Charming and brutal

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

One of the best films I've seen in a while, certainly far outshines other animation features witnessed of late. True animal characteristics for a change. Hugely imaginative, great entertainment, had me laughing out-loud. Three thumbs up!PS: I've gone off frog soup.

I have two problems with this movie. First, as my title indicates, it is boring. It is ungodly, irredeemably boring. There were times in the movie where I had to fast forward as I couldn't take the nothing that was going on. They seem to not like speaking too much in this film so a lot of the film is bathed in awkward silence with barely any music, which only punctuates how flat and boring it is. I mean, yeah the finale was...okay, but that doesn't excuse over an hour of nothing.The second biggest thing is the animation. Dear god is this film ugly. Yeah, I know it's stylized, but that does not excuse the fact that the style is UGLY. Just because you MEANT it to be ugly, doesn't make it any less ugly. The characters are bland, and as they hardly talk they are made even MORE bland, and the backgrounds don't help with their surreal blandness.This is one of those movies where when you are watching you go 'man...I could be doing something else right now' and that is the number one sin a movie can possibly make. Questioning why you are watching it.Is it the most painful and horrible animated movie ever? ...no, it's just ungodly boring. I don't care how different it is, or how it took a chance, or how surreal it is. If it is boring, it's still boring no matter what kind of bow you put on it. Not for kids, not for teens, not for adults...I would say the only time you should watch this movie is if you are an art student and need a film to write a report on. Other than that...give this one a skip.

I remember the first time I watched this movie, it was with my parents when I was around 10 or 11, and I remember thinking, "what the hell just happened?" and you may too, after the first time. This largely wordless animation comes from the great Sylvain Chomet, a brilliant animator who's only other full length movie is The Illusionist, which is just as good and should be checked out if you like this one. To summarize, this film is pretty far out there in obscurity, most people I've asked about have never heard about it, and it's pretty easy to see why. The film is chock full of bizarre quirks and weird happenings, I won't deny it, and the character models are incredibly ugly and deformed, but you have to agree there is some level of charm to them, and the setting is beautiful. I could gush about this movie for hours, but please give it a shot, its something else.

A wonderful humorous animation semi-mute adults movie that tells the story of cyclist Champion, his Grandma, and their unwanted adventures in America. This is a Franco-Belgian-Canadian production which has as main characters a Portuguese grandma, a French cyclist, and three American sisters.There is a huge list of elements to praise, all of which give the movie a special something that keeps you entertained and enchanted, with a big smile in your face. In fact, time flies when watching this movie, and that is always a great sign.The animation looks like old-style hand-made Miyazaki-sort-of-animation, both in style and fluidity of the images, the quirkiness of the characters and the action. On the other hand, the characters are not flashy young super-doodle people, but mostly a group of old women, an overweight dog, and some nasty Mafiosi, all of whom are beautifully (and funnily) drawn. The characters rarely speak, just mumble a few words, make guttural noses, and sing some songs, but they are always very expressive. The story is really well told despite the almost non-existent dialogs.The movie has an awesome soundtrack, with golden-era Jazz and Motown classics, and some classic music pieces that convey the ambiance and atmosphere of the 1920s-50s New York perfectly. In fact, the recreation of New York as Belleville has a lot of art-deco, with a twist of Europe (the skyline of Belleville resembles an European castle) plus a contemporary projection of the image of Americans in European mentality (the inhabitants of Belleville are morbidly obese) creating something that is oddly beautiful and original.Specially brilliant are the scenes of the crossing of the Atlantic, the watching of human programs in TV by the cartoons, the diet of the triplets, and, above all, the surreal black and white dreams of Bruno the dog.The only thing I did not like, which I think it ruined the magic of the film, was the car persecution at the end, which I found childish and resolved in a hurry, and the end.Said this, this is a brilliant movie with a delightful script.