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When we type “French animation” into a search engine, one of the first headings that greets us is The Triplets of Belleville. This is not at all surprising since the film has delighted, and continues to delight, people from all over the world. To be honest, I watched The Triplets… with fairly high expectations. However, I can happily say that the animation did not only satisfy my perception of it, but far surpassed it.
Already at the beginning the director surprises us by changing the initial animation style, which lasts only a few minutes, to a style straight out of the 1930s. The first scenes turn out to be a television broadcast, projected on the screen of an old relay in the home of the main character, Madame Souza.
First and second style animation – frames from The Triplets of Belleville
Souza is the grandmother of a boy, Champion, orphaned by his parents. Thegrandson’s incessant sadness makes our heroine’s main goal, from the very beginning, to make the boy happy. To distract the child from his constant thinking, the woman buys Champion a bicycle. The item offers a chance to fulfill a previously hidden boyhood dream of becoming a cyclist, the realization of which we observe later in the film.
Madame Souza – frames from The Triplets of Belleville
Champion after receiving the bike – frames from The Triplets of Belleville
Subsequent scenes include the aforementioned “realization of a dream,” a jump back in time and depiction of the final preparations for the upcoming Tour de France. Madame Souza assumes the role of coach and chief support of her grandson. After the workout, one of my favorite scenes follows, that of “massaging” Champion’s tired muscles.
Souza massaging Champion’s muscles – frames from The Triplets of Belleville
It is also worth mentioning the dog Bruno, who accompanies the main character throughout the action. The animal, despite being clumsy and skittish, is an incredibly important character, making the animation even more distinctive.
During the Tour de France, a mob kidnaps three riders exhausted from riding, including Souza’s grandson. When the grandmother learns of the abduction, she sets off in waterborne pursuit of the kidnappers and, following the ferry, arrives in Belleville. It is there, resigned and hungry, that she first meets the Triplets, retired singers whose performance Souza had seen on television. The artists take the woman in and later (in a completely unexpected and appropriate way only for them) help save Champion.
Champion in competition and kidnapping scene – frames from The Triplets of Belleville
Souza and three singers – frames from The Triplets of Belleville
A Curved Mirror of Reality…?
Genre-wise, Les Triplettes de Belleville falls under the umbrella of comedy, but this term does not adequately specify the grotesque-rich world of The Triplets. In the animation, we observe events and places happening on the border of reality and fantasy, as well as hyperbolizations and elements of satire intended to ridicule particular attitudes, professions or customs.
The very location of the action makes us perceive the events depicted in a particular way. Tracks have been built by Madame Souza’s house, on which a train passes by at even hours, passing the window in the upstairs room by only a few centimeters. It is a way of ironically depicting a growing city (the tracks appear years later when Champion is all grown up).
Souza’s house from years ago and after it was built next to the railroad tracks (the train passes right by the window) – frames from The Triplets of Belleville
It is also worth noting that the characters’ features and traits (irreversibly linked to their nationality or profession) are greatly exaggerated, which only enhances the caricature of the world presented. For example: the faces of characters of French descent are adorned with a large nose that takes up most of the face. By contrast, when the action moves to the United States, the locals are big, and every other storefront in town advertises burgers. With these treatments, we paint a very stereotypical picture of the societies of these two countries. However, it is a vision that is well known even to foreign audiences.
Buildings in Belleville and Souza passing through the pedestrian crossing among the natives – frames from The Triplets of Belleville
The same is true when caricaturing particular professions. This is well illustrated by the depiction of the characters of the cyclists participating in the Tour de France, all of whom have disproportionately grown muscles on their calves. It’s common knowledge that calves get stronger from cycling, so exaggerating this phenomenon is somewhat natural. A similar treatment is observed in the attitude of the waiter, who smiles incessantly and is obtrusively polite while serving the “special guests”.
A waiter serving mafia kidnappers – frames from The Triplets of Belleville
Animation without Words, as the Fullness of Image Speech
The greatest success for The Triplets… as an animated film, in my opinion, is the clarity of the content, without the use of dialogue. Here everything is focused on the role of animation, the expression of the drawn characters, and the backgrounds modeled on the architecture of the two big cities.
The director and screenwriter of this work is Sylvain Chomet, for whom The Triplets of Belleville marks his feature film debut. Work on the animation took several years, and it finally aired in 2003.
Souza found support in singers thanks to music.
The director himself, Sylvain Chomet, emphasized in an interview how important role music plays in his film. Indeed, through the intentional lack of dialogue, music and any sounds become extremely emphasized and are one of the key elements of the animation. Additionally, it is confirmed by the fact that the film was awarded many times and nominated for music awards, in particular for the song Belleville rendez-vous. The music for the film was composed by Ben Charest.
Is It worth Getting to Know The Triplets?
If my admiration for The Triplets hasn’t appealed to you and you haven’t yet dropped everything to start watching, I’m happy to point out that it really is worth it. As an old-timer of animated series and films, I’m still very impressed with this animation and will definitely be reaching out to see more of Chomet’s work.
Thank you for reading to the end! I hope I was able to pique your curiosity.
See you next time!
The sources:
Trio z Belleville (2003) – Filmweb
Sylvain Chomet – the photo
Article: Wiktoria Buczek
English Translation: Natalia Chojnowska
Polish version here
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