The music-driven and reality-bending animated film from the Oscar-nominated ‘Mirai’ director boasts a talented Japanese and international crew that includes ‘Frozen’ and ‘Tangled’ concept artist Jin Kim.
Mamoru Hosoda has a musical ace up his sleeve! The Oscar-nominated and Annie Award winning Mirai director is helming a top team of Japanese and international artists for Belle, an animated, music-driven film being produced by Studio Chizu (Mirai, The Boy and the Beast).
According to an exclusive Variety report, Belle mixes reality and fantasy as it “follows Suzu, a 17-year-old high school student living in a rural village with her father. For years she has only been a shadow of herself. One day, she enters U,’ a virtual world of 5 billion members on the Internet. There, she is not Suzu anymore but Belle, a world-famous singer. She soon meets with a mysterious creature. Together, they embark on a journey of adventures, challenges and love, in their quest of becoming who they truly are.”
Watch the debut trailer for the beautiful, lyrical, and reality-bending Belle, which includes the first music track from the film:
Hosoda has previously stated, “Belle is the movie that I have always wanted to create and I am only able to make this film a reality because of the culmination of my past works. I explore romance, action and suspense on the one hand, and deeper themes such as life and death on the other. I expect this to be a big entertainment spectacle.”
Among the film’s impressive crew is character designer Jin Kim (Frozen, Tangled, Big Hero 6, Moana), who created the look of Belle, and concept artist Eric Wong. Also joining the team are Oscar-nominated Wolfwalkers directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart of Cartoon Saloon (Song of the Sea, The Secret of Kells). Belle is produced by Studio Chizu president and Hosoda collaborator Yuichiro Saito. The film is being represented by film agency Charades (I Lost My Body, Bigfoot Superstar, The Queen’s Corgi).
File this under “Can’t Wait to See!”
Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
