About
Champion is a little melancholic boy who has been adopted by his grandmother, Madame Souza. We never do find out what happened to his parents; but you can suppose that it's not a very happy story. After Madame Souza finds out that Champion has a secret passion for cycling (after trying to make him interested in playing the piano and giving him a little puppy, now a huge dog called Bruno - she loves her little grandson a lot and doesn't like seeing him sad) she buys him his first bike. The years pass and Champion has trained enough to be able to participate in the famous Tour de France. He is however abducted during the race by 2 mysterious men dressed in black. It's now up to Madame Souza and her faithful Bruno to search for her grandson and to help him escape. They follow the trail all the way across the ocean to the megapolis named Belleville. There they meet the triplets of Belleville, Blanche, Rose and Violette, 3 excentric music-hall stars from the '30's. Old ladies now, but still willing to help. Thanks to Bruno they finally track Champion down, but will it be in time to save him from the hands of the evil French Mafia? Watch the movie if you're desperate to know!Who is Sylvain Chomet?
He was born in 1963 in Maisons-Lafitte, France. In 1982, he graduated from high school specializing in art and in 1987 received a diploma from the prestigious comic-strip studio at Angoulême (France). In 1986, he published his first book-length comic, Secrets of the Dragonfly (Futuropolis) and drew an adaptation of a Victor Hugo novel, Bug-Jargal, in collaboration with Nicolas de Crécy.In 1991, Chomet started work on his first animated film project, The Old Lady and the Pigeons, with backgrounds designed by Nicolas de Crécy. In 1992, he wrote the script for a comic entitled The Bridge in Mud (Glénat), a science-fiction and historical saga, now in its fourth episode. The following year, he wrote the story Léon-la-Came, drawn by Nicolas de Crecy and serialized in (A SUIVRE) magazine. The book version was published by Casterman in 1995. It won the René Goscinny Prize in January 1996. Since 1993, Sylvain Chomet has been based in Canada. He spent 1995 and 1996 finishing his short film The Old Lady and the Pigeons. This film won the Cartoon d'Or prize, the Grand Prize at the Annecy Festival, a BAFTA, the Audience Prize and the Jury Prize at the Angers Premiers Plans Festival and received nominations for both the French Césars and for the Oscars. The Triplets of Belleville was nominated for an Oscar in the Best Animated Feature Film and Original Song categories for the year 2004, but sadly enough it didn't win either.
Why do I like it
That's simple: it just rocks. It has an excellent storyline, excellent animation and the characters have been extremely well thought out. The music tops it all off, making the movie absolutely fantastic. Don't forget to watch for the little subtle jokes and puns Chomet put into the story, they help enrich the whole experience.Amazon links
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