In this animated French film, a boy named Champion trains relentlessly for the Tour de France, with the help of his loyal grandmother and overweight dog, Bruno (who loves to bark at passing trains). When the big race comes, Champion and a few of his fellow racers are kidnapped by some thugs who spirit them off to Belleville (a surreal impression of 1930s-1950s Manhattan) where they are forced to pedal as part of a clandestine gambling operation. Bruno and grandma set out across the sea in a paddle boat to rescue their boy, but once ashore they soon become lost, hungry and penniless, that is until the frog-eating Triplets of Belleville, former scat singing jazz prodigies turned experimental musicians, come to their rescue. Filled with inspired, twisted imagery, this nearly dialogue-free film is a crowd-pleaser of unusual power, with the strange, measured pacing of a dream, and a great soundtrack of bizarre alternate-reality '30s jazz. It also offers a touching and believable evocation of a dog's life. A great throwback to the time before animation became dominated by CGI effects, BELLEVILLE RENDEZ-VOUS is a very strange, very loving French salute to obsession, affection, and persistence.
This animated adventure from Sylvain Chomet is a graphic delight and a triumph of invention. Effortlessly combining slapstick, character quirk and nostalgia, it follows a club-footed grandmother and her pudgy mutt across the Atlantic as they attempt to rescue the cyclist grandson who has been kidnapped from the Tour de France by two sinister gangsters. Splendid set pieces abound, including the newsreel opening (featuring such greats as Charles Trenet, Fred Astaire and Josephine Baker), the ocean crossing, dinner with the derelict Belleville triplets and the climactic chase. There's the occasional longueur, but the wealth of throwaway gags and passing homages give this ambitious entertainment a unique charm.
Uncut
Endlessly inventive, stunnungly rendered and deliciously dark and twisted.
Radio Times
