media consumption

The Triplets of Belleville

This French animated film is..., well, very French and very animated. The title refers to a 20's or 30's popular singing trio (the title song is infectiously catchy) who show up later in the film. The main story follows the life of Champion, a sad little French boy who lost his parents and lives with a grandmother whose only goal in life is to make her grandson happy. She finally succeeds when one day, after finding a scrapbook filled with Tour de France articles and pictures, she gives him a tricycle as a surprise present.

The next time we see Champion is as an adult training for and then racing in the Tour de France and eventually falling into the hands of the sinister French mafia. The grandmother's attempts to rescue her grandson lead her and her faithful (and fat) dog Bruno to Belleville (a stand-in for Manhattan) where she meets the triplets who befriend her and assist in the rescue attempt. Along the way we meet horse-faced cyclists, square-shouldered henchmen, a fat American Boy Scout (all the Americans are fat in this movie), a hilariously obsequious maitre d', and the squinty eyed Mafia boss.

The animation is wildly bizarre and often disturbing (definitely at least a pg-13 rating) but ultimately a load of fun.

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