Search - The Triplets of Belleville on DVD

MPAA Rating: PG-13 Content Advisory: Brief Nudity, Adult Humor, Watch With Your Kids, Scary Moments, Slapstick Violence Movie Release: 2003 DVD Release: 05/04/2004 Format: DVD - Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV - Closed Captioned Audio Tracks: English, Spanish SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Number of Discs: 1 Run Time: 1 hrs 21 mins Studio: Columbia TriStar Members Wishing: 23 Genres: Comedy, Family-Oriented Comedy See Also: Belleville Rendez-Vous

French filmmaker Sylvain Chomet directs the animated feature The Triplets of Belleville. A young boy is raised by his grandmother, Madame Souza, in the French countryside. She buys him a bicycle and encourages his dream of winning the Tour de France. However, he gets kidnapped by a group of Mafia gangsters and taken to the big city of Belleville, where he is used for his bicycling prowess in an elaborate gambling scheme. Along with her faithful companion Bruno, Madame Souza sets out to rescue her grandson. They befriend a trio of aging musicians who were once the '30s jazz trio known as The Triplets of Belleville. Features an original jazz musical score by Benoît Charest. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Jean-Claude Donda
Michel Robin
Monica Vegas

Those who may have missed director Sylvain Chomet's charming Oscar-nominated animated feature The Triplets of Belleville during its all-too-brief and limited theatrical run can now witness the inventive feature thanks to this release from Columbia/TriStar Home Entertainment. Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, the image is spotless in addition to offering a great presentation of the film's varying color scheme. The only true argument that could be made against the transfer is the ugly intrusion of edge-enhancement. Though viewers with standard televisions won't notice the tell-tale glowing edges that, in addition to being entirely unnecessary, are impossible to ignore after one becomes aware of them, viewers with large, high-definition, anamorphic-friendly televisions will, no doubt, find this distracting. Audio is offered in a choice of English or Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, offering a clean reproduction of the wonderful sound scheme and a great vehicle for the infectious music featured in the film. Though played down somewhat on the packaging, the extra features provided on this release offer some great insight into the film's production. Commentaries are separated into three scene-specific segments: "Opening Sequence," "Restaurant Performance," and "Tuning the Wheel." Viewers are treated to a perfect mixture of technical and fun facts -- with the final segment offering a great showcase for the film's remarkable foley work. A featurette entitled "The Cartoon According to Sylvain Chomet" is a nice (albeit somewhat brief) learning tool for aspiring animators, and an appropriately surreal music video for "Bellville Rendez-Vous" will have Chomet and songwriter Benoît Charest's earworm title tune echoing in viewers' heads for days. A fun theatrical trailer rounds out the features nicely. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide