Belle (2021)

[竜とそばかすの姫]

Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Starring: Kaho Nakamura, Ryo Narita, Shota Sometani

Synopsis:
A withdrawn girl finds new confidence and fulfillment as a virtual songstress and finds herself drawn to a violent fighter reviled as "the Beast".

Impressions:
This first caught my eye when I was checking upcoming releases. I think all I did was watch the teaser and thought, "Oh, neat. A take on Beauty and the Beast blending VR and real life." Mamoru Hosoda plays with elements we've seen in his other works like Summer Wars, but there's also a strong Disney influence, to the point where they got Jin Kim to do the character design for Bell and make an homage to the ballroom dance from the 1991 Beauty and the Beast. Studio Chizu has a solid track record and production values are high as you would expect. Traditional 2D animation is used for the real world and cel-shaded CG for the virtual one that manages to be distinct without being too incongruous.

Narratively and thematically, I like the juxtaposition of the real world and the virtual one. The idea that avatars are created based on the user's inner qualities is neat and exploring that alone could be enough for a whole movie, even an entire series. There's enough going on in both worlds that you could have the story in just one or the other. Hosoda seems to trust the audience to fill in the blanks, but you may be wanting a little more development. The character drama can be a bit maudlin at times, but this sort of thing plays really well to Japanese audiences, particularly for cinematic outings, so I just roll with it. To be fair, the big emotional payoffs really pack a punch, so I say it's all worth it.

While Suzu's actress Kaho Nakamura is an established singer, this is her first significant acting role and it shows, but the roughness of her performance is a good match for the character (and I'm sure it's no mean feat to have such a well-trained singing voice and portray the character's fumbling efforts in the real world, so credit where credit's due there). I'm don't have much of a head for music, but the songs sounded pretty good to my amateur ear and I imagine many others would agree.

All told, I enjoyed my experience quite a bit and found it well worth the price of admission. Once it becomes available, I fully recommend adding it to your collection.

Rating:
Own It