Composer Benoît Charest to lead orchestra during ‘Triplets of Belleville’ Cine-Concert at WSU

When watching a film like “The Triplets of Belleville,” an animated French comedy that relies more on song than on dialogue to tell the story, it’s a treat to see it with live orchestration.

WSU is making that cine-concert experience even more special by bringing in the film’s composer Benoît Charest to lead the eight-piece Le Terrible Orchestre de Belleville in a live performance of his original score, complete with singing, dancing and live sound effects, while the film is screened above the orchestra. Included in the performance, of course, is the Oscar- and Grammy-nominated song “Belleville Rendez-vous.”

“The Triplets of Belleville,” released in 2003, follows a grandmother, Madame Souza, who sets out to save her kidnapped grandson, Champion, a Tour de France cyclist, while accompanied by her grandson’s dog, Bruno, and the title trio of music hall singers.

The movie features the voices of Michèle Caucheteux, Jean-Claude Donda, Michel Robin and Monica Viegas.

“The Triplets of Belleville” was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, losing to “Finding Nemo,” and won the César Award, the national film award of France, for Best Film Music.