Les Triplettes de Belleville (2003)

In an interesting follow-up to the previous post (King Kong (2005)), this film completely contradicts the main theme of 'look without your eyes' that is discussed in King Kong (2005). The French film, Les Triplettes de Belleville (2003) (also known as The Triplets of Belleville), contains no spoken words, except for the French television announcers or random phrases said by extremely minor characters (of which, there are no subtitles, so I have no idea what they are saying). Of course, this doesn't matter, for director Sylvain Chomet has animated this film in a way that every character can be characterized on their visual appearance. One of the most interesting aspects of Les Triplettes de Belleville is the unusual caricature that each person has. This technique becomes very important to the director through the film, because it helps the characters vocalize what they might say.

Young Champion has had a miserable life. After the death of his parents, he is sent to live with his Grandmother, Madame Souza. Although she tries her best to cheer up her grandson, with everything from a dog named Bruno to a Piano, Champion still remains depressed. One day, however, Madame Souza brings home a tricycle, and life begins to change. Years later, Champion has matured into the typical caricature of a cyclist: a person that resembles a racing horse. Cycling has now become a major part of this small family's life. Madame Souza is now the trainer of Champion, and does everything from maintain the diet of her grandson, to the literal fine tuning of the bicycle wheels. Champion, now an excellent cyclist, signs up for the Tour de France. However, the trouble begins when the French Mafia kidnaps him halfway through the race.

Madame Souza, determined to rescue her grandson, rents a paddle boat and follows him across the Atlantic Ocean (that's determination) to the city of Belleville. There, Souza meets up with the Triplets, a once famous singing group. The four become quick friends, and set out to try and rescue the kidnapped cyclists, using their keen minds, their great determination, and Bruno's nose. (Watch out French Mafia, you have four old ladies and a dog after you, and their armed with iron cooking pans)

As said earlier, the most interesting part of the film was how the director displayed the different people in the film. The mechanic, who is always sneaking in and out of small, tiny spaces, is depicted as a mouse. The grandmother has the stereotypical qualities that you would expect a grandmother to have (short, old, glasses, etc.). The cyclists are the most interesting of all, as they are depicted as racing horses, who look, sound, and even act like an animal (one cyclist is 'put out of his misery). Even caricatures of famous people, such as Charlie Chaplin and Jacques Anquetil appear in the film. Using these caricatures, the director conveys the qualities, emotion, and characteristics of each person without using any vocals to assist him. This, of course, gives the film a very 'cartoonish' feel to the film, because no one is shaped like a cereal box in real life. Another task that is fulfilled with this process is that the director can display his own views on society with the caricatures. For example, since all the city folk are displayed as really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really fat people, it is possible that the director was trying to imply that food commercialization is 'important' in large cities; hence the constant advertisement of food, and large proportions of food shown in the film (Although the director has stated that Belleville is a combination of many different cities, and is a fictional place that is not supposed to represent any city particularly, I believe that it represents America. When first entering Belleville, a really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really, really fat statue of liberty is shown, the little language that is used quickly switches to English, everyone has the typical American attitude, and even the Flatiron Building is shown). Of course these caricatures are not limited to people, but are used on objects. The buildings and ships of the film are overly dramatized to almost dangerous proportions. Impossibly tall buildings that almost literally scrape the sky are built in Belleville, and ships that seem to be thinner then toothpicks are built (although it does make up in height what is lost in length). Since these proportions are obviously incorrect, this animated film once again seems to be targeting children with the 'cartoonish' feel it creates, or possibly that the animators had no idea what the correct proportions were.

In one of the most emotional scenes of the film, the grandmother is shown paddling across the Atlantic Ocean is a tremendous storm. Part of this emotion comes from the choice of music that Chomet decides to insert in the scene; Kyrie, the opening of Mozart's Mass in C minor. The song has a feel of determination to it, almost like a march. This gives the viewer a spark of hope, and creates happiness in knowing that there is an 80 year old grandmother paddling to save her grandson. However, at the same time, the colors of the ocean and the storm create a depressingly sad feel to the film, reminding the viewer that there is no hope that an 80 year old grandmother paddling to save her grandson will make it. This confusion that Chomet places in the scene also enhances the emotion, as the 80 year old grandmother paddling to save her grandson is tossed and turned until she has no idea where she is heading. (Needless to say that the 80 year old grandmother paddling to save her grandson is very energetic)

The way that the director Chomet shows the cities at different times is interesting too. France, shown as when Champion was young, is shown in bright, almost sepia toned colors. These colors give the feel of a home, and make this place almost desirable to live in (even though its proportions make it look like a toothpick). However, bright colors aren't always a signal for home, as shown in the Tour de France. The bright colors shown here display the feeling of a hot, dry desert that the cyclists have to go through. The sepia tone that is given in the opening scenes tell the audience that this is 'old', and that it happened a long time ago (as does the sepia tone in old photographs do). Years later, however, industrialization has built a train that literally stops in front of the house, along with streets, lamps, and houses to cover all the hills and pastures shown in Champion's childhood. Whenever here, it is always dark and raining, giving the viewer a depressed feeling similar to the feeling of the 80 year old grandmother paddling to save her grandson. The colors of the house are now darker, but seem a bit sharper. The feeling generated by this change of animation tells the viewer that this takes place now, instead of the flashbacks shown in the beginning of the film. Color shows up throughout the film, and takes a pivotal role in describing the atmosphere of the place.

The techniques described above, such as color, caricatures, and music, help characterize the characters without the use of the spoken word. It becomes the spoken word for the characters, enabling them to act out through the story without audible language. This demonstrates the theme of 'look with your eyes' that is presented in the film (the complete opposite of King Kong). It is important to look without your eyes, as you should never "judge a book by its cover", but is important, at the same time, to "judge a book by its cover". If you were walking down a dark ally late at night, and found a book that had a gun and a cover that was threatening, you would most likely judge that this book is a bad book. In situations like these (which I hope you never find yourself in), it is important to use your eyes, especially since it is so blatantly obvious (like in the film, where everyone has caricatures).

Although the film Les Triplettes de Belleville contains many 'cartoonish' elements to it, the film is far from a cartoon. Containing almost no spoken words, the characters find other ways to express themselves. Caricatures, colors, and even music help the director to show the audience what he wants. This also conveys the theme of 'look with your eyes'; that you should sometimes "judge a book by its cover". After sorting through all the humorous events in the film, and the horribly out of proportion objects, the film is still a heart warming tale about an 80 year old grandmother paddling to save her grandson.