	animator
Benoît Féroumont	....	lead animator: Studio Artdog
Christophe Gautier	....	background painter
Olivier Goka	....	animator: Studio Artdog
Gérard T. Goulet	....	animation supervisor: title sequence
Gérard T. Goulet	....	assistant animator: "Champion"
Gunta Gracinska	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Emmanuel Guille-Vuora	....	animator: "Mme. Souza" (as Emmanuel Guille)
Marie-Laure Guisset	....	animator: Studio Artdog
Jennifer Gustavsen	....	assistant animator: "Bruno the Dog"
Jennifer Gustavsen	....	inbetween artist
Iveta Hincenberga	....	animator: Rija Film Studio
Diana Janele	....	assistant animator: Rija Film Studio
Dina Jansone	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Elita Kanepe	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Nelda Karpenska	....	animator: Rija Film Studio
Nelda Karpenska	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Laurent Kircher	....	animator: "Champion" and "Morissot"
Elie Klimis	....	assistant animator: Studio Artdog
Elie Klimis	....	clean-up artist: title sequence
Rouja Koleva	....	animator: "Mme. Souza"
Vineta Krastina	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Julie Kuchlein	....	animator: "Mme. Souza"
Corinne Kuyl	....	animator: Studio Artdog
Grigor Kuzmanov	....	background painter (as Grigor Kouzmanov)
Monica Langlois	....	background painter
Félix Lavallée	....	inbetween artist
Tatjana Lebedeva	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Marianne Lebel	....	assistant animator: "Mme. Souza"
Justin Lee	....	assistant animator: "Gangsters" and "Godfather"
Angelo Libutti	....	animator
Jean-Christophe Lie	....	animator: "Rose"
Jean-Christophe Lie	....	supervising animator: "The Triplettes"
Valentina Lietuviete	....	animator: Rija Film Studio
Philippe Lockerby	....	animator: "Gangsters" and "Godfather"
Dace Luce	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Pascal Maoloni	....	assistant animator: Studio Artdog
Hugues Martel	....	animator: "Blanche"
Dita Masena	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Parsla Maurina	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Benoît Milhorat	....	assistant animator
Panayot Panayotov	....	animator
Sarmite Pape	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Dave W. Pelkey	....	assistant animator: "Mme. Souza" and "Bruno the Dog"
Simon Pelletier	....	assistant animator: "Rose"
Indra Petraskevica	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Inga Praulina	....	animation supervisor: Rija Film Studio
Laima Puntule	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Nicolas Quéré	....	animator: "Mme. Souza"
Ilze Ruska	....	animator: Rija Film Studio
Ringla Rutkovska	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Dace Saulite	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Aleksandrs Sehovcovs	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Anete Simanovska	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Marc Simard	....	assistant animator: "Champion"
Liga Skirmane	....	assistant animator: Rija Film Studio
Ieva Smite	....	animator: Rija Film Studio
Stanimir Stoilov	....	background designer
Gunta Sudraba	....	assistant animator: Rija Film Studio
Jacqueline Swennen	....	clean-up artist: title sequence
Aiga Tabaka	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Marina Trede	....	assistant animator: Rija Film Studio
Marina Trede	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Yann Tremblay	....	animator: "Bruno the Dog" and others
Patricia Vandevoorde	....	assistant animator: title sequence
Patricia Vandevoorde	....	clean-up artist: title sequence
Pieter Vanluffelen	....	assistant animator: title sequence
Zhigang Wang	....	animator: "Violette"
Éric Warin	....	additional character designer
Éric Warin	....	assistant animator
Bruno Wouters	....	animator: title sequence
Dana Zagere	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio
Ilze Zalane	....	assistant animator: Rija Film Studio
Linda Zepa	....	assistant animator: Rija Film Studio
Taiga Zile	....	animator: Rija Film Studio
Kristine Zvirbule	....	inbetween artist: Rija Film Studio

Editorial Department
Peter Measroch	....	post-production consultant (uncredited)

Music Department
Emmanuel Deletang	....	music consultant
Thomas Dutronc	....	musician: solo guitar
Paul Lavergne	....	executive music producer
Luc Papineau	....	music mixer
Christopher B.J. Smith	....	musician: trombone and tuba

Other crew
Christopher Panzner	....	post-production deal broker (as Christophe Panzner)

Thanks
Sophie Tatischeff	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Les Armateurs
• Production Champion
• Vivi Film
• France 3 Cinéma
• RG Prince Films (co-production)
• Canal+ (participation)
• Gimages 3 (participation) (as Sofica Gimages 3)
• Cofimage 12 (participation)
• Téléfilm Canada (participation)
• Société de Développement des Entreprises Culturelles (SODEC) (participation)
• Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC) (support)
• Fonds Film in Vlaanderen (support)
• Nationale Loterij van België (support) (as Nationale Loterij)
• British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) (in association with) (BBC Bristol)
• BBC Worldwide (in association with)
• Département de la Charente (participation)
• Région Poitou-Charentes (participation)
• Cartoon (support)
• Procirep (support)
• Programme MEDIA de la Communauté Européenne (support)
• Rija Films

Distributors

• Celluloid Dreams (2003) (worldwide) (all media) (sales)
• Diaphana Films (2003) (France) (theatrical)
• France Télévision Distribution (2004) (France) (DVD) (special edition)
• Bright Angel Distribution (2003) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Concorde Filmverleih (2004) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Frenetic Films (2003) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Klock Worx Company, The (2004) (Japan) (theatrical)
• Metro Tartan Distribution Ltd. (2003) (UK) (theatrical)
• Mikado (2003) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Quasar Films (2004) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2003) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Sony Pictures Classics (2003) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• A-Film Home Entertainment (2004) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Casablanca Filmes (2004) (Brazil) (DVD)
• Casablanca Filmes (2004) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Columbia TriStar Home Video (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Concorde Home Entertainment (2004) (Germany) (DVD) (retail)
• DeA Planeta Home Entertainment (2004) (Spain) (DVD)
• EuroVideo (2004) (Germany) (DVD) (rental)
• Metro Film (2005) (Yugoslavia) (DVD)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2004) (Finland) (DVD)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution (2004) (Finland) (VHS)
• Slovenska Kinoteka (2004) (Slovenia)
• Studio Ghibli (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Tartan Films (UK) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2005) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2005) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment (2007) (Japan) (DVD)
• Warner Home Video (2004) (Switzerland) (DVD)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2007) (Finland) (TV) (TV1)

Other Companies

• Falco Ink.  award campaign

Also Known As:

"Les triplettes de Belleville" - France (original title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for images involving sensuality, violence and crude humor

Runtime:

Argentina:80 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente) | Canada:78 min

Country:

France | Belgium | Canada | UK | Latvia

Language:

French | Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Switzerland:10 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:U | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Brazil:10 | Chile:TE | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:6 | Mexico:B | Netherlands:AL | Norway:7 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:Btl | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 | Iceland:L | Canada:G (Ontario)

Company:

Les Armateurs

Trivia:

There is also an animated caricature of dancer/singer/performer Josephine Baker, a black American entertainer who left the U.S. in the 1920s because of the virulent racism she encountered and became a tremendous star in Europe. She was very big in Paris and often appeared in shows half-nude, as she did in this film.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the two waiters are running to the Mafia in the restaurant, the left-hand waiter's hair color is black, but in the next take his hair is gray.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Madame Souza:Is that it, then? Is it over, do you think? What have you got to say to Grandma?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Belleville Rendez-Vous: The Making of (2004) (V)

Soundtrack:

Belleville Rendezvous

Original, Impressive and Very Bizarre

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")