Belle Movie Storyline. Suzu is a shy, everyday high school student living in a rural village. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. But when she enters “U”, a massive virtual world, she escapes into her online persona as Belle, a gorgeous and globally-beloved singer. One day, her concert is interrupted by a monstrous creature chased by vigilantes. As their hunt escalates, Suzu embarks on an emotional and epic quest to uncover the identity of this mysterious “beast” and to discover her true self in a world where you can be anyone.
Belle, Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime, literally “The Dragon and the Freckled Princess”) is a 2021 Japanese animated science fantasy film written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda and produced by Studio Chizu. It is based on and inspired by the 1756 French fairy tale Beauty and the Beast by Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont.
The film received its world premiere on July 15, 2021, at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, where it was well-received by critics with a standing ovation that lasted fourteen minutes. It was released theatrically in Japan on July 16, 2021. GKIDS has licensed the film in North America, with a nationwide release date of January 14, 2022, and previews in select IMAX theaters on January 12, while Anime Limited will release the film in the United Kingdom on February 4, 2022. Belle is the third-highest-grossing Japanese film of 2021, accounting for ¥6.53 billion in box-office rakings as of December 12, 2021.
About the Storyline
Suzu Naito is a seventeen-year-old high school student who lives in the rural Kōchi Prefecture of Japan. When she was young, she was close with her mother, who supported her love for singing and writing songs. However, one day, Suzu witnessed her mother rescuing a child from a flooding river at the cost of her own life.
The traumatic experience caused Suzu to resent her mother for “abandoning” her for a stranger’s child and became unable to sing. The event has also led to her growing distant from her father, despite his attempts to reach out. She is alienated from most of her classmates, with the exception of her childhood friend Shinobu Hisatake (whom she has a crush on); popular girl Ruka Watanabe; her sportsman classmate Shinjiro Chikami (nicknamed Kamishin); and her genius best friend Hiroka Betsuyaku.
Under Hiro’s suggestion, Suzu signs into the popular virtual world known as “U”, and creates a beautiful avatar with freckles she names “Bell”, the English translation of her own name’s meaning. Upon logging into U, Suzu finds herself capable of singing like she used to. Bell’s appearance is at first criticized due to her freckles, but after making several appearances while singing and the assistance of Hiro who appointed herself as Bell’s manager and producer, Bell soon becomes a big hit. Following her popularity, people start to refer her as “Belle”, which means “beautiful” in French.
During one of Belle’s concerts, a dragon avatar, simply called “The Dragon” (or “The Beast”), makes his appearance and ruins the concert. This prompts a vigilante group led by the self-righteous Justin to attack the Dragon, accusing him of ruining the peace of U. Suzu feels intrigued by the Dragon and begins to gather information about him. She discovers that he is popular amongst children, who consider him to be their hero. Suzu enters U as Belle to search for the Dragon while evading Justin.
After a run in with five AI’s who promise to help but purposely kept getting her lost, she is led into the Dragon’s castle by an angel avatar and finally meets the Dragon. Despite their rocky start, Belle grows closer with the Dragon. Meanwhile, in the real world, Ruka confides to Suzu that she has someone she likes. Since both Ruka and Shinobu are the most popular students at school, Suzu mistakenly believes that Shinobu is the one Ruka likes, until Ruka later clarifies that the one she likes is Kamishin. With Suzu’s help, Ruka and Kamishin are able to admit their feelings for each other.
Belle (2022)
Directed by: Mamoru Hosoda
Starring: Kaho Nakamura, Ryō Narita, Shōta Sometani, Tina Tamashiro, Lilas Ikuta, Kōji Yakusho, Takeru Satoh, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Mamoru Miyano, Sumi Shimamoto
Screenplay by: Mamoru Hosoda
Production Design by: Anri Jôjô, Eric Wong
Film Editing by: Shigeru Nishiyama
Art Department: Eric Wong
Music by: Taisei Iwasaki, Ludvig Forssell, Yuta Bandoh, Miho Sakai
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic content, violence, language and brief suggestive material.
Distributed by: Toho
Release Date: July 15, 2021 (Cannes), July 16, 2021 (Japan), December 29, 2021 (France), February 3, 2022 (United States), January 20, 2022 (Australia)
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