Belle

Rather plastic - tugging at heart strings as it dances between Disney, Ghibli and Kon Satoshi, never quite sure of its feet and never quite in-sync with the rhythms. It seems to be about apples not falling far from trees? Or about accepting ourselves freckles and all? Fucked if I know, and I'm pretty sure Hosoda-san wouldn't be able to tell us either. Maybe that Faceborg CEO freak can enlighten me about the metaverse morality of this anime. Anyway, beautiful production and チョー今どき.

This movie had potential, and it saddens me that it kinda failed. Visually? 10/10 magnificent, a breathtaking experience to see in the cinema. Storywise? Ehhhh, it has a good first act, but the moment the Beast appeared everything went downhill. And the ending is….very very questionable, absolutely not happy about that. Also decent songs, I’m not a fan of that type of music, but I found them pretty enjoyable

Beautiful to look at.

Its climactic moment of collective song manages to evoke a tear, but it’s isolated in a weird and largely groundless film that fails to make meaningful connections between its worlds, characters, and audience. Disappointing.

That train station scene... wow. I would never want to feel awkward like that ever again.

Absolutely stunning soundtrack, a great story of dont judge a book. This film shows morality, sympathy, the small steps of good which we should all take and strive for. The story is ready player 1 and beauty and the beast together and it really fits so well. The tragedies which shape our future are not definite and together then we can mold them into less sharp shapes. That is what this film shows. Aside from the epicness then there are some silly story parts but just move on and dont dwell

The visuals are certainly impressive… there are some emotional scenes and the character arc for the lead works well if predictably. Overall though there are some weird things… the “rules” of its digital world are weirdly defined, like, the characters are getting kidnapped in the VR world… it’s like… just turn off your computer lol. Ending where character’s friends all seem to send her into a dangerous situation by herself is also weird.

Not a perfect perhaps, but I still thought it was really well made and really moving. The music was all exceptionally performed and produced and Kylie McNeill better get cast in things if she decides to pursue acting and/or music. The animation is exception as well, like something I’ve never seen before. Talented voice work and direction helped a lot too. I don’t know that it needed to tackle quite as many themes at it did, but hey, it’s resonating for a lot of people, so who am I to say? Great!

Gotta be honest, I expected more from this. The animation is stunning and easily the best part. The songs are pretty cool too. The problem is that there's a lot of corniness here, and kind of stomped over the sincerity at times. That doesn't mean that it fails emotionally (the end got me a little), but it does mean that I wasn't as invested as I should have been, given the subject matter. The themes seem to be things we've seen done better before, but still welcome. Needed a better script.

I suspect this doesn't hold up all that well thematically under scrutiny, but there's an earnestness to his films that gets you swept up in his latest sprawling digital world, intimate cast of characters, and everything in between. There's no denying these are ideas he's done before (and probably better) but there's certainly enough unique flavor to this latest version to make it worthwhile.

The "Beauty and the Beast" angle is ... interesting. What's absolutely best about this movie is it's beautiful animation, and it's invocation of "Beauty and the Beast" feels more suggestive than anything and tied into gorgeous visual references. I'd say the film is a beautiful experience that only kind of works, but "kind of" is worth it.

Inventive, imaginative, and ambitious. Mamoru Hosoda frequently avoids clear explanations of everything happening onscreen, and while that occasionally caused me to disconnect from the drama, it more often heightened the fantastical scope of the film. Not everything in Belle worked for me, but I found myself pretty swept up in it for the most part. I certainly haven’t ever seen something quite like it.

Visually stunning, probably the best looking CGI I have ever seen in an anime movie. Brings lots of emotions into play and while it at first seems that the two character arcs aren't connected, they both work and enhance each other.

They really pulled a bait and switch on one of my favorite love stories and made me super uncomfortable. I'm going to rewrite the whole second half in my head the way it should have gone.

A movie that i feel like I can't give a higher score but for some reason has a special place for me, also the soundtrack is a banger.

Another very solid entry in Hosoda's body of work.

“Belle” is a visually stunning film that provides a fresh take on a classic tale while exploring the complexities of how we interact online and in person. While its plot has some issues, the animation and music alone make it worth seeing.

Awesomely average. Nice animation tho after a while some scenes look overdone, more computer generated than human created - very much in the "Summer Wars" ultrasharp and complex style. The 'create a new you in our computer generated world' storyline is not very original, plot ends up as too naive. Strong reference to "Beauty & the Beast" becomes maudlin. Disappointing. Feels like it's trying too hard to press all the right buttons.

Absolutely stunning to look at, even if the story kind of misses the point sometimes -- it goes from a fairytale about the Beauty and the Beast to some sort of realistic drama about two boys in an abusive relationship with their dad.

rvw

His best looking film (still need to see Wolf Children), but feels a little too aimed at kids for me to really engage with it fully. The scenes inside U are some of the best animation scenes I’ve ever seen. Hosoda on his Maximalist shit. In the real world there is a nice sense of calm throughout, even with mitigating factors bubbling underneath, thanks to the slightly lingering shots on things like a basketball sitting in an empty court, a running river or a plate of delicious looking food.