The Triplets of Belleville (2003)

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.

Director:

Sylvain Chomet

Writer:

Sylvain Chomet

Stars:

Michèle Caucheteux, Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 19 wins & 38 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Claude Donda	...	Le Géneral de Gaulle / Les commentateurs Sportifs / Le clochard / les Réclames (voice)
Dirk Denoyelle	...	Les commentateurs Sportifs / Le clochard (Dutch version) (voice)
Monica Viegas	...	Madame Souza (voice)
Graziellia de Villa	...	Madame Souza (Englsh version) (voice)
Michel Robin	...	'Champion' adulte (voice)
Noël Baye	...	'Champion' adulte (English version) (voice)
Suzy Falk	...	Triplette (voice)
Michèle Caucheteux	...	Triplet #3 (voice)
Nicole Shirer	...	Triplette (voice)
Germaine Charest	...	Triplette (voice)
Helen Wambolt	...	Triplette / Singing voice (voice)
Evelyn Snow	...	Triplette / Singing voice (voice)
Ron Séguin	...	Triplette / Singing voice (voice)
Helga Van Der Heyden	...	Additional voice (voice) (as Helga Van der Heyden)
Jeron Amin Dewulf	...	Additional voice (voice) (as Jeron Dewulf)

Storyline

Madame Souza, an elderly woman, instills in her grandson Champion (for who she acts as his guardian) a love of cycling. As a young man, he does become a dedicated road racer with his grandmother as his trainer. During a mountainous leg of the Tour de France in which Champion is racing, he goes missing. Evidence points to him being kidnapped. Indeed, he and two of his competitors were kidnapped, the kidnappers who want to use the threesome's unique skills for nefarious purposes. With Champion's overweight and faithful pet dog Bruno at her side, Madame Souza goes looking for Champion. Their trek takes them overseas to the town of Belleville. Without any money, Madame Souza and Bruno are befriended and taken in by three eccentric elderly women, who were once the renowned jazz singing group The Triplets of Belleville. The triplets help Madame Souza and Bruno try to locate and rescue Champion.

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Plot Keywords:

tour de france | mafia | dog | very little dialogue | belleville | 

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Genres:

Animation | Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

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

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [France] Official site [Russia]

Country:

France Belgium Canada UK Latvia USA

Language:

French Portuguese English

Release Date:

13 February 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Triplets of Belleville

Box Office

Budget:

$9,500,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$572,207 (France), 20 June 2003

Opening Weekend USA:

$143,762, 30 November 2003, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$7,002,255, 4 July 2004

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Armateurs,Production Champion,Vivi Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min (Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Cine Independiente)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The newspaper that the first triplet rustles for rhythm in their number at the cabaret is dated 6 May 1963 (around 0:57:52).

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Goofs

Near the End, where the Triplets and Souza are going across the bay over the bridge, you see a ship passing under it into the harbour. However, when the Mafia goes over the edge into the funnel of the ship, It is leaving the harbour, not entering it.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

There is a short continuation of the scene where the old lady and the dog hire the pedalo for 20 mins after the credits. It shows the owner continuing to wait for them to return, despite the fact that it has been several weeks since they rented the boat.

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Connections

References The CooCoo Nut Grove (1936)

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Soundtracks

End Title Theme
Lyrics by Sylvain Chomet and music by Benoît Charest
Performed by Matthieu Chedid (as -M-)

User Reviews

Pixar yes, but here's OTHER Animation

What a wonderful gem of work this is, and I am glad that it was done RECENTLY.

In a time when Pixar is setting the standard for "animation", here comes a film that makes you remember why you liked animation in the first place. This is a wonderful technique film, a study of art film, an abstract film, a joy to watch. The story might be a bit complicated for most to keep up but the beauty of it is - it's complexity. The grandmother was wonderful as well as the dog and the cyclist -- but what blew me away was the overdrawn charatures of the characters.

And there will be no more "frogs" for me, ladies! :)

A deserved USA Oscar nomination. In a Pixar world, bring on more like these to keep the balance too!