Belle review

BELLE:

MAMORU HOSODA’S UPDATE ON CLASSIC FAIRY TALE IS AS THOUGHT-PROVOKING AS IT IS GORGEOUS TO LOOK AT! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: *** ½ out of 4

GKIDS

A young girl will become one of the biggest online sensations of all time in Belle

 

            Mamoru Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, Mirai) gives the timeless Beauty and the Beast story a modern update in Belle, the new anime film from Studio Chizu. The film can be best described as Beauty and the Beast meets Ready Player One as it revolves around the friendship/possible romance between a young girl and a mysterious beast (In this film’s case, an anthropomorphic dragon) and the film takes place in both the real world and a digital, computer world where anything is possible. 

            While I don’t talk about Mamoru Hosoda nearly as often as I do Hayao Miyazaki or Studio Ghibli, I’ve really enjoyed several of his films from The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and Summer Wars to Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast, and his most recent film, Mirai all of which had gorgeous animation, likable characters, and clever and even poignant stories. Belle is no exception as the entire movie is a feast for the eyes and imagination and a bold coming-of-age story. 

            The film follows Suzu (voiced by Kylie McNeill), a shy and socially awkward, everyday high school girl living in a rural village. For years, Suzu has been a shadow of her former self due to the sudden passing of her mother…that is until she enters the virtual world of U, a place where anything is possible and you can be anyone, and she becomes the beautiful and globally famous singer, Belle.  

            However, when a mysterious creature appears during one of her concerts, Suzu with the help of her best friend, Hiroka (voiced by Jessica DiCicco-The Buzz on Maggie, Loonatics Unleashed, Adventure Time) and childhood friend/crush, Shinobu (voiced by Manny Jacinto-The Good Place, Bad Times at the El Royale, Top Gun: Maverick) embarks on an emotional journey to discover the true identity of the Dragon (voiced by Paul Castro Jr.) and discover her true self along the way. 

            The film also features the voices of Brandon Engman as Suzu’s sportsman classmate, Kamishin, Ben Lepley as Suzu’s father, Hunter Schafer (Euphoria) as popular girl, Ruka, Chace Crawford (Gossip Girl, What to Expect When You’re Expecting, The Boys) as Justin, Ellyn Stern (Gemma Wars, Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence, Bleach) as Okumoto, Andrew Kishino (Superman VS the Elite, Batman: The Killing Joke, Batman VS Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) as Jelinek, Barbara Goodson (Power Rangers franchise, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Robotech) as Yoshitani, Wendee Lee (Dragonball, Cowboy Bebop, Naruto) as Nakai, and Julie Nathanson (Searching, Suicide Squad: Hell to Pay, Batman: The Long Halloween) as Suzu’s mother. 

            Overall, Belle is as lovely to listen to as it is to watch with breathtaking animation that’s some of Mamoru Hosoda’s best, compelling characters, a stellar soundtrack, a thought-provoking and heartfelt story, and very effective drama. Despite the film’s PG rating, I wouldn’t really call this a movie for kids as it goes into some very mature subject matter like the loss of a loved one, isolation, and even child abuse and not the Disneyfied kind from things like James and the Giant Peach, Annie, or Harry Potter, it is genuinely uncomfortable and tragic, not nearly on the same level as Precious, but still quite intense especially compared to most American PG-rated animated films that play it too safe, it’s refreshing to see one that takes risks and earns that P in front of the G. 

            The animation is spectacular especially in the digital world, which is made out to look like this magical, otherworldly place with no limits in contrast to the all-too familiar realm of reality. Even the real world is pretty to look from the art design, lighting and shadows, to even bodies of water, to the point where it feels like you could reach into that world, touch the water, etc. 

Unlike something like Ready Player One where whenever it cuts back to the real world, you’re never sitting there just waiting for all the virtual world stuff to come back, because the characters are mostly bland and forgettable. The virtual world never overshadows the characters and their real-life conflicts, the scenes involving Suzu’s personal life is interesting and relatable, which is what makes her such a likable character. You want to see her succeed in finding the dragon’s identity, you want to see her be more involved and accepted among her peers, and as the movie progresses, she grows as a person, if anything Belle is just a video game skin. 

Even the side characters make an impression, Suzu’s genius best friend, Hiroka gets a lot of funny dialogue and Jessica DiCicco’s voice fits the character perfectly, Kamishin, a friend of Suzu and Hiroka who is obsessed with kayaking for some reason and has a high-pitched, almost Tom Holland-sounding voice has a few laughs, Shinobu is probably the most generic as the typical nice guy character, but he has some charming moments, and when you discover who the person playing the Dragon is and the backstory, it’s actually quite heartbreaking and you want to see the person overcome it. 

Honestly, this movie could work even without the Beauty and the Beast tie-in, which I think is the weakest aspect of the film. Not to say it’s bad or anything, there are some incredible scenes when it retells the story and the design of the Beast is really neat (Honestly, it kind of puts the Disney Beast to shame…which I can’t believe I’m saying!), but it just isn’t all that interesting and you don’t see much of an emotional connection between Belle and the Beast compared to other iterations of the story. 

Belle isn’t a perfect film, but the experience of watching it on the big screen and getting wrapped up in the drama, invested in the characters, and marveling at its dazzling animation makes it a treat for any animation fan. It may not have the same emotional depth compared to other Mamoru Hosoda titles, but this “Tale as old as time” is something truly special that’s worth checking out.