Belle | 2021
Updated January 16, 2022
Critical Consensus
Phil de Semlyen | Time Out
Carlos Aguilar | TheWrap
Deborah Young | The Hollywood Reporter
Peter Travers | ABC News
Jake Coyle | The Associated Press
Max Covill | Paste Magazine
Noel Murray | The A.V. Club
Rory O’Connor | The Film Stage
Iana Murray | The Playlist
Justin Chang | Los Angeles Times
Peter Debruge | Variety
Robert Daniels | RogerEbert.com
Derek Smith | Slant Magazine
David Ehrlich | IndieWire
Roger Moore | Movie Nation
Carlos Aguilar | TheWrap
Deborah Young | The Hollywood Reporter
Peter Travers | ABC News
Jake Coyle | The Associated Press
Max Covill | Paste Magazine
Noel Murray | The A.V. Club
Rory O’Connor | The Film Stage
Iana Murray | The Playlist
Justin Chang | Los Angeles Times
Peter Debruge | Variety
Robert Daniels | RogerEbert.com
Derek Smith | Slant Magazine
David Ehrlich | IndieWire
Roger Moore | Movie Nation
Fix a critic’s review
Summary & Info
A shy girl (voiced by Kaho Nakamura) struggles with loneliness after the death of her mother, until she enters the virtual universe of U, where she can be who she really wants to be. Cast: the voices of Ryô Narita, Shôta Sometani, Tina Tamashiro, Ikura, Sumi Shimamoto, Kôji Yakusho and Ermhoi. Director: Mamoru Hosoda. In Japanese with English subtitles. [2:01 – PG]
Dueling Critics
“[A] fusion of hand-drawn and CG styles that keeps shapeshifting ‘Belle’ in weird and wonderful directions…[It] s also incredibly funny, gear-shifting from soaring uplift and plunging lows to bone-dry comic moments that Hosoda edits perfectly to nail the endless awkwardness of high-school romantic encounters.”
“[It] is too long, thanks not only to the melodrama piled onto the story, but also owing to the extensive exposition and explanations of the digital universe of ‘U,’ which is where this ‘Belle’ avatar becomes a singing sensation, and meets her ‘Beast’…It’s all a little hard to follow.”
Video
Belle | 2022
Updated January 16, 2022
Critical Consensus
Phil de Semlyen | Time Out
Carlos Aguilar | TheWrap
Deborah Young | The Hollywood Reporter
Peter Travers | ABC News
Jake Coyle | The Associated Press
Max Covill | Paste Magazine
Noel Murray | The A.V. Club
Rory O’Connor | The Film Stage
Iana Murray | The Playlist
Justin Chang | Los Angeles Times
Peter Debruge | Variety
Robert Daniels | RogerEbert.com
Derek Smith | Slant Magazine
David Ehrlich | IndieWire
Roger Moore | Movie Nation
Carlos Aguilar | TheWrap
Deborah Young | The Hollywood Reporter
Peter Travers | ABC News
Jake Coyle | The Associated Press
Max Covill | Paste Magazine
Noel Murray | The A.V. Club
Rory O’Connor | The Film Stage
Iana Murray | The Playlist
Justin Chang | Los Angeles Times
Peter Debruge | Variety
Robert Daniels | RogerEbert.com
Derek Smith | Slant Magazine
David Ehrlich | IndieWire
Roger Moore | Movie Nation
Fix a critic’s review
Dueling Critics
“[A] fusion of hand-drawn and CG styles that keeps shapeshifting ‘Belle’ in weird and wonderful directions…[It] s also incredibly funny, gear-shifting from soaring uplift and plunging lows to bone-dry comic moments that Hosoda edits perfectly to nail the endless awkwardness of high-school romantic encounters.”“[It] is too long, thanks not only to the melodrama piled onto the story, but also owing to the extensive exposition and explanations of the digital universe of ‘U,’ which is where this ‘Belle’ avatar becomes a singing sensation, and meets her ‘Beast’…It’s all a little hard to follow.”Summary & Info
A shy girl (voiced by Kaho Nakamura) struggles with loneliness after the death of her mother, until she enters the virtual universe of U, where she can be who she really wants to be. Cast: the voices of Ryô Narita, Shôta Sometani, Tina Tamashiro, Ikura, Sumi Shimamoto, Kôji Yakusho and Ermhoi. Director: Mamoru Hosoda. In Japanese with English subtitles. [2:01 – PG]