The Triplets of Belleville [DVD] [2003]

Those who may have missed director Sylvain Chomet's charming Oscar-nominated animated feature The Triplets of Belleville during its all-too-brief and limited theatrical run can now witness the inventive feature thanks to this release from Columbia/TriStar Home Entertainment. Presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, the image is spotless in addition to offering a great presentation of the film's varying color scheme. The only true argument that could be made against the transfer is the ugly intrusion of edge-enhancement. Though viewers with standard televisions won't notice the tell-tale glowing edges that, in addition to being entirely unnecessary, are impossible to ignore after one becomes aware of them, viewers with large, high-definition, anamorphic-friendly televisions will, no doubt, find this distracting. Audio is offered in a choice of English or Spanish Dolby Digital 5.1, offering a clean reproduction of the wonderful sound scheme and a great vehicle for the infectious music featured in the film. Though played down somewhat on the packaging, the extra features provided on this release offer some great insight into the film's production. Commentaries are separated into three scene-specific segments: "Opening Sequence," "Restaurant Performance," and "Tuning the Wheel." Viewers are treated to a perfect mixture of technical and fun facts -- with the final segment offering a great showcase for the film's remarkable foley work. A featurette entitled "The Cartoon According to Sylvain Chomet" is a nice (albeit somewhat brief) learning tool for aspiring animators, and an appropriately surreal music video for "Bellville Rendez-Vous" will have Chomet and songwriter Benoît Charest's earworm title tune echoing in viewers' heads for days. A fun theatrical trailer rounds out the features nicely.