Belle (film)

*This article is about the film. You may be looking for the character or the soundtrack.*

## ***Belle***

### **Producer**

* Nozomu Takahashi
* Yuichiro Saito
* Toshimi Tanio
* Genki Kawamura

### **Starring**

* Kaho Nakamura
* Ryō Narita
* Shōta Sometani
* Tina Tamashiro
* Lilas Ikuta
* Kōji Yakusho
* Takeru Satoh

### **Music by**

* Taisei Iwasaki
* Ludvig Forssell
* Yuta Bandoh
* Miho Sakai

### **Gross**

$63.8 million

***Belle*** (***竜とそばかすの姫***, ***Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime***, translating to "***The Dragon and the Freckled Prince*ss**") is a 2021 Japanese animated science fantasy film written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda and produced by Studio Chizu. Inspired by the fairy tale *Beauty and the Beast*, it focuses on 17-year-old high school student Suzu Naito who loves to sing. Becoming a pop sensation known as Belle, she is eventually met with a challenge from a user called The Dragon, who ruins one of her concerts. As a vigilante group hunt the dragon, Suzu becomes curious about the identity behind The Dragon.

## Synopsis

Our protagonist, Suzu, is a 17-year old high school girl, who lives in the countryside of Kochi Prefecture with her father, after losing her mother at a young age.

She loves singing with her mother more than anything else, but as a result of her mother's death was no longer able to sing.

It wasn't long before she and her father grew more and more distant from each other, and Suzu closed her heart to the rest of the world.

When Suzu felt that writing music was her only purpose left in life, she then discovers the massive online space known as "U," where she takes on her persona, Belle.

Another me.
Another reality.

We are no longer limited to a single world.

Suzu quickly realizes that when she is inside "U" as her avatar, Belle, she can sing quite naturally. As she continues to showcase her own music in the virtual world, she fast becomes the rising star of "U."

Nonetheless, that surprise is short-lived. Suddenly, a mysterious dragon-shaped creature appears before her…

## Reception

### Critical reaction

*Belle* received highly positive reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 95% approval rating from critics based on 120 reviews. The site's consensus states, "A remarkable story brought to life with dazzling animation, *Belle* finds writer-director Mamoru Hosoda setting a brilliant new benchmark." At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 based on reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 83 based on 38 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Manohla Dargis of the *New York Times* gave the film 9/10 and states, "Colors and hearts explode in “Belle,” and your head might too while watching this gorgeous anime. Set in the undefined future, it envisions a reality that resembles our own, with the same drab institutions and obligations, the same confusing relationships and feelings." Max Covill of *Paste Magzine* opines the film as "Hosoda's best animated feature since *Summer Wars*, while *The Wraps*' Carlos Aguilar names it as Hosada's "most ambitious endeavor to date."

### Accolades

Main article: List of awards and nominations

## Soundtrack

Main article: Belle (soundtrack)
*Belle*'s soundtrack, *Belle (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)*, was released on July 30, 2021. It features thirty songs

### Track listing

1. "U" – millennium parade, Kaho Nakamura
2. "Whispers" – Nakamura
3. "Slingshot"
4. "Memories of a Sound"
5. "Blunt Words" – ermhoi
6. "Gales of Song" – Nakamura
7. "Fleeting Days"
8. "Swarms of Song" – Nakamura
9. "Alle Psallite Cum Luya" – Ryoko Moriyama, Sachiyo Nakao, Fuyumi Sakamoto, Yoshimi Iwasaki, Michiko Shimizu, Nakamura
10. "Fama Destinata" – Nakamura
11. "Dragon"
12. "Justin"
13. "Unveil"
14. "Digital Ripples"
15. "Dragon's Lair"
16. "Lend Me Your Voice" – Nakamura
17. "Social Warfare"
18. "Assault"
19. "Lend Me Your Voice" – Nakamura
20. "#UnveilTheBeast"
21. "Authority and Arrogance"
22. "Scorching the Facade"
23. "The Truth Obscured"
24. "Lend Me Your Voice (Humming)" – HANA
25. "Distrust"
26. "A Million Miles Away" – Nakamura
27. "Pieces of the Puzzle"
28. "Faces in the Rain" – Nakamura
29. "Skies of Song" – Nakamura
30. "A Million Miles Away (Reprise)" – Nakamura

## References

1. ↑ "*BELLE* Reviews". *Metacritic*. September 5, 2022.
2. ↑ Dargis, Manohla (January 13, 2022). "Red". *New York Times*.
3. ↑ Covill, Max (January 13, 2022). "A VR Pop Star Takes on *Beauty and the Beast* in the Triumphant *Belle*". *Paste Magazine.*
4. ↑ Aguilar, Carlos (January 14, 2022). "‘Belle’ Film Review: Mamoru Hosoda Explores Virtual Lives With Genuine, Powerful Humanity". *The Wrap*.