Review – The Triplets of Belleville

This odd animated tale of a kidnapped bicyclist has to have been the strangest Oscar nominee in history, if for no other reason than the almost complete absence of appeal to American audiences. The first few minutes are an interesting swirl of Sally Cruikshank and Chuck Jones. But as soon as the actual story gets underway, the movie turns into a muddled mess. Whoever made this unfortunately seems to have learned the craft at the knee of the Film Board of Canada, taking to heart lessons about the importance of minimal plot and dialogue and extreme affection for laborious pacing. Indeed, were it not for occasional bursts of impressive technical quality I could have sworn that I was back in the nightmare realm of the animation festivals that were common in art houses back in the 80s. See if desperate