WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Mamoru Hosoda's film Belle, now showing in US theaters.
Director Mamoru Hosoda's newest film Belle has finally arrived in US theaters. It has been pitched as a modern retelling of Beauty and the Beast, but its virtual setting is not the only twist applied to the beloved story. Like Studio Chizu's Wolf Children and Summer Wars, Belle wastes no time diving into themes of death and loss.
However, Belle takes its mature themes a step further, introducing a discussion on child abuse, self-sacrifice and community responsibility. These heavy topics set it apart from more child-appropriate and renowned Studio Ghibli films like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle. Moreover, films like Belle provide audiences with modern stories and nuanced perspectives that resonate with the issues of today.
Belle places itself among anime films like Your Name and A Silent Voice, distancing itself from Disney-esque Ghibli films. It is a coming-of-age story that follows a young girl named Suzu, who has been unable to sing since the death of her mother. Once she joins the virtual world called U, however, she finds her voice again and becomes the overnight pop sensation known as Belle; but things are quickly thrown into disarray when someone known as the Dragon appears to wreak havoc in U.
At first, the audience may assume the Dragon is actually someone known to Suzu, maybe a friend or her childhood crush. In the end, it turns out the Dragon is a stranger -- a young boy named Kei. It's revealed that he and his brother are being abused by their father, and Suzu is able to help the boys after revealing her true self to the world of U to gain the trust of the traumatized siblings.
The unexpected twist takes the film's focus off the fantastical world of U and places it on the dangers of the real world. The reveal of what is truly occurring behind closed doors -- and computer screens -- is surprisingly dark, which is what differentiates Belle from other stories of the genre like Spirited Away. Both Suzu and Chihiro from Spirited Away must navigate treacherous terrain filled with actors whose true intentions are not always clear, but Belle's true beast turns out to be nothing more than a father. Due to its mature themes, the film may not be easy for younger audiences to understand, but adults may find value in its honesty and urgency.
Studio Ghibli also tackles important topics and gives its heroines agency, but some -- including Hosoda -- have criticized the idealization of its female characters. It's difficult to say that Suzu completely escapes idealization considering her extreme talent for singing, outstanding compassion and impressive bravery, but overall, Belle provides a more relatable story thanks to its fairly realistic setting and conflict. While a metaverse quite like U does not yet exist, abuse and loss certainly do. As a result, Suzu is less of a Disney princess and more of an ordinary girl who modern audiences can connect with.
Although Belle may be considerably dark, it maintains a hopeful undercurrent regarding something that is often vilified in fiction: the Internet. More specifically, this film portrays social media in an unexpectedly positively light, as it's the virtual world of U that gives Suzu the ability to express herself.
Belle encourages people to live and do good in the real world without downplaying the value of the virtual world, while its feminist undertones embolden and inspire young women to find their own voices. If Studio Chizu maintains the current quality of its films into the future, it will be exciting to see where Hosoda's direction takes for the next feature.
