I thought it would be fun to look at a few of the better known examples of how triplets have been portrayed on television and film over the years.
The first triplets I can remember seeing on television when I was young were Huey, Dewey, and Louie, the lovable nephews of Donald Duck. They were portrayed as fun-loving mischievous scamps, always getting into trouble or trying to play a trick on their uncle Donald. This is a pretty standard portrayal of triplets in the media, the impression being given (often correctly) that three kids of the same age equals chaos. When we were thinking of names for our triplets before we knew their gender, many of our friends laughingly suggested Huey, Dewey and Louie. Thankfully we had three girls so this wasn't an option.
Friends was one of my favourite programs in the 90's and the storyline with Phoebe's triplets was a memorable one. Phoebe agrees to be the surrogate mother for her brother Frank Jr. and his older wife Alice Knight who can't conceive on their own. The scene where Phoebe talks to the embryos was wonderful. She sings "Are you in there little fetus? In nine months will you come greet us? I will (pauses) buy you some Adidas".
I remembered that scene when we went through IVF ourselves years later. We got to see our daughters on camera when they were made up of only 4 cells. There's not many people in the world that can say that.
The Triplets of Belleville is a 2003 French animated film which features 3 elderly female triplets, formerly music hall performers, who aid a grandmother to find her grandson who has been kidnapped during the Tour De France. It's very unlike the other depictions of triplets as it shows them as adults, whereas most depictions of triplets on screen are of babies or children. Our triplets have a real bond and I'm sure they will remain close as they get older and whatever their life brings them I hope it's a long and happy one. The Triplets of Belleville is a great film, watch it if you get a chance.
In the end of the third instalment of the Shrek series, Shrek and Fiona retire to the swamp where they become parents to ogre triplets, Fergus, Farkle and Felicia. They are shown as classical Hollywood triplets, i.e. causing chaos and destruction everywhere as they happily wreck their surroundings at very opportunity. I love the picture below, which I'm sure perfectly reflects the way I've felt at times. The triplets have their first birthday party in the last instalment of the series, Shrek Forever After where Shrek dreams of a life as a real ogre without a family to tie him down but eventually realises his actually enjoys domestic bliss, a revelation that came to me some time ago too.
Most recently, this year saw the arrival of the latest on-screen triplets, Harris, Hubert and Hamish, the triplet boys (and sometimes triplet bears) in the film set here in Scotland, Brave. This mischief making red-headed trio drive their parents and carers mad with their antics, and seemingly can communicate with each other in their own private triplet language that allows them to scheme without anyone knowing what they are up to, most of which involves stealing sweets and cakes. I often think our three have an invisible form of communication which only they understand but thankfully they are not quite as mischievous.
In general, the portrayal of triplets in Hollywood is of infants driving their parents to distraction whilst still being unbelievably cute. They are generally used as comedy vehicles to put the main stars of the film into a pressured situation that sees them out of their comfort zone. They are mostly seen in animated films as I'm sure the logistics involved in shooting real-life triplets would be horrendous.
To end, a snapshot of a TV multiple family that puts our triplets (and most other multiple families) in the shade. Possibly the most famous multiples on screen are the octuplets born to Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and his wife, Manjula after being given several doses of fertility drugs on an episode of The Simpsons.
The children's names (I had to look it up) were Poonam, Gheet, Sashi, Pria, Uma, Anoop, Sandeep & Nabendu. The episode where they arrive is brilliant, and the genuine tiredness Apu shows when Marge arrives to fix all their problems with banana bread strikes a real chord with me personally as I know how tired I was in the first few months when our three were born.
The first triplets I can remember seeing on television when I was young were Huey, Dewey, and Louie, the lovable nephews of Donald Duck. They were portrayed as fun-loving mischievous scamps, always getting into trouble or trying to play a trick on their uncle Donald. This is a pretty standard portrayal of triplets in the media, the impression being given (often correctly) that three kids of the same age equals chaos. When we were thinking of names for our triplets before we knew their gender, many of our friends laughingly suggested Huey, Dewey and Louie. Thankfully we had three girls so this wasn't an option.
Friends was one of my favourite programs in the 90's and the storyline with Phoebe's triplets was a memorable one. Phoebe agrees to be the surrogate mother for her brother Frank Jr. and his older wife Alice Knight who can't conceive on their own. The scene where Phoebe talks to the embryos was wonderful. She sings "Are you in there little fetus? In nine months will you come greet us? I will (pauses) buy you some Adidas".
I remembered that scene when we went through IVF ourselves years later. We got to see our daughters on camera when they were made up of only 4 cells. There's not many people in the world that can say that.
The Triplets of Belleville is a 2003 French animated film which features 3 elderly female triplets, formerly music hall performers, who aid a grandmother to find her grandson who has been kidnapped during the Tour De France. It's very unlike the other depictions of triplets as it shows them as adults, whereas most depictions of triplets on screen are of babies or children. Our triplets have a real bond and I'm sure they will remain close as they get older and whatever their life brings them I hope it's a long and happy one. The Triplets of Belleville is a great film, watch it if you get a chance.
Most recently, this year saw the arrival of the latest on-screen triplets, Harris, Hubert and Hamish, the triplet boys (and sometimes triplet bears) in the film set here in Scotland, Brave. This mischief making red-headed trio drive their parents and carers mad with their antics, and seemingly can communicate with each other in their own private triplet language that allows them to scheme without anyone knowing what they are up to, most of which involves stealing sweets and cakes. I often think our three have an invisible form of communication which only they understand but thankfully they are not quite as mischievous.
In general, the portrayal of triplets in Hollywood is of infants driving their parents to distraction whilst still being unbelievably cute. They are generally used as comedy vehicles to put the main stars of the film into a pressured situation that sees them out of their comfort zone. They are mostly seen in animated films as I'm sure the logistics involved in shooting real-life triplets would be horrendous.
To end, a snapshot of a TV multiple family that puts our triplets (and most other multiple families) in the shade. Possibly the most famous multiples on screen are the octuplets born to Apu Nahasapeemapetilon and his wife, Manjula after being given several doses of fertility drugs on an episode of The Simpsons.
The children's names (I had to look it up) were Poonam, Gheet, Sashi, Pria, Uma, Anoop, Sandeep & Nabendu. The episode where they arrive is brilliant, and the genuine tiredness Apu shows when Marge arrives to fix all their problems with banana bread strikes a real chord with me personally as I know how tired I was in the first few months when our three were born.
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