One of the most-anticipated animations of the year comes from Mamoru Hosoda, the acclaimed auteur behind ‘The Girl Who Leapt Through Time’, ‘Wolf Children’, ‘The Boy and the Beast’, and most recently, the Oscar-nominated ‘Mirai’. He’s now returning with ‘Belle’, which is set for a July release in Japan and now the first full trailer has debuted.
The film 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 “LJ,” 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.
“’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.”
Mamoru Hosoda
“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.”
Mamoru Hosoda
‘Belle’ is produced by Hosoda’s long-standing collaborator, Yuichiro Saito, president of Studio Chizu, the director’s animation banner.
Nicolae Baldovin
