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Belle (2021 film)
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Wikipedia article
is a 2021 Japanese animated science fantasy film written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda and produced by Studio Chizu. The story is inspired by the 1756 French fairy tale 'Beauty and the Beast' by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont, with Hosoda taking cues from the 1991 Disney animated movie.
The film received its world premiere on July 15, 2021, at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where it was well-received by critics with a standing ovation that lasted fourteen minutes. The film was additionally dubbed into foreign languages (English and German). It was released theatrically in Japan on July 16, 2021. GKIDS has licensed the film in North America, with a nationwide release date of January 14, 2022, and previews in select IMAX theaters on January 12, while Anime Limited released the film in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2022.
'Belle' is the third-highest-grossing Japanese film of 2021, accounting for in box-office rakings as of December 12, 2021.
Plot
Suzu Naito is a seventeen-year-old high school student who lives in the rural Kchi Prefecture of Japan with a lost passion for singing and writing songs. As a child, she witnessed her mother rescuing a child from a flooding river at the cost of her own life, causing her to resent her mother for "abandoning" her for a stranger's child. The event led to her growing distant from her father. She remains in contact with a group of older choir teachers who were her mother's friends. She is alienated from most of her classmates, with the exception of her childhood friend and self-appointed protector Shinobu Hisatake, on whom she has a crush; popular girl Ruka Watanabe; sportsman classmate Shinjiro Chikami, nicknamed Kamishin; and her genius best friend Hiroka "Hiro" Betsuyaku.
On Hiro's suggestion, Suzu signs into the popular virtual metaverse known as "U" and creates a beautiful avatar with freckles she names "Bell", the English translation of her own name, Suzu. Upon logging into U, she finds herself capable of singing again. With the assistance of Hiro, who has appointed herself Bell's manager and producer, Bell becomes a big hit and people start to refer to her as "Belle", which means "beautiful", in French.
During one of Belle's concerts, an infamously strong and near-unbeatable user called "The Dragon" (or "The Beast") ruins the concert. This prompts a vigilante group named the Justices, led by the self-righteous Justin to begin hunting the Dragon, accusing him of disturbing the peace of U. Using a specialized program, Justin plans to unveil the Dragon's identity to the public. Suzu feels intrigued by the Dragon and begins to gather information about him. She discovers that he is popular amongst children, who consider him to be their hero, particularly a shy boy named Tomo who was in the news following his mother's death. Belle searches U for the Dragon and is led to the Dragon's hidden castle by a mysterious angel avatar. She meets the Dragon and his five guardian AIs. Belle and the Dragon grow close. In the real world, Ruka confides to Suzu that she likes Kamishin. With Suzu's help, the two confess their feelings.
In U, Justin captures and interrogates Belle and threatens to unveil her identity to the world if she refuses to cooperate. The Dragon's AIs rescue Belle but their intervention allows Justin and his group to locate the Dragon's castle and destroy it. The Dragon flees before Belle can help. Suzu and Hiro work to find out the Dragon's real identity before Justin can and warn him. They find a live video feed of Tomo singing a song only Belle and the Dragon know, and realize that Tomo is the angel avatar, and his older brother Kei is the Dragon. Kei and Tomo are being abused by their father. Kei's anger in protecting Tomo is what gives The Dragon his unbeatable strength in U. Suzu contacts Kei to help but Kei does not believe that she is Belle. Shinobu, Ruka, Kamishin, and the choir teachers reveal their knowledge of Belle's true identity and urge Suzu to sing to gain Kei's trust. Suzu unveils herself to the world in U and begins to sing. Seeing this, Kei decides to trust her and tries to contact her again. But Kei's father sees the video of his abuse posted online and cuts off the internet connection before Kei can tell Suzu their address.
Using context clues, Ruka and Kamishin deduce that Kei's hometown is Kawasaki, Kanagawa, near Tokyo. Since the authorities cannot intervene on abuse charges until 48 hours have passed, Suzu locates Kei and Tomo on her own and protects them from their father. The next day, Suzu returns home; she and her father warmly greet each other at the station. Shinobu praises Suzu for her bravery and decides she no longer needs his protection, feeling free to pursue the romantic relationship he has always wanted with her. Finally understanding her mother's selfless actions, Suzu comes to terms with her mother's death and is ready to sing with her friends.
Voice cast
Production
While Studio Chizu worked on the project, they had help from veteran Disney animator and character designer Jin Kim and Michael Camacho on the design of Belle and studio Cartoon Saloon for the background work of the world of U.[https://studiochizu.com/news/652 Studio Chizu Reveals New Trailer for BELLE and Announces International Roster|Studio Chizu][https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/mamoru-hosoda-teams-up-with-cartoon-saloon-and-disney-vet-jin-kim-for-new-film-belle-203731.html Mamoru Hosoda Teams Up With Cartoon Saloon And Disney Vet Jin Kim For New Film Belle|Cartoon Brew]
Hosoda initially intended for 'Belle' to be a musical, but considered the idea difficult due to Japan not having a culture of making musicals. However, he still wanted music to be central to the film, so he searched for a protagonist that could sing. He stated that he preferred the same person doing both speaking and singing voices to make it convincing, and searched for a singer who could express their feelings though song and move people, even if they don't understand Japanese. He then found Kaho Nakamura, whom he considered relatively unknown, but a perfect choice for the role. Hosoda stated that Nakamura was also involved in writing lyrics, so she could feel the lyrics she was singing.
Soundtrack
{{Infobox album
| name = Belle (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
| type = Soundtrack
| artist = Various artists
| cover =
| alt =
| released = July 30, 2021
| recorded = 20202021
| venue =
| studio = Victor Studio, Bunkamura Studio, Studio Tanta, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Abbey Road Studios, London, UK
| genre =
| length = 76:52
| language = Japanese, English, German, Latin
| label = Studio Chizu
Sony Music Entertainment
Milan Records (international)
| producer = Taisei Iwasaki
| chronology = Studio Chizu
| prev_title = Mirai: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
| prev_year = 2018
}}
Track listing
Reception
Box office
'Belle' is the third-highest-grossing Japanese film of 2021, accounting for in box-office rakings as of December 12, 2021.In the film's U.S. opening weekend it made $1.6 million from 1,326 theaters, and a total of $1.8 million over the four-day Martin Luther King Day holiday frame. The film dropped out of the box office top ten in its second weekend with $570,213. The film was released on May 17, 2022 on DVD & Blu-ray by GKids.
Critical response
American audiences polled by PostTrak gave the film an 86% positive score, with 63% saying they would definitely recommend it.At the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, the film received a 14-minute-standing ovation. Joe Morgenstern wrote for 'The Wall Street Journal' that "There's too much plot for the film to manage, but its heart, and sumptuous art, are so firmly in the right place that its appeal comes through sweet and clear." Manohla Dargis of 'The New York Times' praised the visual quality, character development, worldbuilding, and called the film "unfailingly touching." Justin Chang of the 'Los Angeles Times' praised the visuals and story, writing "Its a tale as old as time and as newfangled as TikTok, in which the virtual world, though packed with fantasy and artifice, can bring startling truths to the surface."
Accolades
The film has received five Annie Award nominations, including one for Best Independent Animated Feature. Its total makes it the most nominations for a Japanese anime film ever at the awards, surpassing previous films 'Spirited Away', 'Millennium Actress' (both 2001), and 'Weathering with You' (2019) with four.References
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