The 2003 French animated film "The Triplets of Belleville" was nominated for an Academy Award for best animated feature. It didn't win (predictably losing against Pixar's "Finding Nemo"), but it might as well have: it was the indie darling at film festivals, and it made director Sylvain Chomet a sought-out animator for over a decade, despite it being one of his only features. If nothing else, it is wholly original, and that is its greatest strength.When I say original, I mean it: I don't think I've ever seen a film like it. The opening scene is of a black-and-white broadcast of the title characters, the Triplets of Belleville, a trio of singers performing a bebop jazz song. The camera shows grotesquely-obese women and their skinny timid husbands trailing behind into the theater, bobbing their heads as the Triplets introduce a series of performers during their song, "Belleville Rendezvous." The performers include a Fred Astaire-like character tap-dancing (and being eaten alive by his shoes), a topless exotic African dancer (whose banana-skirt gets stolen by men in the audience, reduced to a gang of monkeys), and a large 1,000 pound woman hopping on the stage. My mother took me to see "The Triplets of Belleville" in a theater when I was about ten years old, and despite having an interest in indie and artistic films, was confused and apologized to me as we left at the end. I wasn't certain at the time if I wholy liked the movie, but knew it was special, and had trouble forgetting it until I revisited the movie a decade later. "The Triplets of Belleville" is a silent movie, with only one or two lines of brief dialogue anywhere. It looks vaguely like a Disney movie, most of all like "The Aristocats" or "101 Dalmatians" in the lanky and diverse character designs. The lead character is an old lady named Madame Souza, a short woman with one leg about half the size of the other, therefore wearing a lift on one shoe as she walks. She raises her grandson, named Champion, from initially being a shy and chubby boy to finding a passion in bicycles, and growing up to be a skinny but muscle-toned creature that is barely human in appearance. Their pet dog, Bruno, is a fat dog with skinny legs that would normally snap under the weight in reality, with a toothy face that feels unusual, yet, believable. I didn't yet mention the box-shouldered henchmen of the antagonist. This sense of design is uniquely French, and unique to Chomet. It extends to all of the characters and their world, an incredible use of animation as a medium. Visually, it looks outstanding, and the animation is smooth and detailed, at the time something only seen in much more expensive productions.The story really begins when Champion doesn't finish the Tour de France race, coached for years by Souza. In fact, he disappears entirely, kidnapped along with other riders by a mafia kingpin to use in an underground gambling ring. Souza finds enough clues to track what became of Champion, and literally rides a peddle boat across the ocean to the great city of Belleville. Having trouble in the city, she encounters the same "Triplets" trio, now elderly, but still living together and performing experimental jazz in small clubs. With their assistance, Souza is able to find and rescue her Champion and return home.
If the nudity and violence in the opening minutes wasn't a clue, this isn't a kids film. While it might not seem to go too far beyond what a Disney movie might, there are subtle but direct references to drug use and murder. This movie was rated PG-13, a rarity at the time for any animated movies, even though there are probably less than 60 seconds of questionable material, such that it could have been edited out easily for a more family-friendly broadcast.Speaking of timing, I think that's the biggest issue I had with "The Triplets of Belleville," and why I don't think of it in such high regard as other critics. The pacing feels like the pacing of a quiet indie movie. Artistic, perhaps, but disjointed and slow. If I were to watch any given 10 minutes from the movie on its own, I would applaude and call it a triumph. But after an hour of watching, it's easy to get bored as the scenes trail off into bizarre daydreams from Bruno the dog, or of one of the Triplets "fishing" for fresh frogs for dinner. Individually, these scenes are fantastic... I don't know, maybe it's just me. While the story is simple and the pacing is offputting, I should mention the music. The title sequence's "Belleville Rendezvous" is a catchy-earworm, and the Triplets show their worth by using crinckled newspapers and vacuum cleaners to perform music in a later scene. It's inspired and is as important to the personality of the movie as the visuals are. Benoit Charest is the Canadian composer repsonsible for the soundtrack, and became one of my favourite artists after seeing this movie."The Triplets of Belleville" is a special movie, but isn't for everyone. Some might be surprised and offended by some of the stranger or more mature content, and even people who SHOULD love it might be uncertain of its pacing. It's the type of movie you would specifically see at an artsy film festival, and no where else: in that atmosphere, it might be the best thing you see, and your memories of it will remain nostalgic should you ever return.