Product Info

Studio

Studio Chizu

Director

Mamoru Hosoda

Genre

Adventure, Animation, Drama, Family, Fantasy, Music, Musical, Sci-Fi

Rated

PG

Theatrical Release Date (NA)

Jan 14, 2022

Release Date (NA)

Jan 14, 2022

Release Date (JP)

Jul 16, 2021

Film Length

2h 1m

Purchase From

Studio Chizu’s films have grown more popular over the last decade with films like Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and Mirai. Its co-founder, Mamoru Hosoda, returns to write and direct another animated movie, Belle. Like the studio’s previous releases, Belle is filled with a vibrant world, two, in fact. It makes many references to the classic tale of Beauty and the Beast but with a dark twist that touches a sensitive topic. However, the film has a few loose ends that don’t add up.

Welcome to the World of “U”

© 2021 STUDIO CHIZU

Belle dives into two worlds. The modern world of Japan and the enchanted, digital world of “U”. U is a popular social media platform where people can interact with others with their own online persona known as “AS”. To create a unique persona, U reads the person’s biometrics after they insert large, earbud-like devices into their ears, and builds a persona based on those readings. Emotions and other senses can affect the persona as well. For example, if the user bumps their head in the real world, it’ll affect the persona. Once approved by the user, the smartphone application will connect the created persona to the person’s senses, and the user will be able to appear inside the digital world of the U and feel their surroundings. Think of it as a virtual reality for social media.

The film doesn’t explain how the social platform actually functions as a technology beyond that. It’s indicated you’ll need earpieces and the app to log in, but most of the time, the audience will see the people sitting and lying down. Later in the film, it’s being used while walking and running. It throws you for a loop because if the world of U is a virtual reality space to explore, shouldn’t you also be interacting in the real world somehow? It’s a complex system, but the film doesn’t go further into its complexities. Instead, it’s just a quick introduction before moving on.

Regarding how much time is spent between the real and virtual worlds, Belle does a wonderful job dividing it evenly between them. Focusing on different issues in each world, such as high school drama and performing concerts for billions of people, the film effortlessly dips between them and eventually intertwines the two.

A Fragile Little Singer

© 2021 STUDIO CHIZU

Suzu, the protagonist of the film, is a high school student who loves music and singing. Growing up, she was very close to her mother until things took a turn for the worst when her mother passed away while saving a stranger’s child stranded in a flooded river. Scarred from this loss, Suzu closes herself off from her passions and the people around her. She barely makes an attempt to interact with her father and shys away from most people except a small handful of classmates.

Early in the film, Suzu is pressured to sing a karaoke song with other female classmates but shuts down, causing an embarrassing moment. The scene then cuts to Suzu walking home in the middle of winter, and she does actually try to sing but is still too nervous. Next, the scene jumps to Suzu loading the social platform U on her smartphone, escaping to a new world. Details about why she decided to give this social media a try aren’t explained beyond her simply receiving an invite from a friend, leaving viewers to ponder her reasoning.

After creating her persona, Suzu is astounded at how well the virtual world works. Feeling safe to hide behind something, she begins to sing and successfully ignores the voices around her. In just over a day, she finds out that her account has over 20 million followers, becoming one of the most popular divas in the world of U. With the help of her high school friend, Suzu continues to perform in U.

© 2021 STUDIO CHIZU

Originally, Suzu’s persona’s name was “Bell,” but later, she’s known as “Belle,” thanks to fans who decided it sounded better. Watching the film in subtitles, it is written as “Belle” going forward, though Suzu’s phone still says “Bell” for the persona. It’s confusing as to why the creators didn’t just stick with “Belle” for consistency.

Anyway, Suzu continues to struggle being herself in the real world, but the film continues to share her experience and growing pains between both the real and fantasy worlds. Some of these growing pains place Suzu in uncomfortable situations, such as enduring her emotions regarding her childhood friend and connections with the popular kids in school. Though the film will quickly transition to the fantasy world to continue the other half of Suzu’s story, everything eventually begins to intertwine and connect when the beast arrives.

When Beauty Meets the Beast

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The beast is a persona that’s wanted by the U for suspicious activities in martial art battles. It interrupts Suzu’s biggest concert and is targeted by a well-known group of vigilantes in the world of U. Instead of being furious like her fans, she’s drawn towards the mysterious creature. However, she’s bringing danger upon herself in the digital world and eventually causing anxiety in the real world as well.

As Belle digs deeper into the mystery that surrounds the beast, it catches the vigilantes’ attention. With the power to access some administrative power, they can force their “justice” by unveiling a persona’s identity. Doing so would not only reveal their real identity in front of billions but also delete their persona from the system.

Belle finally manages to have chances to interact with the beast, but the level of connection is not like you see in Disney’s animated retelling. Although similar to the beast in that story, the beast in Belle is having trouble in both worlds. Suzu, understanding the frustration that the beast is going through, wants to reach out and help in a purely caring way. This is most likely due to her seeing how her mother helped a stranded child. It’s a great change in pace that not all fairytale-like films need that romantic relationship.

© 2021 STUDIO CHIZU

Still, those familiar with the Disney classic will recognize massive amounts of similarities. For starters, Suzu’s persona is called “Belle”, an obvious reference to the fairy tale’s protagonist. Then, you have a raging persona that resembles a creature many are scared to interact with—the beast. Additionally, the beast is being chased down by a vigilante that believes his own “justice” and righteousness, similar to Gaston but not as full of himself on looks.

The beast’s hideout, located in an uncharted area in U, is an abandoned structure with a shape that resembles a distorted castle. Inside, there are planted rose bushes, another reference. It’s interesting to see how the film adapts a popular fairy tale to fit into a modern, sci-fi world and tell a story all its own. Unlike the Disney tale but true to the roots to fairy tales themselves, Belle touches on a sensitive topic that still exists in today’s world. It uses the social world of U and real-life actions to tackle this dark, sensitive topic. To say more would be to spoil the film, but it’s done respectively and with great care.

Beauty in Both Worlds

© 2021 STUDIO CHIZU

Visually, the way the modern world of Japan and the fantasy world of U are showcased are completely different, but they both work beautifully. In the real world, everything is hand drawn and colors are more saturated, matching Suzu’s personality. When she’s scared, it’s raining, and when feeling positive, it’s a sunny day. In U, people and places are computer animated, and the colors are vibrant. The details within the busy hub area of U make it feel lively, and seeing Belle riding on a whale with hundreds of speakers attached to it is quite the spectacle. Additionally, there are tons of details showcasing how big the virtual world is, with the billions of personas occupying it. It’s truly a different world than the real one.

That said, there is one visually unique sequence that occurs in the real world. The film uses a video game reference on a troublesome matter with Suzu and her female classmates. In this scene, Suzu is overwhelmed by the hectic feedback from female classmates at her school due to their seeing her unintentionally holding hands with a popular male student. To express the situation, the film uses a tactical video game that plays similar to the board game of Risk. In this game, Suzu goes to each army, representing fuming classmates, explaining that there’s nothing happening. She eventually causes everyone to calm down, creating a “truce” between armies. It’s an off-the-wall and clever way to express the situation, and while not an important piece of the film’s story, it’s an amusing scene that those who understand Japanese culture will get.

The music in Belle is just as impressive. It’s catchy and catches the emotions the characters are expressing. It’s mostly soft and relaxing, but it has some upbeat tracks in-between, too. When seeing Belle riding a whale in the digital world like a true diva, you can’t help wanting to crank up the volume.

With the protagonist heavily influenced by music, having the right score goes a long way, and that notion is in harmony with the ideas presented in Belle. While most of Suzu’s songs are used in the world of U, her singing becomes a tool to help not only those in need of help, but it also pulls her out of her shell in the real world. Of course, she gets some help from friends to break that shell, but the culmination of her efforts is simply beautiful.

The Last Song

Belle is a strong, imaginative animated film that successfully explores the real and fantasy worlds, even if it doesn’t explain every little thing. It’s worth taking multiple trips to help save the beast.

An early screening access was provided for this review.