Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.5
Overall		4.5

Belle Blu-ray Movie Review

Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars) returns to the digital world.

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 visionary spectacle.

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 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Shout Factory and Gkids, Belle is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.39:1 widescreen. The release is disappointing and isn't on-par with some of the other Hosoda works on the format. The presentation is watchable, certainly, but the compression is poor in parts of the film and there are some examples of extreme banding. This element was rather surprising and unfortunate. (I viewed the film theatrically and experienced no such issue.)

The bit-rate is not as high as ideal for such beautiful and complex animation. The resulting presentation sometimes seems to resemble that of a digital stream more than what I have come to expect from the Blu-ray disc format. (The disc shares a plethora of supplements with the video- presentation and this likely played a role in the compression as well.) Some of the "U" virtual scenes showcase the most banding and compression. There are some sporadic digital artifacts as well.

Belle is certainly watchable on the release – and I have seen worse – but the transfer is not on par with what one might expect for a big-budget anime feature from someone as talented as Mamoru Hosoda. The presentation certainly falls far short of perfection and leaves something to be desired even if it is mostly watchable (and the banding problems are less pronounced during the real-world sequences).

Those equipped with 4K UHD playback support might want to wait for the upcoming 4K UHD releases (expected in late 2022).

Belle Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of high-resolution audio options: Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with English subtitles) and English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The 24 bit-depth audio presentations are top-notch in every regard and it is difficult to imagine anyone feeling disappointed by the audio presentation. The lossless audio quality is superb and the dynamics are exceptional throughout the feature-film presentation.

There is no Atmos audio mix included on the release but the DTS-HD Master Audio is enormously engaging. The score is perfectly integrated in to the sound mix. The sound design is creative and enveloping (with the surrounds actively utilized throughout the entire feature-film). The English dubbing is quite good and is worth listening to (though my preference is for the original Japanese version).

Belle Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release is a Blu-ray + DVD combo pack edition.

On disc extras are as follows:

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.

Belle Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Belle is one of the most ambitious anime films I have ever seen. The concept is fascinating: the blend of real-world and online virtual reality settings is compelling. The animation is breathtaking and the film is a creatively entertaining and engaging production. Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time) is one of the best filmmakers working in the anime industry. The screenplay for Belle is not as character-driven as I would have liked (and focuses more on spectacle), yet the other components of Belle make is a must-see film.

The Blu-ray includes an inconsistent video presentation and fans of the film who are 4K UHD equipped might wish to wait for the announced 4K UHD release. The audio presentation is first-rate. The supplements are outstanding. For a standard-edition, the supplemental package is remarkable. There are many fascinating documentaries, interviews, and behind-the-scenes featurettes which entertain and enlighten. Fans of Hosoda won't want to miss out on these fascinating supplements. Highly recommended.