Belle may be a tale old as time, but it’s told through the lens of tomorrow’s technology. Writer/director Mamoru Hosoda makes no secret of the debt to the classic fairy tale; Belle and “The Dragon” even dance in a grand ballroom scene recreating the Disney version. Using a virtual world, Hosoda doesn’t so much flip the story on its head as point out that we had all been taking the wrong lessons from it.
In this anime version (titled in Japanese Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime, or “The Dragon and the Freckled Princess”), Belle is as much an alter ego as the Dragon. The virtual social network “U” allows shy and depressed Suzu Naito to become the delicate but powerful Bell. In the cyberworld, she regains the singing voice robbed from her by childhood trauma. While she chose Bell as the English meaning of “Suzu,” her fans transmute it to the French word Belle.
Soon known world-wide by inhabitants of U, her first official concert is interrupted by The Dragon, the angry despoiler of U. Chased by the self-appointed guardian of U Justin, the Dragon always escapes. And the Dragon always leaves chaos in his wake. He’s kind of the ultimate internet troll, except there’s more to him than that.
Of course Belle must search for him, even as the real world searches, too. The Dragon has throbbing bruises on his back, which must correlate to his real-world self. The U interface takes biometric information from the user when creating the avatar. (It may seem like technobabble, but the film explains it a little better.) It’s an engrossing hunt, sometimes funny and sometimes sad. And at the same time, Suzu has to just be Suzu in school and to her widowed father.
Hosoda keeps a good balance between worlds, using the metaverse (there, I said it) to distract from the real plot, but never overwhelm it. It’s almost a mirror image of Ready Player One, but more satisfying. Belle inhabits a fictional culture that is thriving instead of reflecting cultures past. And as we’ve all grown more sophisticated with technology, Hosoda’s extrapolations over where it’s going next make sense. Users can reinvent themselves online (and have been for years). But that doesn’t mean they get to stay anonymous.
Belle has also been expertly translated/adapted into English. Kylie McNeill dubs the role of Suzu, while Chace Crawford (The Deep in The Boys) voices the arrogant Justin. Manny Jacinto from The Good Place brings warmth to Shinobu, Suzu’s childhood friend who she crushes on.
Don’t dismiss Belle as a story you’ve heard before. It’s a moving remix into something new and beautiful.
