Beautiful, Where Ryū to sobakasu no hime (The Dragon and the Freckled Princess) of his original name, is the latest from director Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu. The story takes place in modern times. Suzu, a shy and withdrawn teenager in real life, becomes Belle, a pink-haired song superstar, in the virtual U.
In this digital world, everyone can get an alter ego, without ever revealing their identity. During one of Beauty’s concerts, the Beast, a violent and mysterious creature bursts in. She is hunted by the protectors of the U universe, then disappears. Belle, intrigued, goes in search of this creature to help her between reality and virtual.
Suzu aka Belle, has to juggle her two opposing personalities while keeping her virtual identity a secret in real life. Mamoru Hosoda, the director, offers through this film a bittersweet critique of user behavior on digital platforms. Suzu faces waves of adoration and then hatred directed at Belle. Stars of U are showered with praise and then fall abruptly into anonymity when a new idol emerges.
But U also constitutes for Suzu an escape from her gloomy daily life. Belle brings her strength and become who she really is. AT Through this universe, the heroine will find allies to count on, whom she will find in real life.
This work is masterfully punctuated by a soundtrack by Taisei Iwasaki, which offers a powerful musical universe to Beautiful. In its original version, the artist Kaho Nakamura lends his voice to the heroine. In the French version, it is the singer and actress Louane (Give me your heart if you were there) who becomes both Suzu and her alter ego Belle.
Visually, Beautiful does not leave marble. The work is luminous and makes you dream. In U, anything is possible with rains of flowers, flying whales, aerial castles, created by the studio Cartoon Saloon, nominated at the Oscars for The Wolf People. Disney fans may notice a resemblance between some characters and those in Snow Queen Where Vaiana. And for good reason: they have the same creator, Jin Kim.
Beautiful is in short a beautiful animated film which tackles in turn strong themes such as mourning, love, friendship. If we can blame a rather long end of the story, the work is no less moving and deep, the perfect cocktail to dream in these festive times.
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Kind : animation, science fiction, adventure
Director : Mamoru Hosoda
With : Louane Emera, Kaho Nakamura, Koji Yakusho
Country : Japan
Original title : Ryu to Sobakasu no Hime
Duration : 2h02
Exit : December 29, 2021
Distributer : Studio Chizu
Synopsis : In real life, Suzu is a self-conscious teenager, stuck in her small mountain town with her father. But in U’s virtual world, Suzu becomes Belle, a musical icon followed by more than 5 billion followers. A difficult double life for the shy Suzu, who will take an unexpected flight when Beauty meets the Beast, a creature as fascinating as it is frightening. Then begins a virtual crossover between Beauty and the Beast, at the end of which Suzu will discover who she is.