The insanely brilliant Mamoru Hosada is back with Belle, another anime film that will look to continue the director's streak of critically acclaimed films following the likes of Summer Wars, Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast and Mirai.
Belle was officially announced back in December 2020 (though likely in development for many months prior) and has steadily filled out the voice cast with the most recent addition being Japanese singer-songwriter Kaho Nakamura, who will voice the lead, Suzu/Belle.
The first footage released for the film instantly drew comparisons to Disney's Beauty and the Beast animated film. Coming off Mirai's Best Animated Feature nomination at the 91st Academy Awards, expectations are very high for Belle.
Belle is currently set for release in Japan on July 16 with the promise of international release dates to be announced soon. You can visit the website for Hosoda's Studio Chizu for more details about the film.
BELLE by Mamoru Hosoda - Exclusive new trailer from Charades on Vimeo.
Our protagonist, Suzu, is a 17-year old high school girl, who lives in the countryside of Kochi Prefecture with her father, after losing her mother at a young age. She loves singing with her mother more than anything else, but as a result of her mother's death was no longer able to sing.
It wasn't long before she and her father grew more and more distant from each other, and Suzu closed her heart to the rest of the world.
When Suzu felt that writing music was her only purpose left in life, she then discovers the massive online space known as “U,” where she takes on her persona, Belle.
Another me. Another reality. We are no longer limited to a single world.
Suzu quickly realizes that when she is inside “U” as her avatar, Belle, she can sing quite naturally. As she continues to showcase her own music in the virtual world, she fast becomes the rising star of “U.”
Nonetheless, that surprise is short-lived. Suddenly, a mysterious dragon-shaped creature appears before her...