This movie is a mess. It's a pretty mess, but still a mess. Far too many plotlines are completely dropped for an unrealistic one, and it never really explores or explains the virtual world it presents. There are tons of ideas, but they are all hindered by poor execution. Character motives don't make a lot of sense, the world seems empty despite there being over five billion people registered into the app, the laws of the app are broken and the writers don't seem to understand how apps work, and it all just kind of falls apart once you think about it too much.
I'd go into specifics but it isn't worth it. Even as someone who usually doesn't notice plotholes, this one is legitimately full of them, and to go over them all would take tons of time and effort this movie doesn't deserve.
It's just mediocre thanks to some awesome visuals, some creative ideas, and a nice enough soundtrack.
A little too much cringe than necessary but overall the story was worth watching. Although I have to say that this movie was highly overrated. Plot was definitely good but nothing extraordinary.
SPOILERS
The beauty and the beast in scifi.
While Belle works as a great musical it often touches topics that it never explores. The writers clearly show that they thought about a virtual reality and that they actually understand the struggles of it.
At first the VR promises hope and to start over again. In Belle this happens with Suzu not being able to sing in the real world cause of the trauma of losing her mother. She viewed her mother as a role model and her mother taught her -it seems- everything about music.
When the mother died to save another child Belle took it to heart and it seemed to have broken something in her.
But in a VR world she doesn't have to face her fears so she is able to sing. And she sings beautifully. She is the definition of going viral.
Till this point the story is logical if not original. It is gorgeous to view at and the music is fantastic. But this is were the movie breaks.
It shows Belles rise to fame and what could happen to a person experiencing sudden fame. Suzu is more interested in haters than fans of her, she is more engaged in being critical than appreciating herself. These are modern problems that arise out of social media and the movie touches this in a great way and seems very understanding. But it drops this plot line completely. Suddenly we watch a fairy tale about a beauty and a beast. The story jumps around with no connection. We are at a concert. The Dragon invades said concert, ..., fights? Then we jump to a castle while in the real world Suzu is experiencing typical teenage problems. Back to the castle, the beast rejects Belle. I have to admit here my expectations were played but more about that later. We have AIs and digital Castles and a digital Police but they are just vigilante and some weird Gods (the creators of the VR) called Voices. All of this is so much for such a short time that the movie can't go into any of these plotpoints and continues with the story about Belle and the Dragon.
Suddenly the movie changes tone. It's not about romance but domestic abuse and how a bigger brother protects his small brother. This again is a compelling plot line that falls short cause the movie does just not have enough time.
This movie touches many topics that are often unspoken. This is great and I applaud Hosoda for this. All in all its a convoluted mess with no character development that has the right intentions, a beautiful score and a world that is beautiful even though it stays a complete mystery. All of this movie comes with no explanation or reason. I know movie fans hate this but I believe this would have been better as a show to the likes of Ano Hana. It could have been a masterpiece. I'm still giving it a 7 out of 10 because it does enough right that you cannot hate this movie.
A wonderful work, which is enjoyed and cried from the heart.
I confess that at first I felt that they were dealing with five different subplots that could easily have been two or three separate films, and that worried me because I felt that they were going to give it a rushed and forced ending. But it was not like that. I feel like every little situation they showed tied together to create the perfect ending. With Suzu, her family and her friends.
The scene with the children and their father, GOD, I think I gasped for a moment, how strong! I really liked it.
As much as I wanted to love this movie (and I would absolutely adore an art book, and the OST is amazing), it's a bunch of different plots mashed together and nothing is fully fleshed out.
By the end of the movie, you're left wondering if anything was really resolved and that's not a feeling I want to walk away with from an animated movie that seems to be aiming for a hopeful tone and acts like everything is better now. Amazing art, amazing singing, amazing songs, and could've probably done better as a musical. As it is, though, there were a lot of coincidences that push believability, a lot of plot points that weren't explored enough, a lot of major details that were never explained, and an open ending that doesn't really say why all the characters act like everything got solved.
I wouldn't waste my time watching it again, but if you regularly watch movies, it wouldn't hurt to see this once for the art and music.
Nice animations and had an interesting concept, but I think the ending was not that uplifting as I hoped (when the Dragon/Beast is found out to be a 14 year old with a younger brother to protect from an abusive father, only Suzu goes to Tokyo ALONE to confront him and protect the two children. And said confrontation is just her standing fearless in front of the abusive father, and he just... retreats scared? Then she goes back to her town and the two kids are still left in the care of their father! I mean, I'm pretty sure that is not safe and threw me off quite a bit...). The songs are nice, nothing exceptional, but pleasant to hear and see. The U world was a bit of a mess, tho'. There's a romantic interest that you can't quite pinpoint at first between three characters, but then it plays out in a very predictable way.
Also for some die hard Disney fans, there were some scenes that explicitly quoted Beauty and the Beast from the moment Bell/Belle finds the castle.
In short, Belle is a colorful movie about courage and inner strenght, but in the end it feels like it lacks something.
I don’t have too much to say about this movie, but I do think the other comments are being harsh. I have to say, the animation is stunning. It’s super cool how they mix both a 3D style for the game, and a 2D style for the real world. I really liked Suzu’s voice and voice acting, I also thought she was cool as a character. The plot isn’t anything that cool, but it’s enjoyable. At least it wasn’t confusing like other anime movies :joy: The music is cool. The scene where Suzu loses her mom was voice acted and animated very well. Overall, I thought it was pretty good and worth a watch if you’re bored. No complaints here!
I feel like I watched two movies spliced together. One with beautiful moments, nice characters, animations, art, songs, and one with just ugly 3d, caricature characters, and pointless plot points. Things just happen, out of nowhere, just so there is something happening. And that makes me sad. All the good moments made me sad, sad to see how this could have been much better. It's still worth a watch for the good parts and the great soundtrack, but I hoped for more.
The plot did not really work very well. The intention were good, but the inspiration over the Beauty and the Beast a bit forced, as well as the ending which mimics a lot of similar animation movies, where the characters manage to solve a situation bigger than them. The art is however not bad, and the overall twists are not banal.
Well, I can highly recommend watching this movie. Its a mess, a pretty mess, much like life itself.
To those who state they think they've seen two movies, you did. If you don't get it that's on you.
Also, as always, this is not a kids cartoon movie
Beautiful voice, music, art and the cinematic too. This is just beautiful art!
First of all, the music goes so hard. I instantly Shazamed the first two songs. Second, I kinda just jumped in so I was not expecting this to be a Beauty and the Beast retelling!
And I thought, predictably, that the Beast would be her childhood friend the entire time. On the one hand, I'm glad it didn't take that uninspired route, but on the other, man I really wanted them to end up together. But I enjoyed this so much.
One of the most beautiful voices is in this movie :sob:
I was fortunate enough to see this tonight as a part of Fantastic Fest and I can only describe this as Mamoru Hosoda's masterpiece. I am so glad I was able to see it on the big screen because the music is absolutely stunning.. and my meager TV at home without surround sound never could replicate it. The characters are so lovingly created and the visuals are absolutely gorgeous.. I cannot recommend this enough. If you watch this without crying then it is you who is the beast! 10/10
I liked the movie! I loved the music in it (in my country they even used german lyrics and it was still beautiful).
The animation was phenomenal! Really great!! :heart:
The story was kinda fair. I think the part when she was protecting the two kids made no sense. Why should the grown (assh:asterisk_symbol::asterisk_symbol:e) man ran away? It would have made more sense if he realized that he made a lot of wrong decisions.
6/10 for me :)
A great adaptation and reinterpretation of “Beauty and the Beast” as a Japanese anime set in modern times.
I love how they used Virtual Reality as a plot device only; and avoiding the pitfall of explaining things that are not needed to be explained.
I now understand why this received a 14-minute standing ovation at Cannes (the 7th longest at the festival). It truly deserves it. A Masterpiece. I've never seen this level of reinterpretation of the classic “Beauty and the Beast”.
"Belle" is a tough movie to talk about, because I'm not entirely sure what to think about it. I'm torn right in the middle rather I liked it or not.
I usually love Hosoda's films. "Wolf Children" is an absolute masterpiece that not enough people talk about.
"Belle" however is in a way more miss than hit which is unfortunate because I do love the concept.
But positive things first, it is visually absolutely stunning. It's worth alone a watch for the gorgeous visuals which are definitely a reminder why I love animation and the possibilities it allows so much.
The music is also stunning. Not only the songs sung by Belle, but also the beautiful score. Kaho Nakamura has an incredible and unique voice. Her singing parts are brilliant, I do think however she lacks experience in the speaking ones. But nevertheless, visuals and music are the film's strong parts.
Writing ia were it falls flat or rather, becomes incredibly messy. That being said, it does start out relatively fine. The set up works, but everything that comes after it doesn't. The movie wants to do too much at the same time and kinda loses itself midway through.
The world-building does not always make sense. Basics of the virtual world of "U" are explained (it's not much different from other films or books using this topic) but there are simply some rules that don't really make sense, especially in connection to the real world.
Characters are introduced and stay either relatively flat or are build up to relevance only to not matter at all in the end (Peggy Sue comes to mind). Suzu's group of friends sadly never escapes the "Anime High Schoolers cliché" troup.
But those are all little issues that don't do much damage. For me it's the last half of the film that lost me.
The concept of Beauty and the Beast has been used countless times before, but I've never seen it done with the focus on abuse as it's primary function instead of the romance. I applaud the movie for being bold enough to do that.
It's how the abuse is dealt with in the end that I don't like. The moment Suzu finds out about the abused brothers every decision made in this film is puzzling to me and doesn't really connect to the set ups from before. Suzu and her friends basically broadcast a father abusing his children online and no one is going to do something? Not the authorities (only reasonable moment in the last half btw, calling the cops) or not anyone at all? Just a 17 year old girl? Yeah sorry, no. I can wrap my mind around an online community like "U" but not around that.
Second, and that's were the real issues start, Suzu goes to see the brothers and their abusive father all by herself. Her friends don't tag along, the adults around her just let her do it because "she wants to" and instead of it being incredibly stupid it's portrayed as something heroic. The only reason for this not to escalate is it that the plot suddenly demands the boys' father to stop attacking them and Suzu, because apparently her stare has some kind of magic powers a grown man gets scared of. And the resolution in the end is, the older brother has to face his dad instead of taking the beating. Also, Suzu's previous trauma, the one she got from her mother's death is apparently better now, because she found some understanding for her mother's choices. Honey, good for you that your worked through your experience, but your mother was a grown ass woman making the choice to save a drowning child, your a teenager who confronted an abusive man all by herself, put your own life and that of his son's in danger for nothing.
The movie lacks a kind of satisfying resolution and even if that is a decision made on purpose, it shouldn't be with the delicate subject matter.
Sorry, I ranted away a bit, because that movie truly frustrated me. It's so beautiful on one hand and so messy on the other.
In short: Beauty and the Beast as an anime.
Longer: Beauty and the Beast as an anime, set in a virtual world and with a second level in the real world. This second level gives the story more complexity. On the level of the main character, who has to deal with the death of her mother, her own insecurities and feelings in both worlds. Furthermore, the anime, like "Summer Wars" for example, shows that the treatment of virtual realities and digital social interaction cannot only be viewed one-dimensionally. While in many Western portrayals social media and VR are usually the end of all social interaction and the solution is always to come together in reality, Belle shows that online exchange is both dangerous, hopeful and has potential. The anonymous appearance in the virtual world helps the main character to rediscover her voice and its beauty. In the process, as in the real world, she is not only celebrated for this, but also experiences aversion. Overall, the film is not a masterpiece narratively and the animation is not outstanding either, but it is still worth seeing more than the average animated film, whether Western or Eastern. The biggest problem of the narration is that it loses sight of the interesting themes I have already mentioned through too many small subplots and in the end a lot of potential falls by the wayside, but the film has potential in the first place, which many films generally lack.
Have you ever asked what it would be like if Beauty And The Beast and Sword Art Online had a baby? Well... someone must have...
Mark Kermode thought it was pretty good and I certainly liked the theme, but I found the animation unimpressive and the story poorly written, uninvolving and often just incoherent. Weirdly it was the brief glimpses of life in a Japanese high school that most interested me and that's not much of a recommendation...
[Sitges FF] Mamoru Hosoda continues making masterpieces after "Mirai" (2018), "The boy and the beast" (2015) and "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time" (2006). This reformulation of "The beauty and the beast" is a gorgeous, moving and profound coming-of-age. The virtual world called U is hypnotic, as hypnotic is the false reality that it sells, and is juxtaposed with real life, the harshness of absence, but also of abuse.
Review by Gabriel JustusVIP 6BlockedParent2021-11-25T03:26:18Z
Belle... A collection of music videos glued together by a really badly written narrative.
Belle is one of the weakest animated movies i have seen in the past few years, and that makes me really sad, as a fan of the director i went into this expecting an 8 or an 9, but what i got is a 5 at best.
Belle has a interesting idea, with its reworking of the "beauty and the beast" and its child abuse themes... But it fails to build on its characters and to explain basic premises of its own world, making it for a very boring and bland experience.
Most of the things we thought would be relevant were completely ignored and absolutely useless, we asked ourselves watching "did she get some disease and now is unable to sing in the real world and that is why the U is an escape?" No, they never address this, she just fails to sing and vomits once because the movie wanted to i guess? They keep all her "friends" completely irrelevant and underdeveloped until the last quarter of the movie, so i basically don't care about any of them in the end, they never explain the socio economical structure of the U world... How does this work? They say the avatar is made automatically based on people physiognomy, but the avatars are crazy different in form and species, how can that be made from ones physiognomy? How is the invitation system decided? Who is invited and why? Why even have an invitation system instead of selling the app or freely distributing it if that ends up irrelevant to the story? Why show us a very interesting singer character on the start that rivalizes our belle if you are just going to forget her for the whole movie? How to know which avatars are AI controlled and which are actually people? Is it possible do die in U? If not, what is the relevance of all the conflict we see?
Belle raises too many questions and answer very little, it presents us with an beautiful and interesting virtual world but tells us NOTHING about it and how it all works, it presents us with futuristic technology in a world that seems stuck in the 2000s, it gives us many bland and uninteresting characters with only one personality trait each and develops none of them... There are so many problems, so many drawn out scenes... That it all gets boring and tiresome...
And.... That makes me really sad, the music is GREAT, the visuals are BEAUTIFUL, the music scenes are AMAZING... But they are few and far in between and the rest of the movie... Is not interesting, they present us a nice duality of belle and the beast, but their interest in one another is so out of nowhere and forced that it doesnt feel even a little bit real or natural... There is a great scene that develops the characters and emotional connects, but it is only in the last quarter of the movie... When it has already lost all my interest and attention... and the plot of child abuse is ok and very important... But it feels shoved in... The main plot... Feels shoved in... Oh, and how they find the boy... Well, that was just the worst "investigation" bit i have ever seen...
I really wanted to like this movie, but there are just too many unanswered questions, just too little character development, and a plot that is just generic and bland enough to lose my attention... The visuals and music alone are not enough...
At the end, i feel like they made some really great music videos and didnt want to release it as just animated music videos, so they wrote a really bland movie around it and shoved a controversial and important theme(child abuse) to appeal to peoples hearts in an effective but kinda cheap way.