Belle

Didn't I review this movie years ago?

On a titular basis, yes. 

But this Belle, Mamoru Hosoda's follow-up to his first Oscar nominated anime film, takes after Beauty and the Beast and The Matrix more than real life. What kind of film does that result in? A visually and emotionally appealing one. It's available in both English and Japanese screenings; either one is a great choice.

Suzu Naito (Kylie McNeil) used to sing with her mother as a kid. But then her mom died saving a kid from a raging river. She can't bring herself to sing until her best friend, the brainy Hiroka (Jessica DiCicco), comes in. Hiro invites Suzu onto U, a digital platform whose users biometrically sync up with their avatars. Suzu uploads a group photo, and it generates an avatar, Belle, mixing her and her popular classmate, Ruka (Hunter Schafer). Belle becomes the world's most popular digital superstar with Hiro as her "manager." 

One of her concerts is disrupted by a rough avatar referred to as The Dragon (Paul Castro Jr) with self-appointed "Justices" in pursuit. The top Justice, Justin (Chace Crawford), doesn't take kindly to "The Beast's" roughhousing in the U fighting arenas and wants to unmask him. Belle is intrigued by the heavily bruised Dragon and wants to appeal to him. But that would make Justin want to unmask her instead. How would the masses react to Belle being a mousy high schooler? Or has Suzu's time in the digital world made her stronger IRL?

The film opens with Suzu, already Belle, performing to adoring digital fans on a flying whale outfitted with speakers. These digital fans are CGI characters made to look 2D. It's an appealing and rarely obvious combination. Disney veteran Jin Kim designed Belle, who fits right in with the studio's princesses. U itself is a stunning digital world designed with help by the Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, who most recently did Wolfwalkers. 

These visuals are paired with an amazing soundtrack. Among the numerous names composing the score include Ludvig Forssell, Taisei Iwasaki, Yuta Bandoh and Daiki Tsuneta. The lyrical side also has Hosoda himself and Kaho Nakamura, who also voices Suzu/Belle herself in Japanese. Belle's four songs are thematically appropriate to the story itself. The opening number sells us on U being a digital paradise, while Belle's debut single is surly an appeal to her late mom. The others are, at least partially, appeals to The Dragon, who as it turns out, is an abused boy. The visuals paired with those two don't help one's composure.

But a few characters do. Hiro gets the best lines, while a few of the false Dragon leads prove amusingly pathetic IRL. Suzu goes to war with her classmates over a rumor in a scene which plays out as an online war game. She then gets to play matchmaker between Ruka and their dorky sportsman classmate, Shinjiro (Brandon Engman). Ruka, though popular, is no mean girl, which adds to her appeal. Another U popstar, Peggy Sue, is hilarious when she finds herself dethroned by Belle, but ultimately supports her. 

Suzu spends the movie coming out of her shell. We see her niceness throughout the film, but she proves herself strong when she stands up for The Dragon online and IRL. The Dragon only shows himself Beastly to Belle when she meets him in his castle. But we eventually get to see his soft side; maybe earlier, as he doesn't hurt Belle during his concert interruption. Their IRL meeting is nice, but one may question what happens next for him. Justin, meanwhile, abandons any likability when he beats up The Dragon's innocent AI familiars. It's a relief when his sponsors turn against him at the end. 

None of Belle's 124 minutes were ever boring. A bit confusing in places and rushed in others, but it's not too detrimental. It's got great characters with an excellent mixture of music and visuals. That mixture alone warrants the biggest screen possible. I'm sure that'll magnify its emotional story. It's a further case for distributing international animated films wider and wider. Or even a few more musical anime films. 

A few films I'm hoping will play locally are certain Oscar contender, Flee, and another anime, Pompo the Cinephile. When?