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Belle Movie Review

Belle is a 2021 science fantasy anime film directed by Mamoru Hosoda. It is a terrific movie and his return to form after a couple of lackluster efforts.

A high school student becomes a globally beloved singer after entering a fantastic virtual world. She soon embarks on an emotional and epic quest to uncover the identity of a mysterious beast that’s on the run from ruthless vigilantes. First and foremost, this story’s immense ambition definitely is a double-edged sword. It is impressively crafted and thematically sophisticated, but certain sections did not quite land as the others.

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Still, for the most part the story was beautifully told and the highlight was that emotionally-charged spectacle of a finale. It is impossible not to fall in love with that third act even if you’d not cared for the previous remainder of the flick. The world building is absolutely astonishing as is expected from a Hosoda picture. The online world of U is intricately detailed, complex and just stunning to behold. The aesthetic is wholly unique, especially of those giant stadiums, while the flight sequences definitely were inspired by the world of ‘Blade Runner’.

Through this virtual reality, the film makes a great point about our own lives that we live on social media. It was a surprisingly honest, layered and complex take on a different social media personality and why some pursue it. Yes, some use it to harm others, but many make these enhanced versions of themselves online to escape their harsh realities, which was touchingly explored through the beast character.

The movie dealing with domestic abuse was unexpected and it just goes to show how Japanese animation is more mature in comparison to their American counterparts. That final sequence with the father was heartbreaking, but an even more moving moment is the unveiling of Belle to the entire world. It was an inspiring message preaching self-acceptance and bravery. The best point that it makes about virtual reality and the online world is that beneath all of those artificial realities and avatars are real humans with real issues that present themselves even in these artificial realities.

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The character development is also terrific. Suzu is a lovely protagonist. This shy, awkward teenage girl living in a smaller town becomes a virtual reality sensation, but she learns to appreciate her real world self through time. The Dragon is an intriguing presence at first, but then we realize that behind it is a deeply troubled, abused boy. The relationship between the two is wonderfully depicted through these ‘Beauty and the Beast’ homages. I don’t know how they could heavily depict these famous Disney scenes in their movie, but they were still gorgeous and unique due to its Japanese spin on that tale.

Belle has so many other supporting players, but they mostly felt underdeveloped due to the excessive amount of ambitious storytelling and too many ideas. But I still loved the character designs in U as they were diverse and even cute. The animation is absolutely gorgeous and never garish, but pleasingly colorful and modern.

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The whole movie is refreshingly modern in its important depiction of avatars and online personalities and the clash between what is real and what is enhanced. But it is above all else an incredible audio-visual spectacle as the stunningly artistic, at times even ‘Fantasia’-inspired stylized visuals are beautifully accompanied by an impressive J-pop soundtrack that is frequently moving and just breathtaking to listen to. That whale sequence best illustrates just how epic this movie is.