Mamoru Hosoda's Belle gets a 14-minute Standing Ovation at Cannes

Date: 2021 July 21 20:14

Posted by Joe

The good folks from anime distribution company Anime Limited have just sent us the latest update about Mamoru Hosoda's latest movie Belle. The film has just received a 14-minute standing ovation at Cannes. The coveted audience endorsement was the the seventh longest in the festival's history!

We haven't seen the movie yet, but we're excited about it, as Mamoru Hosoda has a track record of delivering great movies. Critics are making the right sounds about it too, with Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin saying "there is usually one film per Cannes that emotionally bulldozes me, and this year Belle was it." While Time Out's Phil de Semlyen described it as one of my favourite things at Cannes.

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Press release as follows:



FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ANIMATED FANTASY BELLE DAZZLES CRITICS AT CANNES WORLD PREMIERE

Oscar®-nominated director Mamoru Hosoda's story of the internet and adolescence celebrated with 14 minute standing ovation

London, UK, 20th July 2021: The world premiere of BELLE the latest animated feature film from award-winning director Mamoru Hosoda, was met with cheers and a fourteen-minute standing ovation following its world premiere at the 74th Cannes Film Festival on Thursday July 15th - the seventh longest in the festival's history. Critics responded with enthusiasm on Twitter following the premiere, with Phil de Semlyen calling it "a dazzling cyber fairy-tale" and Robbie Collin adding that "there is usually one film per Cannes that emotionally bulldozes me, and this year Belle was it."

Anime Limited, Europe's premiere distributor for Japanese animation, will be releasing BELLE in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and France.

BELLE, the journey of a shy and self-conscious teenager finding herself through the avatar of a world famous virtual singer, is a film that reaches beyond borders both on and off the screen with a creative team showcasing the calibre of global talent in modern animation. The striking character designs for the character of Belle come from Jin Kim, best known for Disney modern classics Frozen, Moana, and Tangled, with the film's world enriched by breathtaking art from the Oscar®-nominated team of Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart (Cartoon Saloon's Wolfwalkers, Song of the Sea).

When gathering the team for BELLE, Hosoda also sought talent from beyond the realms of animation, collaborating with British architect and designer Eric Wong on designing the virtual world of "U". Swedish composer Ludvig Forssell also makes his theatrical debut with BELLE, having spent the last decade working with the legendary video game designer Hideo Kojima, scoring critically acclaimed games such as Death Stranding and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.

BELLE is written, directed, and produced by the celebrated filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda whose previous works include Mirai, The Boy and the Beast, Wolf Children, Summer Wars, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, among other classics.

Anime Limited previously distributed Mirai, the previous film from Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu, in the UK, France, and Ireland. After debuting at the Director's Fortnight in Cannes, Mirai went on to receive a nomination for "Best Animated Feature" from the 2019 Academy Awards and become the first Japanese animated feature to receive a nomination for "Best Feature - Animated" at the 2019 Golden Globe Awards.

Synopsis:

From the celebrated Oscar®-nominated director Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu, creator of Mirai, Wolf Children, Summer Wars, and more, comes a fantastical, yet beautiful and contemporary thematic story of one girl's growth in the age of social media.

Suzu is a 17-year-old high school student living in a rural village with her father. For years, she has only been a shadow of herself. One day, she enters "U," a virtual world of 5 billion members on the Internet. There, she is not Suzu anymore but Belle, a world-famous singer. She soon meets with a mysterious creature. Together, they embark on a journey of adventures, challenges and love, in their quest to become who they truly are.

WATCH THE TRAILER HERE


About Mamoru Hosoda

Born in Toyama in 1967, Mamoru Hosoda joined the prestigious Toei Doga (now Toei Animation Co., Ltd) as an animator, where he first attracted notoriety with 2000's Digimon: Our War Game (released internationally as part of Digimon the Movie). After becoming a freelancer and working with the anime studio MADHOUSE, his 2006 film The Girl Who Leapt Through Time saw success internationally and at the Annecy International Film Festival, which was followed in 2009 by his "geek" family film Summer Wars.

In 2011, he founded Studio Chizu with his long-time producer Yuichiro Saito, releasing Wolf Children (2014) and The Boy and the Beast (2016). Hosoda gained international recognition with his childhood fantasy Mirai, which was nominated for "Best Animated Feature" at the 2019 Academy Awards, and is currently the only Japanese film to receive a Golden Globes nomination for "Best Feature - Animated" in the history of the event.


About Anime Limited:

Based out of Glasgow, Anime Limited is Europe's premiere distributor for Japanese animation, renowned for bespoke collector's editions of fan-favourite anime and soundtracks, connecting Western audiences with creators across languages and oceans, and helping to bring anime front and centre in cinemas. Anime Limited proudly produces releases from the biggest franchises in anime including Cowboy Bebop, Attack on Titan, NEON GENESIS EVANGELION, Mobile Suit Gundam, Tokyo Ghoul, Your Name, Weathering With You, Mirai and JUJUTSU KAISEN.