The Triplets of Belleville (2003) *****

I have written before about how the Japanese get all the anime-hype, but in my opinion the French actually do some of the best animated films. “The Triplets of Belleville” is one of the best examples of French superiority in this area.

With no dialogue, the charmingly-drawn film tells the tale of Madame Souza, a little, old lady raising her grandson. Champion is a rather depressed boy, presumably due to losing his parents. Even a puppy doesn't draw him out of his ennui; it just gives him a companion to lay around and mope with. Then Souza notices that Champion has an interest in bicycle racing. When a tricycle shows up at the house, Champion is transformed, like a switch has been turned on.

Fast forward several years, and Champion is an avid cyclist. With Souza as his trainer, he relentlessly rides the hilly, brick streets of Paris in preparation for the big race, the Tour de France. During the race, however, Champion is kidnapped by French gangsters, who cart him across the ocean. There, the gangsters force him to race on a stationary bike in a bizarre, gambling racket.

Souza and the dog follow Champion and his captors across the waters and into the city of Belleville, where they meet a trio of eccentric old women, once famous as the jazz-singing group, The Triplets of Belleville. The triplets take Souza in and wind up helping her in her quest to rescue her grandson.

It's impossible to describe how delightful “The Triplets of Belleville” is. Sometimes it's a little hard to understand what is going on, and some of the jokes develop slowly, so you have to just be patient and go with it. The music, the crazy animation, the charming characters, and the story conspire to richly reward multiple viewings of this film.

The film is hilarious, but by the end, you also feel that you have seen something meaningful. Unspoken in the film is the suggestion that Champion's parents are dead, which means that Mme. Souza has lost a son or daughter. Champion, as a boy, mopes around, while his grandmother gets on with life. Even the adult Champion, who has devoted himself to cycling, still seems rather depressive. He seems to sleepwalk (sleep-ride?) through his life, and as a a result he almost has his life taken from him. Mme. Souza, an old lady with an orthopedic shoe, is constantly on the go, finding solutions to problems and finding the joy in life. The Triplets, too, long past their heyday and living in a slum, are making the best of what they have and enjoying each day. These tropes are cliché because they are important. We hope, in the end, that Champion takes a lesson from these old ladies whom he is so lucky to have in his life.

5 stars out of 5