Product Details

• Actors: Michčle Caucheteux, Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin, Monica Viegas, Béatrice Bonifassi
• Directors: Sylvain Chomet
• Writers: Sylvain Chomet
• Producers: Colin Rose, Didier Brunner, Paul Cadieux, Regis Ghezelbash, Viviane Vanfleteren
• Format: Anamorphic, Animated, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 5.1), Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1)
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 encoding (US and Canada only)
  PLEASE NOTE: Some Region 1 DVDs may contain Regional Coding Enhancement (RCE). Some, but not all, of our international customers have had problems playing these enhanced discs on what are called "region-free" DVD players. For more information on RCE, click .
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: May 4, 2004
• Run Time: 78 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (365 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0001IN0MQ
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,092 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #28 in Movies & TV > DVD > Foreign Films
• Learn more about "The Triplets of Belleville" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Words cannot capture the delights of The Triplets of Belleville, an astonishing animated movie from the mind of French director Sylvain Chomet. In fact, there are only a few spoken sentences in the entire film; most of the soundtrack is a mix of squeaks, barks, and the jazzy music of Benoit Charest. A bicyclist is kidnapped from the Tour de France by mysterious gangsters; his grandmother travels to the city of Belleville (which has a sardonic version of the Statue of Liberty in its harbor), where she tracks him down with the help of a musical trio gone to seed, the Belleville Triplets. This hand-drawn movie is unlike anything you'll see from Disney; every scene mixes the silent comedy of Jacques Tati and Buster Keaton--in which the world of objects subtly fights with living beings for mastery--and the bouncy hop of Betty Boop. Unique and mesmerizing. --Bret Fetzer

Product Description

You've never seen anything like The Triplets of Belleville, a wildly inventive and highly original animated feature crowded with colorful characters and fantastic imagery. Kidnapped by mysterious, square-shouldered henchmen, a Tour de France cyclist named Champion is spirited across the ocean to the teeming metropolis of Belleville. His grandmother and faithful dog follow his trail and are taken in by a trio of eccentric jazz-era divas. The motley sleuths follow the clues to an Underground betting parlor and now the chase is on! Richly imagined, wildly inventive and acclaimed as one of the best films of the year, "Triplets is terrific!" - Richard Corliss, TIME MAGAZINE.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

232 of 251 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars the French response to Japanese animation February 25, 2004

By noah kao

Format:DVD

"Triplets of Beleville" is absolutely a treasure from the French director Sylvain Chomet. The details, story, humor, character development, the relationship between the characters, and the pure delight rivals that of the great Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki's works. It is absolutely a pleasure watching this almost speechless story unfold all the way to the final scene. Most of the dialogue, if any, is in French, but no subtitles. And that is intentional: you don't need it. Now that takes some good story-telling to achieve. And this film achieves in leaps and bounds. Chomet clearly has a different philosophy than the American animations going into his art. Don't get me wrong, I don't mean that Disney or Pixar works are not good, "Triplets" is just one of the most outstanding and different in story telling and the use of the medium that I have ever seen for a long time in an animated work. They say the devil is in the details. Well, then this is what makes this movie. I almost drowned in the images on the screen. The heart-felt story and just the way the story was eccentrically told stayed with me for a long long time after i left the theatre. Not since a Studio Ghibli (Miyazaki-Takahata) masterpiece have made me feel this way. Just for the details alone I could watch this over and over again. Therefore I can't wait to buy the DVD so I can make this story mine. I recommend this to all Miyazaki fans to check it out. You won't be disappointed. Enjoy. You will.

49 of 51 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Just Short of Being a Classic February 25, 2005

By N. Chevalier

Format:DVD

If you're going to watch "Triplettes," watch the original French version--without subtitles, if possible. You don't really need them, as this is virtually a silent film, and what little dialogue there is is confined to announcers, newscasts, and the odd word here and there. I'm not sure if Mme Souza or Champion ever speak, except in the closing moments of the film. But the language is there, and the rhythms of the French original add to the overall effect of this charming film. You also need to hear the catchy closing song in the original, since the English version included in the "music video" extra is as awful a translation of any song I have ever heard, even a largely nonsensical one like this.

And of the film itself? It's extremely absorbing visually; in fact, you probably will want to watch it at least twice, to catch all of the little details loaded in each scene. There are dozens of brief moments that contribute largely to the film's appeal, even if the plot seems to go nowhere and feels a lot longer than 80 minutes. In order to appreciate this film--which is essentially a "search and rescue" film like the other major animated feature from 2003, Finding Nemo--you must accept it at its own leisurely pace, savouring the many asides and set-pieces (including a hilarious cabaret act performed by the titular Triplets on a fridge rack, newspaper, and vacuum cleaner) and seeing them as essentially a series of loosely connected shorts. The one hole in the film, then, is the central character of Champion, a blank slate who seems totally unaffected by the fact that he has been stolen away from his home and forced to live in slavery in a bizarre gambling sport. Not only does he not appreciate Grandma's considerable efforts to rescue him, he doesn't even seem to notice she's there. The film isn't really about him at all, which makes most of the last act seem superfluous.

But do see this film, for the marvellous characters of Mme. Souza, her oversized dog, Bruno, and the Triplets themselves. And see it for the great visuals and the fabulous jazz score. And if you still want an edge-of-your-seat rescue plot, watch Finding Nemo again.

91 of 103 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Words Can't Describe February 17, 2004

By "hammershu"

This artistic animation film is nothing short of incredible. This movie literally had me speechless. A movie finally worthy to challenge the wonderful Finding Nemo in the Oscar race for Best Animated Feature.

The French Film is directed by the artistic Slyvain Chomet. The plot rests around a grandmother, Madame Souza, her weary-eyed grandson Champion and a faithful chubby dog. As a young boy, Champion was always depressed and sad with his life. His grandmother could see this and would try everything to cheer him up. After failed attempts of a toy train, playing the piano, and a cute cuddly dog; she realizes he truely yearns for a bicycle. The movie flashes forward to him as an adult. He is training for the Tour de France with his ruthless grandmother coaching at his every side. During the actual race, he is kidnapped by the French Mafia, along with other cycleists where they are taken to Belleville and used for underground gambling. His grandmother seeks out on a journey to retrieve him and on the way gets help with the once famous triplet nightsingers.

Calling this movie bizzare would be just an understatement. To start things off, this movie has close to no dialogue what so ever. The entire movie consists of sound effects and oddball music. Typically a movie with a lack of plot and almost no dialogue seems destined to be a failure. But this is where the amazing animation comes in. The drawings are incredibly breath-taking. If it wasn't for the animation, I would have left my seat a long time ago. Mr. Chomet's love for drawing is evidently seen through his work. This is his first full length movie.

Before this movie, Mr. Chomet was busy drawing comics. This is where he gets most of his subtle humor. For example, his drawings are so strange, that he gives every character a unique base look. Champion has a narrow face, small waist, and over exagerrated muscular legs much like a cycleist. It's in these terms, he can take something normal and turn it into an exagerrated comedic moment. His opinion on Americans is shown and deeply funny. For example, the mysterious place Belleville is opened with the statue of liberty, only the statue is of a fat woman holding a hamburger instead of a torch. Throughout the city, all the characters walking are overly obeast. The famous sign "Hollywood" reads "Hollyfood". It's this kind of dry humor that is very witty and appealing to the audience.

I'm most impressed in that this movie keeps your eyes constantly watching even through there is a lack in dialogue. A couple of lines is all it has and nothing more. The rest are just sound effects and quirky music played by the triplets and the grandmother. They use all kinds of instruments, from a refrigerator to a bicycle wheel. The music is odd yet appealing. I found myself constantly tapping my foot in rhythm with the crazy style. But in this movie, dialogue really isn't even needed. Mr. Chomen's drawings give enough character development in itself. Champion, throughout his older self, still has the same sad eyes as he did when he was a young boy. The grandmother is ruthless in that she always carries her whistle around blowing it to help her son in cycleing. The dog is the best out of all the characters because the audience gets a chance to see the images of the psychological dreams the dog has and why he barks the way he does at trains. If anyone is a lover of dogs, the scenes involving the dog are enough to win over any fan.

These qualities truely set this movie out to be a masterpiece. Though lack of dialogue and simple plot, the animation, music, and quirky witty humor alone provide enough entertainment to turn this film into extraordinary. I am thankful it's nominated for Best Animated Feature. Although I want it to win and definitely think it deserves it over Finding Nemo, I fear the advantage of an earlier presence in Finding Nemo will win voter's hearts. Even if it doesn't win, it is definitely a film Mr. Chomet should take pride in. I recommend this film to everyone. Some will love its humor. Others will think it's just plain weird. But all will admire it's fantastic animation and its totally original idea.