The Triplets of Belleville
Madame Souza (Monica Viegas), is an elderly woman raising her young grandson, Champion (Michel Robin). They watch an old variety show on television featuring a trio of singers, the Triplets of Bellevi…
The Triplets of Belleville
Madame Souza (Monica Viegas), is an elderly woman raising her young grandson, Champion (Michel Robin). They watch an old variety show on television featuring a trio of singers, the Triplets of Belleville (Rose, Blanche, and Violette). When the program is interrupted, Souza asks Champion if the "film" is finished. The listless Champion does not reply and instead changes the channel to a piano concert. Souza lives with Champion in a Shoe-house home in the French countryside. Souza had one leg shorter than the other and compensated by wearing a high-heel boot. Souza notices her grandson is sad and lonely, hinted as due to the loss of his parents, so she first tries to get him interested in the piano. When this fails, she buys him a puppy named Bruno to cheer him up. Although he is initially happy, he quickly becomes melancholy once again. Neither Bruno nor an electric train set succeed in lifting Champion's spirits, and the dog has no interests apart from eating, sleeping, and barking at trains. While tidying Champion's room, Souza discovers a book filled with photos of cyclists. After discovering that Champion has a keen interest in road bicycle racing, because it is implied that Champion's deceased parents were bicyclists, she buys him a tricycle. Years later, Champion becomes a professional cyclist with Souza as his coach. The city of Paris expands and engulfs Souza's home in the meantime. An elevated train track now runs right next to the house, and the whole house shakes as a train passes through on the track. Souza is Champion's personal trainer. Since they don't have any expensive equipment, Souza cares for the Champion using vacuum cleaner, a blender and even a lawnmower to help relax his muscles. Souza uses a tuning fork to figure out which spokes in the bike requiring tightening and fixing. Eventually, Champion enters the Tour De France. The 17th stage of the race passes through the French mountainside. Souza follows Champion on top of the ambulance. But during the race, he and two other riders are kidnapped by two French mafia henchmen. The mafia put nails in front of the official ambulance (damaging its tires) and then follow the race in their own ambulance, abducting the 3 riders who were behind the rest of the pack, and were languishing in the race. Souza finally fixes the tire with candy and the ambulance catches up with the race. At the port town where the stage ends, Souza finds no sign of Champion but finds the abandoned duplicate Ambulance. Bruno tracks the Champion to a ship, which sails away just as Souza arrives. The riders are brought to the bustling metropolis of Belleville across the Atlantic with Souza pursuing them on a pedalo, which she hires for 20 minutes by paying 1 Franc. Souza and Bruno follow the men but lose their trail soon after reaching the city. Lost and with no way to find Champion, Souza has a chance encounter with the renowned Belleville triplets, music hall singers from the 1930s, now elderly women turned improvisational musicians. Arriving in the United States penniless and hungry, Souza and the obese Bruno are adopted by the Triplets of Belleville. The Triplets find Souza at the docks fixing the spokes of the bicycle wheel, which gave out a rhythmic tune and they break into an impromptu song. The sisters take Souza to their home (which also next to an elevated train track, providing ample opportunity for Bruno to bark every time a train passes by) and when dinner is finally served, it consists of frog soup and frog stew, with tadpoles for dessert, collected by Violette using "expanding bait" (basically a grenade thrown in the lake water, which exploded and threw the tadpoles up in the air, from where they landed in a net). The Triplets are a peculiar lot, and do not allow Souza to do anything. So is not allowed to use the vacuum cleaner, or the newspaper for reading. She is given space on the couch to sleep. Over time she becomes a part of their group playing bicycle spokes like a Dulcimer, to their refrigerator-shelf harp, newspaper percussion and vacuum-cleaner bagpipe (this is the reason why Souza was not allowed to use them). Meanwhile, the mafia boss drugs the kidnapped cyclists and employs a mechanic to build a stationary cycling machine for the racers to race on, to create their own mini-Tour De France for gambling. 3 Mass graves of cyclists have been found in Belleville in the last 2 months, indicating that the cyclists abducted by the mafia are headed for the same outcome. At a fancy restaurant, the Triplets and Souza perform a jam session using a newspaper, refrigerator, vacuum and bicycle wheel as instruments. The mafia boss who kidnapped her grandson happens to be in the same restaurant and, with the help of Bruno, Souza realizes he has Champion. She tails one of the Mafia's minions the next day and discovers their scheme. That night, several mob bosses and their henchmen arrive at the mafia hideout and place bets on the riders (one of whom falls off his bicycle from exhaustion, at which point the bookmaker shoots him as one would an injured horse). Madame Souza, Bruno and the triplets then infiltrate the hideout and sabotage the contraption. The group is discovered by the bookie, and Souza disguises herself as the mechanic and goes into the underbelly of the contraption. She unbolts the mechanical contraption from the ground and turning it into a pedal-powered vehicle on which they all escape. The mob henchmen pursue them but are all thwarted in the chase. The film ends with the motley group riding on out of Belleville. A flash-forward to an older Champion watches the TV again showing their adventure when they are leaving the city and remembers Souza asking once more if the film is finished. Champion turns to the empty bench next to him and says, "It's over, Grandma". The boatman who rented Souza the pedalo is seen patiently waiting for his vessel to return.
The Triplets of Belleville
Adventure,Animation,Comedy
Film Details
Madame Souza (Monica Viegas), is an elderly woman raising her young grandson, Champion (Michel Robin). They watch an old variety show on television featuring a trio of singers, the Triplets of Belleville (Rose, Blanche, and Violette). When the program is interrupted, Souza asks Champion if the "film" is finished.
The listless Champion does not reply and instead changes the channel to a piano concert. Souza lives with Champion in a Shoe-house home in the French countryside. Souza had one leg shorter than the other and compensated by wearing a high-heel boot.
Souza notices her grandson is sad and lonely, hinted as due to the loss of his parents, so she first tries to get him interested in the piano. When this fails, she buys him a puppy named Bruno to cheer him up. Although he is initially happy, he quickly becomes melancholy once again.
Neither Bruno nor an electric train set succeed in lifting Champion's spirits, and the dog has no interests apart from eating, sleeping, and barking at trains. While tidying Champion's room, Souza discovers a book filled with photos of cyclists. After discovering that Champion has a keen interest in road bicycle racing, because it is implied that Champion's deceased parents were bicyclists, she buys him a tricycle.
Years later, Champion becomes a professional cyclist with Souza as his coach. The city of Paris expands and engulfs Souza's home in the meantime. An elevated train track now runs right next to the house, and the whole house shakes as a train passes through on the track.
Souza is Champion's personal trainer. Since they don't have any expensive equipment, Souza cares for the Champion using vacuum cleaner, a blender and even a lawnmower to help relax his muscles. Souza uses a tuning fork to figure out which spokes in the bike requiring tightening and fixing.
Eventually, Champion enters the Tour De France. The 17th stage of the race passes through the French mountainside. Souza follows Champion on top of the ambulance.
But during the race, he and two other riders are kidnapped by two French mafia henchmen. The mafia put nails in front of the official ambulance (damaging its tires) and then follow the race in their own ambulance, abducting the 3 riders who were behind the rest of the pack, and were languishing in the race. Souza finally fixes the tire with candy and the ambulance catches up with the race.
At the port town where the stage ends, Souza finds no sign of Champion but finds the abandoned duplicate Ambulance. Bruno tracks the Champion to a ship, which sails away just as Souza arrives. The riders are brought to the bustling metropolis of Belleville across the Atlantic with Souza pursuing them on a pedalo, which she hires for 20 minutes by paying 1 Franc.
Souza and Bruno follow the men but lose their trail soon after reaching the city. Lost and with no way to find Champion, Souza has a chance encounter with the renowned Belleville triplets, music hall singers from the 1930s, now elderly women turned improvisational musicians. Arriving in the United States penniless and hungry, Souza and the obese Bruno are adopted by the Triplets of Belleville.
The Triplets find Souza at the docks fixing the spokes of the bicycle wheel, which gave out a rhythmic tune and they break into an impromptu song. The sisters take Souza to their home (which also next to an elevated train track, providing ample opportunity for Bruno to bark every time a train passes by) and when dinner is finally served, it consists of frog soup and frog stew, with tadpoles for dessert, collected by Violette using "expanding bait" (basically a grenade thrown in the lake water, which exploded and threw the tadpoles up in the air, from where they landed in a net). The Triplets are a peculiar lot, and do not allow Souza to do anything.
So is not allowed to use the vacuum cleaner, or the newspaper for reading. She is given space on the couch to sleep. Over time she becomes a part of their group playing bicycle spokes like a Dulcimer, to their refrigerator-shelf harp, newspaper percussion and vacuum-cleaner bagpipe (this is the reason why Souza was not allowed to use them).
Meanwhile, the mafia boss drugs the kidnapped cyclists and employs a mechanic to build a stationary cycling machine for the racers to race on, to create their own mini-Tour De France for gambling. 3 Mass graves of cyclists have been found in Belleville in the last 2 months, indicating that the cyclists abducted by the mafia are headed for the same outcome. At a fancy restaurant, the Triplets and Souza perform a jam session using a newspaper, refrigerator, vacuum and bicycle wheel as instruments.
The mafia boss who kidnapped her grandson happens to be in the same restaurant and, with the help of Bruno, Souza realizes he has Champion. She tails one of the Mafia's minions the next day and discovers their scheme. That night, several mob bosses and their henchmen arrive at the mafia hideout and place bets on the riders (one of whom falls off his bicycle from exhaustion, at which point the bookmaker shoots him as one would an injured horse).
Madame Souza, Bruno and the triplets then infiltrate the hideout and sabotage the contraption. The group is discovered by the bookie, and Souza disguises herself as the mechanic and goes into the underbelly of the contraption. She unbolts the mechanical contraption from the ground and turning it into a pedal-powered vehicle on which they all escape.
The mob henchmen pursue them but are all thwarted in the chase. The film ends with the motley group riding on out of Belleville. A flash-forward to an older Champion watches the TV again showing their adventure when they are leaving the city and remembers Souza asking once more if the film is finished.
Champion turns to the empty bench next to him and says, "It's over, Grandma". The boatman who rented Souza the pedalo is seen patiently waiting for his vessel to return..