Belle - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Belle



Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
Mamoru Hosoda is one of the most prolific animated directors in all of Anime, in my personal opinion, having directed some of my favorite films. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Wolf Children, Mirai, Summer Wars, and the incredible Samurai Champloo series, just to name a few. Basically if I see a movie with his name on it, my butt is firmly in the seat front and center when it comes out.

I vaguely remember hearing about Belle a year ago, and when my wife went to go see it in its theatrical run I came home to her babbling about the film for a good 2 hours straight like a crazy woman. Resisting the urge to catch a stream of it, or find other sources, I patiently held out for the home video release, and with trembling hands, sat down to watch it tonight. Honestly, I think I need to re-evaluate my “Mamoru Hosoda Hierarchy” again, as I think that The Girl Who Leapt Through Time has a contender for best film out of his catalog of works, and that’s really saying something.

Belle is a thematic retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with elements of Ready Player One and a scathing commentary on the state of social media in our lives today. On the surface that sounds completely ridiculous and cliched, but upon viewing it I have to admit that it is one of the most complex “simple” stories I’ve seen in ages. Suzu (Kaho Nakamura) is a shy young high school student who grew up in a single parent household after her mother died saving a child stuck in the river. She’s quiet, rather a crybaby (as stated by her best friend), and absolutely terrified of living. However, in the not so distant future that is this film, there’s a new social media giant out there. A virtual reality world ala Ready Player One called simply “U”. A place where you can reinvent yourself with the mask of an anonymous avatar system, and be whoever you want to be. Suzu dons the name Belle, and upon entering U finds out that she now has the courage to be what she couldn’t be in the real world.

Having the voice of an angel, Belle becomes a virtual superstar over night, shooting her in the hundreds of millions of fans as she sings her way into their hearts (there’s a hilarious bit where they satirize the entire entertainment and music industry with her best friend playing the part of the crazed and money hungry music producer to a T). However, in the middle of one of her concerts Belle is interrupted by a gigantic martial arts battle invading her arena. At the heart of it is the mysteriously ugly “monster” known as Dragyn. A rage filled martial arts beast that has been battling the U-verse fighting world with unheard of ferocity. The guardians of the U-verse (who are sadly a LOT like social media moderators. Something anyone who has ever spent time on social media will see immediately) are trying to subdue and unveil him (their version of doxing), but the beast is just TOO powerful. Naturally Belle is drawn to the beast, trying to figure out just what makes him tick, and what is causing him to be this vicious. However, the further and further down the rabbit hole she goes, the more questions are raised, until the shocking twist near the end reveals a purpose of Belle/Suzu that may require her to sacrifice her anonymity to fulfill.

Belle is actually two stories in one. On one hand we have the story of Suzu and her friends. Her ability to blend into the world and stay anonymous despite wanting to be seen desperately. It’s a scathing commentary on how social media and social structures can ostracize and put crushing weight on a person. Hosoda does a magnificent job at weaving a standard hero’s tale of going from weak to strong, but also infusing a rather biting satire on the state of our social media, and how we’ve actually became “less” as a result of more interaction with it.

On the other hand we have the fantastical and magical virtual reality world of U where the Beauty and the Beast story takes place. Fans of the classic fairy tale will recognize many of the beats (and even some of the songs are actually melodies from the Disney film, remixed and changed for the film, and sung as Belle), and the natural progression of Belle and the Beast’s friendship. HOWEVER (don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil the twist), there is a massive twist that completely subverts the audiences expectations over the who the Beast is in real life. It’s so subtle, so in your face, yet so shocking when it gets to you that I had to re-watch it twice just to realize how brilliant it is. Your eyes are firmly fixed on several people in the film over the 2 hour run time that could possibly be it, but instead the rug gets pulled straight out from under you in one scene. But honestly, this is one of the best portions of the film, as it re-adjusts the love dynamic between Belle and Dragyn/The Beast in a way that actually makes it MORE powerful than if it was your typical romance.




Rating:

Rated PG for thematic content, violence, language and brief suggestive material




Video:

Belle is wonderfully animated film that employs some incredibly vibrant colors when in the U-verse, and some amazing animation styles. However, it is plagued by being heavily compressed with plenty of visual QC issues in the encode. The biggest of these issues is near crippling banding. It’s not unwatchable by any stretch of the imagination, but there is HEAVY banding that comes up pretty much anytime we’re in a dark room (such as the Dragyn’s castle). Banding that is hard to get out of your mind as it is that prevalent. Also, CBR bitrate for the disc is very low, staying at a constant 25 mbps for the entire. There’s some compression related artifacts such as minor blocking and the like, but that banding. Ouch. However, most of the time in the brightly lit world there is such a wonderful array of colors and fantastic animation that you’re mostly able to overlook the banding. From what I could ascertain by reaching out to several contacts, this was baked in the Gkids master that was given to Shout factory, and while I can complain about the low bitrate, it seems that the banding and other artifacts are something that goes higher up the food chain. It’s not a train wreck like some of Funimations attempts at compression (I still have nightmares of that original Fruits Basket DVD from years ago that was one giant blocking nightmare), but it is frustrating when you consider how good the movie is, and how phenomenal the audio mix is on the set.







Audio:

Every bit as fantastic as the movie comes the twin DTS-HD MA 5.1 mixes. Comparing the two tracks they’re sonically identical except for the vocals, so it will simply be a case of choosing which language you prefer. Naturally I prefer the original Japanese audio, and can say without a doubt that it is superb. Right off the back we’re pretty much flattened with song as the opening credits reveal to us Belle singing within the U-verse. Bass is powerful and aggressive when dealing with the Beast and his battles with the “moderators” of the U-verse, but also much more restrained and complimentary when it comes to the swelling musical arrangements. The movie does have a good bit of soft dialog heavy portions where the mains get 99% of the work, but inside the U-verse it is EXTREMELY immersive and energetic. Listen to the crowd of people cheering for Belle to sing, or the sounds of debris as the Beast lays waste to his opponents. Simply a superb mix from beginning to end.












Extras:

• The Making of BELLE
• A Conversation with Director Mamoru Hosoda
• The Music of BELLE
• Hosoda Draws BELLE
• Scene Breakdowns
• Finding the Voice of Belle
• Mamoru Hosoda at Animation is Film
• Design Gallery
• Kylie McNeill Performs “Gales of Song”

Final Score: ​

Watching it twice in one night, I’ve fallen in love with Belle. It’s sweet, fantastical, hilarious at times, and carries with it a wicked satire on social media, and social interactions in general. The Animation is near flawless, and the audio mix found on the disc is just digital perfection. Even the extras are rather impressive. My ONLY complaint is that very very mediocre video quality for what is otherwise a near flawless release of a Gkids film by Shout. Absolutely a must watch film in my humble opinion.


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Kaho Nakamura, Ryo Narita, Shota Sometani, Tina Tamashiro, Toshiyuki Morikawa,
Directed by: Mamoru Hosoda
Written by: Mamoru Hosoda
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 5.1, Japanese DTS-HD MA 5.1
Subtitles: English SDH, English, Spanish
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: PG
Runtime: 122 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: May 17th, 2022

Recommendation: Must Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I have seen all of his movies and they are all a must own. Definitely worth having..