© 2021 Studio Chizu
New Teasers and Images Released
What You Need to Know:
- GKIDS, the acclaimed distributor of multiple Academy Award®-nominated animated features announced today it 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.
About GKIDS
GKIDS is the producer and distributor of award-winning feature animation for both adult and family audiences. Since 2010, the company has scored an astounding 12 Best Animated Feature Oscar nominations with The Secret of Kells in 2010, A Cat in Paris and Chico & Rita in 2012, Ernest & Celestine in 2014, The Tale of The Princess Kaguya and Song of the Sea in 2015, Boy and the World and When Marnie Was There in 2016, My Life as a Zucchini in 2017, The Breadwinner in 2018, Mirai in 2019, and Wolfwalkers in 2021. GKIDS also handles North American distribution for the famed Studio Ghibli library of films, one of the world’s most coveted animation collections with titles Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, Princess Mononoke and others; as well as the critically acclaimed television series, Neon Genesis Evangelion. GKIDS also hosts ANIMATION IS FILM (AIF), an annual LA-based film festival which embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form, and is a vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of the medium to its fullest range of artistic expressions. AIF returns to Hollywood this fall, October 22-24. www.gkids.com
About STUDIO CHIZU
STUDIO CHIZU was established in April 2011 by director Mamoru Hosoda and producer Yuichiro Saito as a new base for filmmaking. Studio Chizu is a studio specializing in the planning and production of animated films, and the name of the studio reflects the spirit of filmmaking: "to challenge new motifs, themes, and expressions, and to create a new map in the land of animated films, where there are still infinite possibilities. For children and their families around the world, we want to continue to be a "challenger" to create new values and a future for this era.
Source: Official Press Release
