Belle
GKIDS | Release Date: January 14, 2022 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
83
METASCORE
Universal acclaim based on 31 Critic Reviews
Positive:
28
Mixed:
3
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Total FilmKevin HarleyFeb 4, 2022
Between hidden depths and dazzling surfaces, home truths and virtual wonders, Hosoda’s tale of teenage anguish, connectivity and emotional salvation enraptures. Read full review
100
The TelegraphRobbie CollinJul 16, 2021
Belle is a beautifully observed, dazzlingly animated sci-fi fairy tale about our online-offline double lives – it’s Hosoda’s finest film since 2012’s Wolf Children, and perhaps his best to date. Read full review
100
Time OutPhil de SemlyenJul 16, 2021
Mamoru Hosoda’s cyber fairy-tale is basically wall-to-wall bangers, all backdropped by virtual worlds that wash over you in waves of world-building so detailed and epic, they’d make William Gibson’s eyes pop. Read full review
99
TheWrapCarlos AguilarJan 14, 2022
An aesthetically imaginative and affectingly breathtaking fairytale for our modern world, Belle envelops you first with its clever mechanics and youthful preoccupations. But as the reflective subtext comes to light, it extends an invitation to reconnect with others offline and to beware the comfort of these surrogate identities. Read full review
90
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreJan 15, 2022
As is often the case with Hosoda, it’s the extracurricular details that make his work so moving, the textures of the everyday lives of his characters that become something larger and more profound when placed in contrast to the genre elements at the center of his story. Read full review
90
The New York TimesManohla DargisJan 13, 2022
Colors and hearts explode in Belle, and your head might too while watching this gorgeous anime. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungJul 16, 2021
Perhaps the most ambitious film to date by Japanese animator Mamoru Hosoda. Read full review
89
Austin ChronicleRichard WhittakerJan 15, 2022
Everyone has secrets, Hosoda posits, and the internet may play a role in our ability to process them, heal our wounds, and maybe find the person who can save us from ourselves. That he does that through a gorgeous SF-tinged version of a classic fairy tale is not simply a bonus (just those components would have made a memorable new version of Villeneuve's timeless story). It's a vital act of recontextualization, not ham-fisted revisionism. Read full review
88
ABC NewsPeter TraversJan 14, 2022
Oscar shortlisted for best animated film, this ravishing new gem from anime master Mamoru Hosoda is a knockout fantasia that cuts to the core of Gen Z lives that revolve around digi-tech and yet speaks an intimate universal language of love and loss. Read full review
88
The Associated PressJake CoyleJan 12, 2022
Anime master Mamoru Hosoda makes movies that, even at their most elaborate, can reach such staggeringly emotional heights that they seem to break free of anything you’re prepared for in an animated movie — or in most kinds of movies, for that matter. Read full review
84
Paste MagazineMax CovillJan 13, 2022
Not only is it an intriguing retelling of Beauty and the Beast, it’s also a moving story about overcoming grief and seeking help when everything seems lost. Though it tackles a little too much, Belle is a triumph. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubNoel MurrayJan 11, 2022
Individual moments in Belle are frequently magical: Many of the real-world scenes are beautifully staged and illustrated, with characters moving quietly and slowly through outdoor spaces while sunlight dapples across the water and birds flit by. Read full review
83
The Film StageRory O'ConnorAug 23, 2021
Belle is the most ambitious work yet from Hosoda. Read full review
83
The PlaylistIana MurrayJul 17, 2021
The film strikes a careful balance between the high school drama and the online realm but also explores how those two environments bleed into each other. Read full review
80
The Observer (UK)Simran HansFeb 11, 2022
The film’s message is a beautiful one: to integrate our real-life vulnerabilities with the persona we project is to become all the more powerful. Read full review
80
EmpireKambole CampbellFeb 4, 2022
Belle is an exhilarating transformation of a classic tale, updating a story of alienation into something deeply resonant with our digital way of life. Though it misses a couple of notes in its final act, it’s an exhilarating sensory experience, with great emotional depths. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesTara BradyFeb 4, 2022
Though not quite as extravagantly imaginative as The Girl Who Leapt Through Time or Wolf Children, the eighth feature from Mamoru Hosada marries dazzling spectacle, high-octane action and social commentary. Read full review
80
Little White LiesHannah StrongFeb 2, 2022
Fast becoming one of the most exciting filmmakers in Japanese animation, Hosoda continues to build on an impressive body of work, dealing with heavy themes in a sensitive and artistic manner. Read full review
80
PolygonAnnie LyonsJan 14, 2022
The core of the movie is about empathy, and Hosoda’s sentimentality is compelling, even at its most overstated and earnest. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangJan 13, 2022
Despite the unwieldy narrative complications, Hosoda achieves an adroit, ultimately instructive balance of kinesis and stillness. Read full review
80
Wall Street JournalJoe MorgensternJan 13, 2022
There’s too much plot for the film to manage, but its heart, and sumptuous art, are so firmly in the right place that its appeal comes through sweet and clear. Read full review
80
VarietyPeter DebrugeJan 6, 2022
In a sense, movies aren’t so different from the virtual worlds a platform like U offers, and this one promises a special kind of escapism while going out of its way to keep it real. Read full review
80
Screen DailyTim GriersonJul 16, 2021
At first, it appears that Hosoda merely wants to remake Beauty And The Beast, but there are surprises in store that shouldn’t be spoiled. Let it be said, however, that what makes Belle affecting in its later stretches is Hosoda’s subversion of that fairy tale’s narrative — in particular, its notion of true beauty and the reasons why the Beast has grown so withdrawn and distrustful. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comRobert DanielsJan 14, 2022
It’s a meticulously crafted, albeit not totally original critique of internet culture, bursting with color and melodramatic teen angst. Read full review
75
ObserverChristopher L. InoaJan 13, 2022
As much as there is to wonder at in Belle, the film is weighed down by its convoluted narrative. Read full review
75
Slant MagazineDerek SmithJan 10, 2022
For all of the film’s visually striking action and musical set pieces, it’s the generosity of spirit with which it approaches the modern teenage experience that’s its most impressive attribute. Read full review
75
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJul 16, 2021
Hosoda is a born maximalist with a big heart, and while his most ambitious moonshot to date isn’t quite able to arrange all of its moving parts together along the same orbit, it’s impressive to see how many of them remain moving all the same. Read full review
63
Movie NationRoger MooreJan 5, 2022
It’s all a little hard to follow. But it’s always a wonder to look at, and even children will pick up on the fact that this is a different take on a classic tale, even if they, like the adults watching it with them, may sit on the fence about how well this hybrid story works. Read full review
60
The GuardianPeter BradshawFeb 3, 2022
It is an intriguing story, although I have to admit to feeling a bit bemused at the arbitrary way the Beast story is inserted into the already tense and interesting situation of Suzu/Belle and her relationships with people at home and school. Read full review
60
We Got This CoveredAutumn WrightJan 15, 2022
With U, Belle could be a prescient reimagining of real-kei for a new age, but it never fully escapes the tired conventions of homage it so desperately wants to fit into this future. Read full review
60
IGNBrittany VincentJan 15, 2022
Belle is a gorgeously animated, futuristic interpretation of Beauty and the Beast that combines dazzling song and eye-popping visuals for a well-meaning yet meandering modern fairy tale. Unfortunately, its heartfelt message is muddled by perplexing plot holes, occasionally grating characters, and a bloated runtime. Read full review
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