Nearly Wordless yet Unforgettable

Are you ready to hear about a great animated movie that has minimal dialog yet has all the emotional punch you would expect from a great story? No, I don’t mean the introductory story of Pixar’s Up, or the full-length movie Wall-E, although those are both fantastic, and each won an Academy Award for the Best Animated Feature Film in their respective release years.

Actually, the story I’m thinking of today is The Triplets of Belleville (Les triplets de Belleville) which is perhaps a lesser-known film that was the first from France to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature (it lost to Finding Nemo).

The story is simple:

• Once upon a time, there was an elderly woman who lived alone with her grandson and their dog, Bruno. 
• Every day grandma Souza helps Champion train diligently for the Tour de France.
• But, one day during the race he and two others are kidnapped by mobsters. 
• Because of that Madame Souza follows the clues with Bruno all the way across the ocean to the American city of Belleville, where she arrives penniless.
• Because of that, she makes friends with other ladies her age who turn out to be the Triples of Belleville – sisters who were once famous for their vaudeville act and are now just as poor as Madame Souza and even more eccentric. 
• Because of that, they are able to find a key clue and then distract the kidnappers…
• Until finally, they rescue the racers in the most dramatic chase you have ever seen with a cycle-powered ‘vehicle’ versus Citroëns. 
• And, ever since then the family has been reunited and able to return home.

You can see why the story was memorable – it has all the elements of a classic ‘Story Spine’. But there is a lot more you can’t tell from the bare-bones description.

Eye-grabbing

If every good story needs to have colour, picture, and movement then you can bet that an animated film will explode with colour and movement every chance it gets. This movie definitely does that, but it also manages to surprise many people right away with its irreverent visual jokes in the opening scene when we see the Triplets in their singing heyday.

Then the pace slows down, and there is no background music for much of the movie. The bicycle, whistle, and dog each become important characters. I recently found a video with musical analysis about it The Triplets of Belleville: Music in Silence (Know the Score), and found it very interesting how the music comes in at key moments but the practical sound effects are given centre stage at other times.

Even long after the story is over, the audience can remember certain brief scenes vividly – Fred Astaire being turned on and eaten by his own shoes; the unique way that the older, destitute triplets source their dinner, and the musical way that they serve it; and a maitre d’ who literally bends over backward to his rich clientele. 

For just a taste, see this excerpt of Madame Souza performing together with the Triplets of Belleville on improvised instruments while her dog Bruno finds a critical clue to find Champion.