12 years after the success of Summer Wars, Mamoru Hosoda is finally back with another anime film set in a virtual world. There are many reasons to be hyped for this movie: Hosoda has an Oscar nomination for his last film Mirai, the fact that the film received a 14-minute standing ovation at the Cannnes Film Festival and of course, me being a fan of his films. And while Belle was not what I expected, I had a great time in theaters nonetheless.
The first thing I have to mention is the animation and visuals. I do not know how the director keeps doing it, but his films keep looking better and better through the years. Right from the first second the film has already captivated me with its visuals. "U" - the virtual in the film was beatifully constructed and was brimming with vibrant colors and dynamic lighting, every single "AS" (user's avatars) is so uniquely designed that it makes "U" feels like a living and breathing world. The CG of the film looks fantastic. A lot of times CG can be quite distracting or sometimes astrocious (looking at you, Berserk) in anime, but this is not the case for Belle. I also love the idea that the scenes in the real world are hand-drawn while the "U" scenes are full CG. The CG really helped the virtual world feels unique and stand out, which serves the point of the film : You cannot change reality in the real world, but you can start over in U" (sorry if I messed up the line).
The music of the film is also incredible. Not only do the songs sound great, but they also convey the right emotions and thoughts of the characters as we progress through the story. While the score did not have any standout or memorable tracks, it was fitting to the film.
As for the story and characters, I felt like this film tried to juggle too many different storylines and themes at once but never really nailed any aspects. While the stories of the film are great on their own, putting them all together may not have been the best idea. There are moments when the film felt like a coming-of-age story, a love story, a story of broken souls trying to heal themselves or even domestic violence. For me it felt like Belle did not know what kind of movie it wanted to be. As for the characters, while they are wholesome and each has a unique personality, none of them are really emotionally complex (maybe except the main character Suzu) or are ones we can truly empathize with. Most of Mamoru Hosoda's previous films usually tackled on major theme, like family in Wolf Children or a coming-of-age story like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. But this also shows that Hosoda is trying something new, and I always love it when a storyteller breaks from his/her usual motifs and experiment with new ideas and stories. And although it was not smoothly executed for Belle, I really hope he keeps taking on new challenges for his future films.
In general, while Belle could not quite reach the heights of Summer Wars or Wolf Children, it was still an incredible theater experience and like Mirai, once again shows that Mamoru Hosoda still has many ambitious stories he wants to tell, and I cannot wait to see what he does next.
The first thing I have to mention is the animation and visuals. I do not know how the director keeps doing it, but his films keep looking better and better through the years. Right from the first second the film has already captivated me with its visuals. "U" - the virtual in the film was beatifully constructed and was brimming with vibrant colors and dynamic lighting, every single "AS" (user's avatars) is so uniquely designed that it makes "U" feels like a living and breathing world. The CG of the film looks fantastic. A lot of times CG can be quite distracting or sometimes astrocious (looking at you, Berserk) in anime, but this is not the case for Belle. I also love the idea that the scenes in the real world are hand-drawn while the "U" scenes are full CG. The CG really helped the virtual world feels unique and stand out, which serves the point of the film : You cannot change reality in the real world, but you can start over in U" (sorry if I messed up the line).
The music of the film is also incredible. Not only do the songs sound great, but they also convey the right emotions and thoughts of the characters as we progress through the story. While the score did not have any standout or memorable tracks, it was fitting to the film.
As for the story and characters, I felt like this film tried to juggle too many different storylines and themes at once but never really nailed any aspects. While the stories of the film are great on their own, putting them all together may not have been the best idea. There are moments when the film felt like a coming-of-age story, a love story, a story of broken souls trying to heal themselves or even domestic violence. For me it felt like Belle did not know what kind of movie it wanted to be. As for the characters, while they are wholesome and each has a unique personality, none of them are really emotionally complex (maybe except the main character Suzu) or are ones we can truly empathize with. Most of Mamoru Hosoda's previous films usually tackled on major theme, like family in Wolf Children or a coming-of-age story like The Girl Who Leapt Through Time. But this also shows that Hosoda is trying something new, and I always love it when a storyteller breaks from his/her usual motifs and experiment with new ideas and stories. And although it was not smoothly executed for Belle, I really hope he keeps taking on new challenges for his future films.
In general, while Belle could not quite reach the heights of Summer Wars or Wolf Children, it was still an incredible theater experience and like Mirai, once again shows that Mamoru Hosoda still has many ambitious stories he wants to tell, and I cannot wait to see what he does next.