GKIDS BRINGS OSCAR® NOMINATED DIRECTOR MAMORU HOSODA’S
“BELLE” TO THEATERS NATIONWIDE ON JANUARY 14, 2022
New Teasers and Images Released
GKIDS, the acclaimed distributor of multiple Academy Award®-nominated animated features will bring BELLE to cinemas nationwide starting January 14. BELLE, from Oscar®-nominated filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda and Japan’s Studio Chizu is an original story written and helmed by the celebrated director whose previous films include Mirai, The Boy and the Beast, Wolf Children, Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time and others. Hosoda is joined by long time producing partner and Studio Chizu co-founder Yuichiro Saito, as producer on the title. BELLE made its critically acclaimed world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival. The film has also played in competition at the London Film Festival, as well as at Fantastic Fest, and will have its west coast premiere in Los Angeles at the upcoming Animation is Film festival. GKIDS will qualify the film for 2021 awards consideration and release it theatrically in both its original Japanese language and a new English dubbed version.
On BELLE, the Japanese creative team worked in collaboration with a roster of international talents. Character designer Jin Kim, the artist behind several iconic Disney features including Moana, Tangled, and Frozen, designed the titular Belle. Cartoon Saloon’s Oscar®-nominated Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart (Wolfwalkers, Song of the Sea, The Secret of Kells) also join the team, contributing artwork for the various virtual fantasy worlds within the film. Hosoda continues his film collaborations with architects, and is joined by up-and-coming British architect and designer Eric Wong, who designed the virtual world of “U.” Rounding out the team, composer Ludvig Forssell, best known for his collaborations with video game auteur Hideo Kojima (Death Stranding, Metal Gear Solid V), joined the score team for the film.
BELLE was released in theaters in Japan starting July 16, and has become Hosoda’s highest-grossing film ever, beating the lifetime gross of Boy and the Beast.
BELLE Synopsis
From the celebrated Academy Award®-nominated director Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu, creators of Mirai, Wolf Children, Summer Wars, and more, comes a fantastical, heartfelt story of growing up in the age of social media. Suzu is a shy, everyday high school student living in a rural village. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. But when she enters “U”, a massive virtual world, she escapes into her online persona as Belle, a gorgeous and globally-beloved singer. One day, her concert is interrupted by a monstrous creature chased by vigilantes. As their hunt escalates, Suzu embarks on an emotional and epic quest to uncover the identity of this mysterious “beast” and to discover her true self in a world where you can be anyone.
Running time: 122 minutes.
© 2021 Studio Chizu
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