The Triplets of Belleville 2003

In France, Madame Souza is raising her grandson Champion, a sorrowful orphan who finds little joy in life. They often watch an old variety show featuring the Triplets of Belleville, a trio of singers named Rose, Blanche, and Violette. One day, when the program is disrupted, Souza turns to Champion and asks if the “film” has ended. The indifferent Champion simply changes the channel to a piano concert. Noticing his fascination with the music, Souza gets out an old piano in an attempt to cheer him up, but her efforts go unrewarded as Champion remains detached. Sensing his loneliness, she decides to bring him a dog, Bruno, but even this furry companion, with his simple pleasures of eating, sleeping, and barking at trains, fails to lift Champion’s spirits.

While organizing Champion’s room, Souza stumbles upon a book filled with photographs of cyclists, igniting a spark in Champion. She then purchases a tricycle for him, marking the beginning of his obsession with cycling. Fast forward a few years, and Champion finds himself racing in the prestigious Tour de France. However, during the event, he is kidnapped by two mobsters in a Citroën van, whisking him and two other contestants away across the Atlantic Ocean. Not one to be left behind, Souza bravely sets off after them on a pedalo.

Upon reaching the United States, both penniless and hungry, Souza and the rotund Bruno are taken in by the aging Triplets of Belleville, who have since moved into a dilapidated apartment. When they finally sit down for dinner, they are served an unappetizing feast of frog soup and frog stew, with tadpoles as dessert, collected by Violette using “expanding bait.” In a bid to contribute, Souza joins the Triplets’ band, where she creatively plays bicycle spokes as if they were a dulcimer, accompanied by a refrigerator-shelf harp, newspaper percussion, and a vacuum-cleaner bagpipe. It is during one of their performances that Souza spots the kidnappers. With the help of the Triplets, she manages to rescue the cyclists, who had been forced to pedal a gambling machine, and they make a daring escape on a pedaling frame while being chased by the mobsters in their Citroën sedans.

In a poignant flashforward, an older Champion finds himself watching television once again, this time captivated by the broadcast of their adventure as they flee the city. He recalls the question Souza posed earlier and gazes at the empty seat beside him, softly declaring, > “It’s over, Grandma.”

In a whimsical post-credits scene, the boatman who rented Souza the pedalo is humorously shown waiting patiently for the return of his vessel.