Belle: Spoiler Free Review
From the moment I first saw the trailer for Studio Chizu’s Belle, I knew I wanted to see it. The music grabbed me instantly. An updated version of Beauty and the Beast set to our social media age was an intriguing idea. Each new trailer hyped me up more. I felt like the characters of U, the digital world of the movie, clambering to hear every new song from Belle. The reviews from the Cannes Film Festival rolled out, the movie premiered in the US, and soon it’s coming to digital release in May. After so much time, I finally was able to see the film.
Boy, it was worth the wait because Belle is amazing! I’m not surprised though. After Wolf Children, Summer Wars, and Mirai, director Mamoru Hosoda has established himself as a world-renowned creator for a reason.
Belle is about Suzu Naito, a shy high school student who loves writing music and singing. But after the traumatic death of her mother, the pain and anxiety of the event makes her hide away from those around her. That is until she discovers the digital world of U, a place where she can make an avatar of herself and start over. Suzu creates the character Belle and realizes she can sing again. Becoming an overnight sensation, she attracts the attention of the monstrous Dragon. Together, they go on an emotional journey to discover who each other are.
Belle is a gorgeous story about grief, anxiety, and hiding secrets against the backdrop of a digital age. There are so many layers to this film, some far more obvious than others, which leads to wanting to watch it over and over again.
Suzu’s journey trying to understand her mother’s choices is at the forefront. She feels abandoned, because her mother gave her life to save another child. Suzu’s search is wrapped up in the mystery of finding the Dragon’s identity. Belle tells this story in a powerful way that’s not as straightforward as you might think it is. While promoted as a romance, this movie is about many different types of love and how it breaks down grief. We all have dealt with loss which makes Suzu a very relatable protagonist. Part of Suzu’s journey is learning to accept people back into her life as everyone comes out to rally for her. Because she can’t help the Dragon without accepting help for herself first.
And honestly, the entire supporting cast is a delight. Suzu’s best friend Hiro kept me laughing along with the canoe-loving Shinjiro. The choir ladies Suzu spends time with are such a memorable group who are pivotal in the finale. Everyone plays a great role in Suzu’s life rooting for her just as much as I was.
The story set against a social media world makes the movie feel so fresh. While the Disney inspiration gives the film a classic tone at times, such as Belle’s character design coming from the mind of Disney veteran Jin Kim, the social media angle truly breathes life into Belle. Suzu has the secret of being the internet famous Belle. But she finds out everyone in the world has something to hide. We all want to portray ourselves differently online than we do in real life to hide our true selves. The commentary felt very real from the backhanded snide comment to the drama among YouTube like celebrities. With the avatars of the movie coming from the hearts and biometrics of the real person, the U characters portrayed their true selves which made for wonderful visual storytelling.
The movie balances the pain and wonder of the internet. It can be a tool to connect people. It can spread action and charities. It can give unknown people a chance to succeed. It can also help mask the worst in people, as we see in the self-righteous character Justin who claims to be the head of justice in U. He really does embody that internet troll with too much power who needs to be kicked to the curb.
The music is beautiful. I watched the Japanese version with subtitles, but I’m already obsessed with what I’ve seen of the English dubbing too. Both the Japanese and English soundtracks live rent free on my playlists. Suzu’s two voice actresses Kaho Nakamura and Kylie McNeill, both relatively unknown actors before this, are stunning and powerful in their role. It’s quite amazing how much Kylie sounds like Kaho! I had to look it up to make sure they weren’t the same person and that Kaho hadn’t dubbed the movie herself. The songs are beautiful and central to the movie. While not a full musical, every piece is a spectacle that makes the viewer feel part of U and sharing in the experience of the world of Belle.
I also enjoy how open-ended a lot of the movie is as well. Not every relationship is wrapped up neatly. We don’t find out who every character’s avatar is. Even throughout the film, my guess about who the Dragon was kept shifting until the heart-wrenching finale. Belle is not afraid to get emotionally messy in the best way possible. The last third mixes triumph with very uncomfortable storytelling that it projects throughout the film. But I was very surprised to see how everything played out. It left me in tears and wanting more.
Belle can be a hard movie to watch at times. I appreciate a movie that doesn’t pull its punches, though I will recognize that it might not be for everyone. Even some of the online bullying and harassment in the film felt relatable. Still, it’s the point of the film. It’s a commentary on how connected our world is and how fast fads can come and go. The important thing is not the internet fame but instead our very real world connections like the ones that Suzu discovers for herself.
If I had any gripes, I do wish we got to explore the world of U more. Some parts of it appeared like every generic online world we’ve seen before which did stick out among the more genuinely stunning shots. But for such a supposedly big universe, it felt very small at times. Very few locations are explored. The best parts of the world are gorgeous to look at. But the areas that felt like the same did drag it down visually for me.
That is not a knock on the animation though. The way Belle mixes traditional hand-drawn animation for the real world with the computer animated world of U is breathtaking. It really strikes a tone for the two worlds that Suzu finds herself in.
Belle is another masterpiece from Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu. It feels like this company can do no wrong, and Belle is no exception. It soars in all the right ways while hitting painful notes. The commentary of our world’s use of social media truly brought Beauty and the Beast to the modern age. I cannot recommend this movie enough.
Belle will be released on digital May 3rd, 2022 and on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Steelbook on May 17th.