Belleville Rendez-vous

Sylvain Chomet's surreal animation Belleville Rendez-Vous gets a DVD rerelease

A decade on from its initial release, and with traditional 2D animation struggling to survive in most filmmaking territories outside of Japan, the textures and abundancy of peculiar designs in Sylvain Chomet's Belleville Rendez-Vous stand out as its most enduring aspects. Art nouveau illustrations clash with Betty Boop-style musical numbers, crossing paths with Gallic comic books and Jacques Tati homages – a dry run for Chomet's later The Illusionist, with a Tati film poster even making a cameo in one scene.

The actual story Chomet is telling – which is oddly reminiscent of Finding Nemo, except with cyclists, an old lady and an obese dog instead of fish – isn't all that engaging, with most of the entertainment coming from the little background details. Still, all credit to an animated comedy that knows how to utilise silence and precise sound effects for prime amusement, as opposed to a migraine-inducing Minions movie. [Josh Slater-Willams]