Belle [Blu-ray/DVD]

Overview

Suzu (Kaho Nakamura) is a high school student from a rural town whose peers describe her as shy and timid. Unbeknownst to anyone, however, she has an alter ego. In the virtual world of U, she is Belle, a confident singer beloved by audiences worldwide. When a monstrous entity ruins one of her concerts, she decides to embark on an incredible quest to unmask the identity of the fearsome beast, all the while understanding her emotions and discovering her true self. Mamoru Hosoda writes and directs this animated adventure drama.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/17/2022
UPC:	0826663223019
Original Release:	2022
Rating:	PG
Source:	Shout Factory
Language:	English
Sales rank:	11,422

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Kaho Nakamura	Belle
Ryô Narita	Shinobu Hisatake
Shôta Sometani	Shinjiro Chikami
Tina Tamashiro	Ruka Watanabe
IKURA	Hiroka Betsuyaku
Ryôko Moriyama	Yoshitani
Michiko Shimizu	Kita
Fuyumi Sakamoto	Okumoto
Yoshimi Iwasaki	Nakai,Composer
Takeru Satoh	Voices
Toshiyuki Morikawa	Justian
Mamoru Miyano	Muitaro Hitokawa
Sumi Shimamoto	Suzu's Mother
Kôji Yakusho	Suzu's Father
Ken Ishiguro	Kei's Father
Mami Koyama	Swan
Kenjirô Tsuda	Jelinek
Rira Ikuta	Hiroka "Hiro-chan" Betsuyaku
Sachiyo Nakao	Hatanaka
Ermhoi	Peggy Sue
Hana	Tomo/Angel
Taichi Masu	Announcer of Belle's Concert
Asami Miura	U Announcer
Mitsuru Miyamoto	Fox
Yûta Bandoh	Composer
Ludvig Forssell	Composer

Technical Credits

Mamoru Hosoda

Genki Kawamura	Producer
Yûichirô Saitô	Producer
Nozomu Takahashi	Producer
Yûta Bandoh	Musical Arrangement
Ludvig Forssell	Musical Arrangement
Taisei Iwasaki	Musical Arrangement
Mamoru Hosoda	Screenwriter,Director
Yuichiro Saito	Producer

Editorial Reviews

Mamoru Hosoda brings the viewer into the virtual world of U in the unique animated film, Belle. Belle brings to life a blend of classic, hand drawn animation, computer animation, music, lore from the classic "Beauty and the Beast," and incredible storytelling to weave a tale that could be timeless like the inspiring material. Belle follows the story of Suzu, voiced by Kaho Nakamura, a shy high school girl that lost her mother at a young age. Suzu has essentially lost her ability to express herself in any form. She is sad all the time because she misses her mother and feels like she isn't the same person following of her mother's death. It's still affecting her all these years later. However, her friend introduces her to the world of "U," a social media experience that has a similar feel to the proposed Metaverse. In the world of U, users create an avatar and live out the life of their dreams. When Suzu gets into U, she creates one of the most beautiful avatars and becomes a famous singer named Belle. She is unable to sing in the real world because she connects music so closely to her mother, but every time she tries in public, she panics. While performing a concert in U, Belle is interrupted by a beastly avatar that is pretty much undefeated in combat. This avatar is aptly named Beast (Takeru Satoh) and he wreaks havoc throughout the world of U, primarily because he can. This is when the film gets extremely interesting because it begins interweaving stories between the real world and the world of U. Belle is gaining fame, which gives her spurts of more confidence in the real world. It also begins the relationship between Belle and Beast. This is an obvious homage to the French literary classic as well as it's popularization by Disney. The movie's animation tells a story by itself. In the beginning, it's a beautifully hand drawn animation. It has more detailed drawings of specific features to reflect the point of view of Suzu. Once Suzu becomes Belle and enters into the world of U, the animation gets digitized. This is an important way to differentiate the two realms and to demonstrate that people more likely act how they feel in the alternate reality. Then there is the musicality of the movie. It's gorgeous. The music tells its own version of the story. There is the tale of Suzu being taught music from her parents at an early age, losing her voice after losing her mother, then gaining her voice back by entering the world of U. The lyrics tell the tale, but the music is composed tremendously as well. The overall story is heart wrenching. There's not much to complain about watching this movie, but there can be an argument made that it is a bit too complex of an overall story. There is one main character that strings the tale together, but it gets a bit convoluted for a while and has to build a lot of character arcs and attachments in a relatively short amount of time. It makes the viewer wonder what got left on the cutting room floor and if it would have helped create more emotional connection for the viewer. Belle turns out to be an incredible movie and is worthy of any and all buzz that it receives.