Summary
**** (out of 4)

One of the best animated film to come along in years. Like the Wallace
and Gromit shorts, Triplets combines heady doses of absurdity and
farce, thoroughly leavened with a natural and charming whimsy. The
somewhat twisty plot concerns a grandmother on a quest to find her
grandson, a Tour de France cyclist, who has been kidnapped by the
French Mafia for reasons unknown. As fine as the pacing, comedic
timing, and plot are, the film's real triumph is its powerful use of
caricature.

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FILM REVIEW: **** (out of 4)
The Triplets of Belleville: Tres Chic, Tres Cuckoo
Caricatures Collide in Gently Zany French Film

By Fred Choi
Staff writer

Written and Directed by Sylvain Chomet
Voices of Michèle Caucheteux, Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin, Monica Viegas
Rated PG-13

Although the French animated film The Triplets of Belleville is not as
mind-blowingly unique as some reviewers have gushed, there is no doubt
that it is one of the best animated film to come along in
years. Whereas Disney and Pixar and their imitators have made an
industry of formulaic films crammed with cookie-cutter characters,
one-line throwaways, and a wearisome deluge of references to pop
culture and other films, the humor of The Triplets is more thoughtful,
universal, and timeless. Like the Wallace and Gromit shorts, Triplets
combines heady doses of absurdity and farce, thoroughly leavened with
a natural and charming whimsy.

The film unfolds as gently as a Jacques Tati film, but builds to
runaway train momentum. The somewhat twisty plot (but not overly so,
as evidenced by the conspicuous lack of subtitles even though only a
few lines of the dialogue have been over-dubbed into English),
concerns a grandmother on a quest to find her grandson, a Tour de
France cyclist, who has been kidnapped by the French Mafia for reasons
unknown. Along the way she's aided by her faithful dog Bruno through
bizarre and surreal adventures and meets a city full of zany
characters including the eponymous triplets.

The film's auteur Sylvain Chomet serves as both writer and director,
and his film shows as much inventiveness as Miyazaki's much-praised
Spirited Away. Chomet's concentration is greater, though, and as a
result the smaller scope is ultimately more satisfying. As fine as the
pacing, comedic timing, and plot are, however, the film's real triumph
is its powerful use of caricature. The grandmother blinks like a fish
and clumps along steadily and determinedly in her orthopedic shoes;
the man-size dog runs around on spindly stick legs; her grandson
sports an elephantine proboscis; the Mafia's impassive bodyguards
hunch their boxy, menacing shoulders; and in one of the best
caricatures of the whole movie a maitre d' literally bends over
backwards to fawn over his patrons. Likewise the film's mostly rough,
unfinished look recalls early black and white shorts and is refreshing
when contrasted with the sterile and slick animation of today's major
studios.

To attempt to describe any more of the movie's gags would take away
from the giddy fun of the movie, as they must be seen to be truly
appreciated. In a just world ruled by quality rather than marketing
Triplets would reach the success as that other gently comedic and
deserving French hit, Amelie. Whether it does or not in this world
remains to be seen.

At the Kendall Square and Embassy Cinemas The Triplets of Belleville
is preceded by an unlikely and fascinating collaboration, a Walt
Disney-Salvador Dali 7-minute short entitled "Destino" that dates back
to 1946. Unfinished for more than half a century the film has finally
been completed. It is unfortunate that Dali's instantly recognizable
style has in the interim become almost cliche, and as a result the
work lacks much of a punch to a modern audience. The short
concentrates on a woman and a man and, as can be expected, the surreal
transformations each undergoes. Although the music feels true to the
period, the visual style, especially the color palette and the design
of the female character, feel conspicuously modern.