Les Triplettes de Belleville
(The Triplets of Belleville)

Written and directed by Sylvain Chomet

            Animation has been in an unfortunate downswing for some time now which relies more on technological advancement than creative achievement.  Even the Oscars for animated short often go to those which progress modes of craft rather than art.  The Triplets of Belleville, though made partially with computer animation, does not draw attention to how it was made in the same ways that Pixar does for instance.  It is an old-fashioned cinematic treat and certainly one of the greatest surprises of the year.

            The film, drawn with a sketchy, water-colored lumpiness in the most beautiful way possible, tells of an old woman in search of her kidnapped son, a champion bicyclist.  He, along with two others, was taken straight from the Tour de France by the French mafia for some sort of entertainment purpose that has to be seen to maybe understand.  The woman ventures out with their old dog from Paris across the sea to Belleville which is actually an overly obese New York.  She meets up with three elderly triplets known as the jazz act The Triplets of Belleville and they aid her on the rescue.

            It is difficult to explain because none of the characters have names because there really is hardly any dialogue.  There are bits here and there, mostly spoken in French without bother of any subtitles and that is ok because the only language needed to understand is cinematic and musical.  The visuals never attempt outright gags except for a prologue showcasing the Triplets in an old black and white film which plays like an early Silly Symphonie.  When the woman and her dog follow behind a large ocean liner in their paddle boat, a whale rises up beneath them without talking or creating a laugh or really doing anything aside from being a whale yet the shot manages to be more magical and beautiful than anything in recent Disney animation.  The movie is funny, yes, but never forcefully.  Laughs and smiles arise from moments as simple as a dog barking at a passing train or the appearance of a little man who looks and squeaks like a mouse.   These are things which may not be funny to everyone but those who don’t find them funny won’t feel like it had to be funny which too much comedy does.

            Triplets is the feature debut of Sylvain Chomain who lost the animated short award in 1998 to a Pixar film.  This year another of theirs is favored to win for animated feature.  Finding Nemo, a fine picture, albeit an overrated one, also tells of the search for a lost son.  It relies on vocal humor and cheap visual gags to tell its story.  Aside from some nice computer generated visuals, much of Nemo can be enjoyed with eyes closed, depending on whether you find Ellen Degeneres’ voice to be enjoyable.  The Triplets of Belleville is a perfectly directed animated film that can only be enjoyed, save for a few ingenious musical numbers, with wide eyes.  It may just be the most inventive and imaginative film you see in some time.

Marty Sherman of TV's The Critic finally finds new work in French animation.