Belleville Rendez-Vous! DVD release review

30 November 2015 // Reviews (Film)

We love a classic here at Skwigly, some titles become classics over time but others have a back of becoming instant classics, resonating immediately in your consciousness as something special due to it’s depth and quality of film making. Sylvain Chomet’s Belleville Rendez-vous positions itself firmly within the latter category and although little over a decade old it can be watched with a nostalgic sense of appreciation. The craft that went into the making of this film is evident throughout the design and storytelling and Chomet’s independent vision steered a film that cannot be tied to any specific era of animated feature film making.

The story of Madame Souza and her cycling obsessed grandson Champion goes from Tour de France to Tour de Force as a kidnapping at the famous cycle race takes Madame Souza and her dog Siderodromophobic pooch, Bruno on a rescue mission out of France and across the seas to the city of Belleville leading and to a confrontation with gangsters and the forging of an alliance with the eccentric triplets of Bellville.

The film earned a well deserved nomination at the 76th Academy Award 2004 (missing out to Finding Nemo), not bad for a debut feature film.

What better an excuse to revisit a modern day classic such as this than a DVD release? The film has been re-released on DVD and Digital HD platforms. The DVD has a bevy of extras including the original theatrical trailer, a making of documentary, an interview with director Sylvain Chomet and production designer Evgeni Tomov, an animation lesson and three scenes with commentary. The extras are nice, they’re old footage and so displayed in 2D but they are in depth and give a good overview of the process concentrating on the side of feature production Skwigly readers will enjoy. The commentary supplied to three scenes are short and in french, but subtitled so if you’re prepared to read it you’ll gain some valuable insight.

So, if you’re looking for a rendezvous with some classic animation yourself or for a festive treat for an animator or film fan in your life then Bellville Rendez-Vouz is the title for you.

Items mentioned in this article:

Belleville Rendez-vous [DVD]

£10.99

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