Suzu is a 17-year-old high-school student living in a rural town with her father. Wounded by the loss of her mother at a young age, Suzu one day discovers the massive online world "U" and dives into this alternate reality as her avatar, Belle. Before long, all of U's eyes are fixed on Belle, when, suddenly, a mysterious, dragon-like figure appears before her.
- Released: 2021-07-16
- Runtime: 122 minutes
- Genre: Animation, Drama
- Stars: Kaho Nakamura, Takeru Satoh, Tina Tamashiro, Shota Sometani, Lilas Ikuta, Ryo Narita, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Kenjiro Tsuda, Mami Koyama, Mamoru Miyano, Sachiyo Nakao, Fuyumi Sakamoto, Ryoko Moriyama, Yoshimi Iwasaki, Michiko Shimizu, KΕji Yakusho, ermhoi, Ken Ishiguro, Sumi Shimamoto, HANA, Mitsuru Miyamoto, Asami Miura, Taichi Masu
- Director: Mamoru Hosoda
Comments
- 50fiftillidideeBrain - 16 May 2024
Let True Beauty Sing π Let Kindness Ring! Β°8.5Β° Β°OutstandingΒ°
Belle is another Director Mamoru Hosoda dazzler (Samurai Champloo, Mirai-7, Wolf Children are also his). Arrestingly beautiful, the opening is a complete 420 worthy moment. Finding Beauty In 'Belle', (Mike Poulos January 27, 2022) puts it this way: "Employing all of the power of massive CGI technology mixed with the more nuanced soft lines you'd see in hand-drawn styles, "Belle" is a feast for the eyes on many levels." Agreed.
The art is ultra intricate. The music is sensational. Kylie McNeill, a complete unknown, was chosen for lead English-voice actress and singer. Our heroine is plucked from obscurity to the limelight; Ms McNeil could practically be playing herself. Not for a second do I think that the show creators missed the fact that they were making life imitate art & I love it. I also intend to look up that Spotify playlist. Enough said.
So what's this one about? The heartless mob, both in school and online. Also, it's about pain, misery, & regret - The few folks in the world that wouldn't want to undo a thing or two are likely self-deluded. Belle is also about healing, thankfully. Belle takes place in UπWorld. Users' biometrics and neurotransmitters are used to make their avatars. Uπ is able to pull out a person's latent strengths and abilities and project them into its π. Sensory functions are co-opted so that the person is immersed inside of Uπ in 3D. It's the furthest thing from just looking at a screen.
Belle is Suzu's Uπ's avatar. Suzu is a plain girl, partly because she hides in the shadows. When she was young, her mother died saving another girl, and Suzu witnessed it. She grew up wondering why the other girl, a stranger, was more important than she. The fallout turned her into a frightened, reclusive mouse. Her friend, Hiro, is funny. It's not just the words, it's the voice acting by Jessica DiCicco with her lowkey timing. Hiro's the ultimate friend-&-resource, the kind that makes you a tad jealous of Suzu. So smart, she's even a fangirl for her physics teacher. Most of the quotables come from her character. Hiroka "Hiro-chan" Betsuyaku, computer geek, Suzu's BFF, and Belle's manager-&-art director, encapsulates the plot with this quote: "Nobody in their right mind would ever guess that Belle's user is actually a mousy nobody from some remote town, like you. This is more fun than any video game: Turning a freckled girl into an overnight U-Superstar-sensation." Yes, Suzu is a mousy nobody, IRL - By choice. But in Uπ... ...Ruku, for instance, is the popular girl at school. Near perfect in appearance, every girl wants to be her. They ca-flaw, ca-flaaaww-ca-flock around her. Suzu, no, BELLE* is Uπ's 'Ruku'. The word Suzu means "Bell". That's how Suzu came up with her avatar's name - she can let it ring! In Uπ, a person's avatar is a reflection of their inner being. Belle is beautiful. Her singing voice is even more beautiful. Looks aside, it's her voice, and her 100%-real talent, that rings in Uπ.
The writer has been close to pain. It's obvious. No one's reaching out in true empathy. It's all dismissive, judgmental and heartless comments - No one seems to really care. The fact that others around Suzu can be condescending and dismissive allows them to comfortably move on with their own lives and leave an isolated Suzu in the shadows. Her mom is the contrast. Her mom saw the little girl as every little girl, and her mom believed that every little girl is Suzu. Suzu's mom taught Suzu kindness, a scarcity in our current hyper-individualistic (aka narcissistic) society.
Belle teaches that we can't truly help others if we're wearing a mask. We have to have to expose our true selves to make a true connection with another. The church ladies discuss what happiness is. None of them can define it. They were unwittingly trapped in the snare of acting righteous for eachother. It happened gradually, and they didn't realize how they'd become less themselves over the years. Emulating eachother eventually turned into phoniness, and that's why they don't know what happiness is. Later that day, however, they all sit down together and relax. Soon, they start to seem quite real, and it's sweet. We find out that these ladies truly love Suzu. They just don't behave correctly all of the time. Here's a little secret: None of us do.
Enter the dragon, or the beast. He disrupts Belle's first Uπ concert, as he's a known disrupter-&-aggressor inside of Uπ. While the concert is in disarray, Suzu watches him. She looks at his bruises. His back is covered in scars. She senses the pain coming from him, and she's drawn to him. This will set up the Beauty and the Beast motif of the film. It's how Bell becomes Belle.
The mob attacks the beast, but he gets away. The mob then moves their attacks to the comments section, exulting in their rage. One group doesn't agree: Many tweens and younger kids identify with the beast. 'Go pick on the guy with the bruises.' The kids understand what's going on.
Suzu and her group work on finding the beast. One thing leads to another and what they find is two brothers that need help. While Suzu is noble and brave, she goes off alone to rescue these brothers, facing their abuser by herself. Not a good idea. Kids who watch this film need to know that's not a safe option; they shouldn't act alone under such circumstances. Suzu is inspiring, though, and Belle is a wonderful movie that all people, 11 and above, can enjoy.
QUOTESπ’
I would ignore her, but then again, I'm not that nice.
This is clearly triggering some unresolved issues.
It takes real conflict to know who your true friends are.
γ°π IMHO
π¬87 π85 π 78 π71 π75 π¨92β‘60 π΅85 π 60 π€55 π75
Age 11+ It's a high school setting. There's a dragon with his back covered in bruises and scars. There's also a self-proclaimed Justice League there, and they're quite brutal to him. An abusive home situation is depicted. While they don't show much, the kids are clearly terrified. This is not appropriate at all for children under nine, and it's borderline for children 9 or 10. But this is a perfect tween & up drama.
Rated PG
ReπΊ β
π - skyleesue - 27 June 2023
great ideas, confusing execution
While there are a lot of things to like about this movie, I found it too convoluted to be engrossed in.
First of all, was it just me or were the visual transitions extremely jarring? The pacing felt very off, feeling too slow and too fast at the same time. The pacing was so awkward that it was almost hard to watch. The plot also seemed confusing and messy but I did like the twist they chose to take on the Beauty and The Beast story.
Another thing I couldn't get into was the main character, Suzu/Belle. Now in this world where your mind matches your looks, I just find it really hard to believe that Suzu is the most beautiful woman. Towards the end I see it more, but all we know about her is that she is anxious and bullied. She seems like a better than average person, but she is flawed, and I don't believe she's the most beautiful woman in the entire internet world.
And I just don't get the virtual world. There's too many questions. First of all, who would choose to join this virtual world? Not only does it seem vast and empty, but also way more people would be ugly. And why does it show so many pretty characters like laughing at her and making fun of her in the end? It seems kind of mean to laugh at her for the reasons they are. It doesn't seem consistent
But the visuals were phenomenal. The animation blew me away. It was worth the watch just for the animation.
