#Mamoru Hosada’s Belle Highlights Its Worlds and Visuals In New Trailer

A new trailer for Mamoru Hosada’s Belle (Ryuu to Sobakasu no Hime/The Dragon and the Freckled Princesss in Japanese) has been released, with the trailer illustrating the visual realization of the upcoming movie’s physical and digital worlds. 

The English trailer states that Belle is “coming soon,” while the Japanese trailer lists July as the date for the movie’s release in Japan. 

According to Variety, the movie’s staff includes international talents like Frozen character designer Jin Kim, British architect and designer Eric Wong, and Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart from Irish studio Cartoon Saloon, which produced the Oscar-nominated Song of the Sea, The Secret of the Kells, and Wolfwalkers. Hosoda and Kim are reported as having met at the 2019 Oscar ceremony, with the two admiring one another’s work. 

Belle was announced in December 2020 and is produced by Studio Chizu. Hosoda’s previous movie, Mirai, was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 91st Academy Awards and for Best Motion Picture-Animated at the 76th Golden Globes. Other Hosada movies include The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars, and The Boy and The Beast. 

The Studio Chizu website describes the story as:

Our protagonist, Suzu, is a 17-year old high school girl, who lives in the countryside of Kochi Prefecture with her father, after losing her mother at a young age.

She loves singing with her mother more than anything else, but as a result of her mother’s death was no longer able to sing.

It wasn’t long before she and her father grew more and more distant from each other, and Suzu closed her heart to the rest of the world.

When Suzu felt that writing music was her only purpose left in life, she then discovers the massive online space known as “U,” where she takes on her persona, Belle.

Another me.
Another reality.
We are no longer limited to a single world.

Suzu quickly realizes that when she is inside “U” as her avatar, Belle, she can sing quite naturally. As she continues to showcase her own music in the virtual world, she fast becomes the rising star of “U.”

Nonetheless, that surprise is short-lived. Suddenly, a mysterious dragon-shaped creature appears before her…