Belle
Studio Chizu's reworking of Beauty and the Beast makes for a timely fairy tale.
The name of Studio Ghibli has had a special prominence in the acclaim that has been won by Japanese animators but even so it is only part of a wider picture. Indeed, fifteen years before Studio Ghibli was founded in 1985 London's National Film Theatre put on a short season of animated work from Japan. However, it's more important to stress that the high reputation gained by Japan in this sphere in more recent times headlined though it has been by Studio Ghibli has also involved the emergence of other major talents. In 2016 Makoto Shinkai’s Your Name from CoMix Wave Films confirmed that we had a major new Japanese animator while a few years earlier, in 2011, Mamoru Hosoda had founded Studio Chizu which produced his Oscar-nominated feature Mirai in 2018 and now gives us his latest work, Belle.
I missed Mirai but was suitably bowled over by Belle which, using widescreen, gives us animation at its most spectacular. Hosoda is also the writer here and he has created a work which brilliantly blends traditional elements with concerns that could not be more contemporary. The full length version of the title is Belle: The Dragon and the Freckled Princess, an indication in itself that this tale draws on the familiar tale of Beauty and the Beast. But here Beauty, although certainly not ugly, is an ordinary freckled schoolgirl named Suzu and aged seventeen. She is well aware that other girls such as Ruka, who is studying at the same high school, are more popular and more glamorous than she is. Furthermore, Suzu has to cope with her own insecurities which have grown out of her deep sense of loss and betrayal (her mother had drowned trying to rescue a child in danger and young Suzu had been unable to escape the notion that this tragedy meant that her mother had valued the life of this young stranger over that of her daughter).
A protective youth, Shinobu, takes an interest in Suzu and she has a best friend in Hiro, but her feeling of not being worthy becomes a major factor in encouraging her to partake in an internet game which is all the rage. Those who join up for it enter the world of ‘U’, that being a massive virtual world in which each member can become an avatar. On taking this step, Suzu, who lacks the confidence to sing, becomes Belle, a glamorous figure with a great voice who becomes the nemesis of Peggy Sue the favoured performer who until then had been an idol in ‘U’. It is also in this world that Suzu encounters a threatening and violent figure known as The Dragon who is treated by others – notably by the flying superheroes of ‘U’ who call themselves the Justices and are led by Justin – as an evil figure who should be destroyed. However, Suzu in her online persona as Belle is drawn to him sensing that he is in pain and takes his side.
All of this feeds on the legend of Beauty and the Beast while also evoking distinct thoughts of The Wizard of Oz – ‘U’ like Oz is a dream world which promises much (the publicity claims that in contrast to people in the real world those in ‘U’ can always start over and that it provides the chance to have a new life, to be another you). Yet the real fascination of Belle lies in the way that it combines with this exciting vision of a fantasy world so many issues to be found now in our own technological age which finds so many youngsters being drawn into the internet universe. If Belle echoes that appeal, it also reveals the dangers involved and, by showing how Justin and his Justices cannot be trusted, it echoes the deceit that can be practised in the world of the internet.
A minor subplot involving a student who is a solo canoeist hesitant in his relationships with others is, perhaps, an unnecessary extra and the film, lasting just over two hours, might well have gained from a little trimming. But these are minor points. The animation is of a very high quality and the visual impact is considerable, but above all what creates such a strong impact is the fusion of the fantastical and imaginative with recognisably serious issues of the day, the latter meaningful to children and adults alike. Suzu, like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, may realise that in truth home is the better place to be but it's a theme treated here in strictly 21st-century terms.
Original title: Ryû to sobakasu no hime.
This review is based on viewing the film with subtitles, but a dubbed version is also available.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Japanese voices Kaho Nakamura, Ryô Narita, Lilas Ikuta, Takeru Satoh, Shôta Sometani, Tina Yamashiro, Ryôko Moriyama, Michiko Shimizu, Fuyumi Sakamoto, Yoshimi Iwasaki, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Ermhoi.
English voices Kylie McNeill, Manny Jacinto, Hunter Schafer, Paul Castro Jr, Chace Crawford, Jessica Gee George, Barbara Goodson, Wendee Lee, Ellyn Stern, Cristine Vee Valenzeuala.
Dir Mamoru Hosoda, Pro Yûichiró Saitô, Genki Kawamura and Nozomu Takahashi, Screenplay Mamoru Hosoda, Ph Ryô Horibe, Manabu Kadouno and Yohei Shimozawa, Pro Des Anri Jôjô and Eric Wong, Ed Shigeru Nishiyama, Music Yûta Bandoh, Ludvig Forssell and Taisei Iwasaki, Animation Dir Hiroyuki Aoyama.
Studio Chizu/BookWalker/Dentsu/Kadokawa/Toho Company-National Amusements.
121 mins. Japan. 2021. US Rel: 14 January 2022. UK Rel: 4 February 2022. Cert. PG.
