|
Directed by: Sylvain Chomet Starring: Béatrice Bonifassi, Lina Boudreault, Michèle Caucheteux, Mari-Lou Gauthier When her grandson is kidnapped during the Tour de France, Madame Souza and her beloved pooch Bruno team up with the Belleville Sisters--an aged song-and-dance team from the days of Fred Astaire--to rescue him. I love animated films, and this one was exceptionally well-done. The embellished personalities of the characters and their hugely exaggerated features make the style of this film truly unique. What makes this film even more entertaining to watch is the fact that it relies on almost no spoken parts. There are two main lines in the film (the beginning and the end) with maybe one or two spoken parts in between, but the major outline of the plot relies on the film's great sound effects and character acting to tell the story. This isn't your brightly-colored Disney film.. instead a darker more subdued palette throughout most of the film making it a little more "mature" which really appealed to me. There are a few songs performed by the Triplets of Belleville that are very enjoyable as is the entire soundtrack. It has some very funny moments which made me chuckle from beginning to end of the film, but overall it just seemed so charmingly bizarre that I couldn't help but like this animated film. Again the story isn't very complex or thought-provoking but as a cartoon it uses great art direction to lead us through an amiable story. 5/5
|
#
?
May 3, 2004 04:07
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 10:08 |
|
|
Absolutely wonderful. One of the best films of the past year, or any number of years.
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2004 06:03
|
|
|
Agreed, this is really amazing. Between the color schemes and the surreal animation it's absolutely breathtaking. Also, get the soundtrack; you won't regret it.
|
|
#
?
May 3, 2004 07:41
|
|
|
I felt that this movie was way overated. I guess I probably felt this way because where everyone loved the odd style of this movie, I felt it was just being odd for the sake of being odd. Nothing about this movie really drew me in. 2/5
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2004 00:26
|
|
|
quote:MillDaKill came out of the closet to say: I completely understand that. I don't think I could ever explain 'for what purpose' all the odd things in the movie existed. However, that is a big selling point for me, because I'm not really interested in films where each element is carefully chosen to advance the plot. I like it when the filmmakers just go with their gut artistic instincts and toss in everything that feels interesting to them in the hopes that it will transport the viewer to whatever imaginary realm the idea for the film emerged from. 5/5.
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2004 00:33
|
|
|
I think this movie was robbed from the Best Animated picture. Otherwise I thought the animation was astonishing and the fact that it can tell such a vibrant story with practically no dialogue is a feat in itself. I'm definately looking forward to a purchase in the near future. 4.5/5
|
|
#
?
May 4, 2004 02:18
|
|
|
Very watchable and engrossing. The pen-and-ink French style of animation really stood out, it's much more interesting than Japanese-style animation, which we're all tired of. It had a classic French disdain for political correctness - the movie was filled with stereotypical characters (including caracatures of Frenchies, Americans, and Lance Armstrong) that some might call 'offensive' but worked out to be pretty funny - the movie opens with a black woman dancing around in a skirt made out of bananas, the statue of liberty in Belleville is grossly obese and holds a chicken wing aloft. The movie seemed to be filled with symbolism about American-French cultural relations (like blowing frogs out of the water with a German grenade), most of which I didn't quite figure out.
|
|
#
?
Aug 23, 2004 08:45
|
|
|
Again, disappointment. Just rented it last night looking for some comedy, but I found almost nothing funny about the film. The opening sequence was so jarring I felt that if the whole movie was that "bad" I was going to turn it off early. It was interesting that they used dialogue so little. That was about the only thing I liked. I had on English language on the DVD and I think MAYBE 6 words were translated. There was more French, but they didn't bother. I did like the stereotypes. Had the chimney smoking French, the uber-fat Americans, and I guess that's it. Completely bizarre stuff that maybe someone else can explain why it was there and I should care: Dog dreams. First of all, do you really think dogs would dream complex train engines? And why? And the triplettes seem to get some gigs in clubs, but can't afford...anything at all. And the little boy can't talk(?) but the grandma learns he likes bikes. Grandma'd be old as gently caress by the time he could compete in the Tour. Certainly not a good training partner. To me it felt classically French: there was stuff on the screen and I didn't understand why. In the commentary, the director made a comment about one of the Canadian animators who felt the Fred Astaire character should fight with his shoes in that opening segment and win. He stated that he felt that person didn't understand the heart of the movie (and made sure to point out he was Canadian)??? I don't know, I didn't understand the hype. 2/5
|
|
#
?
Aug 28, 2004 23:21
|
|
|
Very, very enjoyable. 5/5
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2004 07:53
|
|
|
A great piece of surrealism that sucked me in from it's idiosyncratic musical number opening, until the bizzare closing chase scene. The animation style reminded me of Gerald Scarfe's work on the The Wall, which I also loved. Yes, much of the wierdness is somewhat pointless: but that's the point. I weep openly that this work of ballsy originality lost Best Animated Feature to the timid fluff of Finding Nemo. 4/5
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2004 13:22
|
|
|
I really enjoyed this movie. The opening sequence was awesome, but then again I'm a huge fan of old 1920's style animation. It didnt have that much depth or point to it other than to enjoy the drawings. 4/5
|
|
#
?
Aug 30, 2004 15:16
|
|
|
Great movie! I really don't know how to explain it, but the animation was just so amazing! The atmosphere of the movie was so great, something I rarely see even in non animated movies. It's also pretty funny especially towards the end. 5
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2004 04:43
|
|
|
This movie is also know as Belleville Rendevius. 5
|
|
#
?
Aug 31, 2004 12:38
|
|
£
|
This movie was amazing, the animation was just jaw dropping and had a fabulous soundtrack. I was angered this didn't win the Oscar for Best Animation, though the live preformance of the Belleville theme song made me smile. Also, buy the soundtrack. 5.5/5
|
|
#
?
Sep 1, 2004 17:59
|
|
|
This is really the best animated movie I've seen in decades. It's smart and funny and just... DRUGS for your eyes. I was lucky enough to see it in the theater. The reason it's so "odd" is because it's a CARTOON. Most of the "harsh" criticism I've seen of this film comes from the best parts (one critic said he was offended by all the "fat jokes." He really missed the point.) It's an animated movie done like an animated movie SHOULD be done. Weird, surreal, breaking the rules of our real world, but while still having characters that we care about and that we can relate to. Of course, don't let me forget the music. The score just tied it all together. This movie isn't for everyone obviously. It is just pure animated art from start to finish. I hope we see more movies like this in the future. To REALLY love this film you have to be an animator yourself. It helps. 5.5/5 And now, as a special treat, here's Fred Astaire being eaten alive by his own shoes: 
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2004 11:08
|
|
|
Both the good reviews here and the bad reviews here are correct. The animation style is astounding and anally complex. The movie is a piece of art. Storywise, it is confusing and sometimes downright boring with no dialogue to keep it alive. Chances are if you're reading this, you're interested in the movie anyway. In that case, you'll probably like it, so go see it. If you think True Lies is the best movie of the last century, don't go see it. 3.5/5 - A great movie but the kind that critics love and people for the most part don't.
|
|
#
?
Oct 10, 2004 19:33
|
|
|
Very cool art style, very original. I thought the climax was hampered by an inappropriately subdued score, but otherwise I liked it. Rating: 3.5
|
|
#
?
Feb 18, 2005 22:04
|
|
|
|
| # ? Apr 27, 2024 10:08 |
|
|
I absolutely hated this movie. While the animation style may be 'unique', it is also REALLY loving UGLY. The characters were all grotesque caricatures who apart from being visually repulsive, were not the slightest bit interesting apart from the dog. The characters are unlikable, the plot is weak and the whole thing looks terrible. All of these features plus the lack of dialogue makes this mess seem twice as long as the 80 minute running time, and that is certainly not a good thing. 0.5 Smorgasbord fucked around with this message at 12:38 on Dec 23, 2005 |
|
#
?
Dec 20, 2005 14:33
|
|
