By Timeo

 Another critically acclaimed movie, Les Triplettes de Belleville is a crazy co-production between France, Belgium, Canada and the UK. Half animated in the traditional sense and half CGI-ed, it's a catchy movie about a little boy and his grandmother who trains him for the Tour de France.

As a result of the collaboration between so many countries, it's certainly no surprise that as few words as possible were used in the film to cut down on the need for translation. Instead, it's mostly plot and character driven, little actions that signify things to come, and quirks in people that bring the characters almost alive. The animation is splendid, from the harsh sun of the Tour de France to the rolling darkness of their hometown and of the sea.

My impression of Western-animated films are that they're pretty much all family friendly, but this one breaks the mold a bit. Somehow, the twisted minds behind this film managed to bring in elements of the French mafia and violence and subjugation into all of this, not to mention the sheer ridiculousness of getting across the Atlantic ocean in a rowing boat (that scene was GORGEOUS to watch though). The mafia-men were awesome - them in these big black suits with square shoulders that go up past their heads, and always two at a time protecting someone in the middle, usually the short fat boss.

It's a delightful twist on convention and a very enjoyable and dramatic film, even when it's all just music, plot and animated action. Certainly much better than that Pixar and Disney crap.

4 out of 5 stars