Belle 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		5.0
Overall		5.0

Belle 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

A massive upgrade with an outstanding 4K UHD presentation.

Belle is an enchanting big-budget anime feature-film from acclaimed filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time). The film features animation produced by Studio Chizu (Mirai, Wolf Children). Produced by Genki Kawamura (Weathering with You, Your Name.), Yûichirô Saitô (Summer Wars, Wolf Children), and Nozomu Takahashi (The Cat Returns, Ocean Waves), Belle explores the inter-connectivity between the real world and the digital realm.

Suzu (Kaho Nakamura) is a sweet-natured girl living in a village countryside. As Suzu leaves her ordinary world behind her for the virtual world of “U” she becomes the avatar Belle and finds an escape from her reality in the online realm. Unlike Suzu's normal life, Belle is a pop superstar who dazzles in spades and is adorned by an affectionate fan-base.

Yet even the virtual world brings her to unexpected territory when she encounters a strange beast, The Dragon (Takeru Satoh). The Dragon is hunted down by a clan of violent vigilantes who set out to destroy him at any cost. Can Belle help save the beauty in the beast?

One of the most compelling components of Belle is the way in which the film explores the differences between the real and online world. Belle aims to showcase some of the positive attributes of the online realm. Suzu feels disconnected in the real world while in the online realm she is able to take on the avatar of Belle and be a mega pop-star sensation: it is a fun escape from her average day-to-day lifestyle.

The animation is breathtaking and represents some of the best work to date in the films of Hosoda. The background animation is by art director Nobutaka Ike (Tokyo Godfathers, Perfect Blue), who is one of the most gifted artists in anime. Ike has worked on many of the best anime feature-films the medium has had. The background art is both detailed and imaginative in Belle.

As Belle has a concept which explores two different realities, Hosoda reunited with his frequent collaborators and assigned different roles to them for Belle. Hiroyuki Aoyama (Mirai, Summer Wars) handles the animation direction for the real world segments while Takaaki Yamashita (The Boy and The Beast , Wolf Children) is in charge of these duties with the “U” virtual world segments. The results are phenomenal. Aoyama provides Belle with the naturalistic animated charms as seen in Mirai while Yamasita provides the more fantastical components of the animation.

A must-own collectors edition.

Belle features impressive collaborations on character designs as well. The character designs for the real world segments are by Hiroyuki Aoyama. The designs for the “U” virtual world are by Jin Kim. The different artistic styles highlight the differences between the real world and the online world. The ordinary day-to-day realities are showcased in the character designs by Aoyama while the more otherworldly elements of the “U” online world are highlighted by Kim. Akiya Kageichi also contributes a unique character design for “The Dragon” beast.

The music production for Belle is by Taisei Iwasaki, who came up with the concept of utilizing different composers for different segments of the film. Iwasaki understood the approach Hosoda was implementing with Belle and carried over the collaborative nature of the project to the music scoring as well.

Belle united music composers Yûta Bandoh (Children of the Sea), Ludvig Forssell (Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain), and Taisei Iwasaki (Blood Blockade Battlefront). Iwasaki approached the music production with a mixture of anime and video-game composers (to give different musical styles to the real world and online fantasy components). The concept paid off with sweeping orchestrations during the “U” online sequences and more quietly charming compositions developed for the real world.

The cinematography by Jumi Lee (Weathering with You, Your Name.), Kei Machida (Summer Wars, Penguin Highway), and Manabu Kamitōno (Weathering with You, Gatchaman Crowds Insight) is another successful component of the production. The real-world segments in Belle are beautiful in a naturalistic way. The “U” sequences are full of vivid colors and showstopping visuals: the cinematography highlighting the tone of the filmmaking well.

Mamoru Hosoda is one of the most gifted directors in modern anime production. Hosoda returns to the realm of the digital world (as he began exploring in his early career with Digimon and continued with Summer Wars). Hosoda provides Belle with one of the most lavish productions for an anime-feature produced to date. The spectacle is abundant and Hosoda's visual approach is remarkable.

The only disappointment is that the story is not on par with some of Hosoda's earlier works (and the script is a little inconsistent throughout the film). The concept is excellent yet Belle focuses more on style than substance. Even so, audiences seeking a visually wondrous spectacle will be entertained by Belle, and the film offers plenty of fantastic sequences to make it well worth experiencing.

Belle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on 4K UHD from Shout Factory and GKids Entertainment, Belle is presented in 2160p HEVC / H.265 in upscaled 4K resolution. The 4K presentation preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1 widescreen. The release offers a significant improvement in the video- department over the 2K Blu-ray release (reviewed here). The previous Blu-ray edition was surprisingly underwhelming and had far too many compression artifacts and encoding issues to ignore. The release was underwhelming in part because it was jam-packed with hours of extras (instead of providing them on a separate disc).

Unfortunately, that decision made the standard Blu-ray less enticing than one would expect. On the bright side, the 4K UHD disc corrects these issues and offers a remarkable 4K UHD presentation: one which improves on the original disc in every arena. The color reproduction is outstanding (with the use of HDR especially helping the colors to shine). The level of detail is excellent and the line art looks great. The transfer has none of the egregious banding or compression woes which plagued the previous release. This is a near-perfect presentation and most viewers would find no fault in it whatsoever: an outstanding encode.

Belle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Dolby Atmos audio track is exceptional and preserves the wonderfully immersive sound mix (as retained from the theatrical release). The release includes both Japanese Dolby Atmos and English Dolby Atmos in 24 bit high-resolution. The lossless audio quality is exceptionally crisp, clear, and engaging to listen to. The sound design is one of the strengths of the film and the surrounds are actively engaged throughout the entire sound mix.

Belle also wouldn't have been as impressive sounding without the excellent score and the music certainly plays an important role in the presentation. Though the Atmos effects are impressive, I didn't find the additional channel separation to be significantly more immersive than the already exceptional DTS-HD Master Audio sound mix on the previous Blu-ray release. Nonetheless, those equipped with Dolby Atmos speakers will enjoy the added immersion.

Belle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release retains the same supplements from the standard Blu-ray disc in the 4K UHD + Blu-ray + Bonus Disc combo pack.

The Making of Belle (HD, 44:05) is an entertaining and in-depth behind-the-scenes featurette. The making-of includes a plethora of interviews and insights from creatives involved in the production. Director Hosoda explores the development of Belle and fans will be mesmerized by how much information about the production is provided. This is a must- see making-of bonus feature.

A Conversation with Director Mamoru Hosoda (HD, 29:13) provides insights in to Hosoda's creative approach for the film. Hosoda is a wonderful filmmaker and he provides a lot of interesting details about his unique vision for Belle.

The Music of Belle (HD, 15:32) explores the collaborative nature of the original score and the ensemble of composers (from anime to video-games) working together on the project.

Finding the Voice of Belle (HD, 11:49) focuses on the voice-casting for the feature-film and is especially worth a watch for English dub fans.

Scene Breakdown: The Station (HD, 10:37) is a guided exploration of the station sequence (as explored by Hosoda himself). Hosoda showcases the various details utilized in the sequence on his tablet while explaining his creative process.

Scene Breakdown: The Ballroom (HD, 12:06) features Hosoda detailing the production of the virtual "U" ballroom sequence. Hosoda speaks about the inspiration he received from Disney's Beauty and the Beast for the ballroom sequence (as well as elements of the original Beauty and the Beast Hosoda found inspiring).

Hosoda: Animation in Film (HD, 18:05) includes a selection of interviews with filmmaker Hosoda as recorded following various screenings of Belle. The interviews are conducted with a translator. The segments include film critic Leonard Maltin and others.

Hosoda Draws Belle (HD, 8:50) showcases the filmmaker sketching the title character of his feature-film. An engaging watch for animation enthusiasts.

Design Gallery includes 165 slides of artwork from the production of Belle.

Kylie McNeill Performs "Gales of Song" (HD, 2:37)

Trailers (HD, 7:05) includes domestic and international trailers for Belle.

Exclusive Bonus Features Disc:

Behind the Japanese Dub (HD, 41:31) is a remarkably engaging behind-the-scenes experience. The director and cast explore the production of the original Japanese language dub. There are some fascinating moments with the cast while the performers prepare for their respective roles. An exceptional supplement which brings fans closer to the production.

Promo Events with Hosoda and Cast (HD, 40:27) is a must-see for fans who enjoy special feature-film question and answer events. The cast assemble to discuss the production of Belle. With the director involved, the event offers a lot of interesting factoids about the film and its development. An outstanding and must-see extra.

Special Dialogues with Cast (HD, 24:17) offers more interviews with the cast of Belle. The cast discuss their respective roles and the significance of working with award winning filmmaker Hosoda.

Interview with Takeru Satoh (HD, 6:02)

Eric Wong Interview (HD, 26:33)

Belle 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Belle is one of the best anime films in recent years. The animation is outstanding and the storytelling is exciting. The animation is first-rate and showcases some of the best work to date for a Mamoru Hosoda production. The 4K UHD release offers a significant improvement on the previous Blu-ray release. The disc has an outstanding 2160p 4K presentation with exceptional color reproduction and detail. The encode is nearly flawless and a robust upgrade. The 4K collectors edition also includes an exclusive bonus disc with even more enticing behind-the-scenes material. The release also provides several pack-in extras (with art cards, a poster, and much more). No fan of Belle should go without. Highly recommended.