--- title: "The Triplets of Belleville: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-triplets-of-belleville/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-triplets-of-belleville" critics_score: 83 critics_reviews: 16 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Triplets of Belleville (2003): what the critics said Critics' score 83 from 16 reviews: 14 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics fall for this one. The reviews lean strongly positive, and the praise clusters almost entirely on Chomet’s drawing: the caricatured, grotesque yet humane character designs, the invention packed into every corner of the frame, and a style several reviewers trace back to Jacques Tati and silent comedy rather than to Disney. The resourceful grandmother is picked out as an unlikely heroine, and the sound design and score come in for their share of credit in a film that gets by almost without dialogue. The reservations are about story rather than picture. Screen Daily finds the plot stop-start, with scenes that run too long, and The Skinny says the entertainment comes from background detail rather than from anything happening in the foreground. The AV Club warns that the grotesquery and the stream-of-consciousness telling may put some viewers off. The spread is narrow: no critic dislikes it, and even the two mixed notices admire the animation without qualification. ## Evening Standard — Neil Norman Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 10 April 2012. Chomet’s dialogue-free animated feature is a staggeringly brilliant, visually breathtaking classic that blends surreal European graphic artistry with emotional depth and humor. It follows a grandmother’s determined rescue of her kidnapped cyclist grandson with the help of the eccentric Belleville Triplets. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/a-handdrawn-delight-7436170.html) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 November 2003. The film is a truly out-there piece of comic animation and the most outlandishly visual film of the year, the product of an artistic vision as rigorous as any lofty Cannes prize-winner. Turan singles out the fearlessness of Chomet’s singular point of view and the wacky plot involving the kidnapped cyclist and the triplets. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-nov-26-et-triplets26-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 26 December 2003. The film is an animated feature of appalling originality and scary charm that sweeps viewers into its dark comic vision without caring to be loved. Ebert singles out the haunting comic drawing style and inexorable energy of the story for praise. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-triplets-of-belleville-2003) ## Slant Magazine — Joshua Vasquez Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 19 December 2003. The critic praises the film's dreamlike visual and sonic invention, its grotesque yet humane character designs, and its elegiac meditation on parental love and aging, calling it a near-masterpiece that lingers in memory. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-triplets-of-belleville/) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 29 August 2003. The critic calls Chomet's animated feature thoroughly delightful, touching, hilarious and bracingly original, with superbly detailed and vividly eccentric animation. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/News_Story/Critic_Review/Guardian_review/0,,1030893,00.html) ## The New York Times — A. O. Scott Rating NYT Critic’s Pick. 26 November 2003. The film is one of the best and oddest of the year, a tour de force of ink-washed mischief and unlikely sublimity that is sweet and sinister, funny and dark. Scott singles out the black-and-white overture evoking Josephine Baker and Fred Astaire for its naughty, exuberant quality. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/26/movies/film-review-nostalgia-for-a-land-that-twirls-in-dreams.html) ## Variety Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 17 May 2003. Festival review. The film is a sardonic feast of narrative invention and graphic caricature that swings to a nostalgic beat, unapologetically French yet universal in its humor. The review singles out the terrific sound design, swell score, and conceptual highlights like the opening newsreel and the triplets’ frog-catching technique. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2003/film/awards/belleville-rendez-vous-1200541651/) ## Empire — William Thomas Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 19 September 2003. Chomet’s unique, dialogue-light adult animation mixes a comedic adventure with nostalgia, satire, and emotional resonance, delivering terrific set-pieces and an unlikely but winning heroine in the resourceful grandmother. It is moving and funny with moments of genius, despite occasional longueurs. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/belleville-rendez-vous-review/) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 24 November 2003. The film succeeds at being indescribable with its avalanche of oddness and keen draftsmanship, though it harbors some stolid European prejudices about New York. Lane singles out the draftsmanship of caricatured figures and the reverent treatment of a dream sequence bestowed upon a slumbering dog. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2003/12/01/strange-lands) ## Time Out — NB Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 13 March 2014. The review highlights the film's place among inventive world animation, praising its skewed perspective, deadpan grotesquery, flair for invention, and blasé beauty alongside caricature. It recommends relishing these qualities over deeper analysis. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-triplets-of-belleville) ## The AV Club — Noel Murray Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 9 December 2003. The review highlights the film's sheer illustrative inventiveness, surreal whimsy, and one-of-a-kind contraption-like quality while noting its grotesque elements and stream-of-consciousness style may alienate some viewers. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-triplets-of-belleville-1798199155) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2003. Festival review. The film is described as hugely inventive, visually striking, and often delightful, with strong animation and a distinctive non-naturalistic style, but it is let down by a stop-start storyline and scenes that run too long. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/belleville-rendez-vous-les-triplettes-de-belleville/4013575.article) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 15 August 2003. The critic praises this engaging, original animated film in the classical style without Disney sentimentality, calling it entertaining from start to finish and quirky and quick-witted. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/belleville-rendez-vous-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## Paste — J. Robert Parks Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 February 2004. The critic praises the film's inventive and enchanting qualities, its silent cinema-inspired humor and visual style reminiscent of Jacques Tati and children's books. They highlight the animation's use of facial expressions and everyday objects for comedy, noting it raises the bar for animated films. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-triplets-of-belleville) ## Collider — Jacob Slankard Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 16 March 2025. The piece celebrates the film's unique animation style and its bold, satirical take on American culture and Disney, positioning it as a standout indie animated film that challenged Pixar at the Oscars. It emphasizes the tactile world-building and influences from classic animation. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-triplets-of-belleville-oscars/) ## The Skinny — Josh Slater-Willams Rating ★★★. 1 December 2015. The critic praises the film's enduring visual textures and designs, including art nouveau and Tati homages, but notes the story isn't particularly engaging, with entertainment mainly from background details and use of silence and sound effects. [Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/dvd-reviews/belleville-rendez-vous) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-triplets-of-belleville.md