Scarlet
Sony Pictures Classics | Release Date: February 6, 2026 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
56
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 20 Critic Reviews
Positive:
7
Mixed:
13
Negative:
0

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
92
TheWrapWilliam BibbianiDec 11, 2025
Scarlet' might be [Mamoru Hosoda]'s most narratively ambitious work to date, adapting and warping one of the most famous tales ever told, adding new layers of complexity, and centuries of new, invaluable context. Read full review
90
Screen DailyTim GriersonDec 8, 2025
What makes this adult animation so affecting is the writer-director’s commitment to fortifying his spectacle with a deep emotional undercurrent. Read full review
83
Original-CinChris KnightFeb 5, 2026
For an animated character, Scarlet feels remarkably real. Read full review
80
IGNKayti BurtFeb 10, 2026
Those looking for a straight Hamlet adaptation or an action-oriented animé should look elsewhere; those looking for a fantastical, visually glorious story that reflects on the potential and pitfalls of humanity are in for a good time. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesCarlos AguilarFeb 6, 2026
Despite any narrative quibbles, the movie deserves praise for its genuine call for compassion. Scarlet’s final encounter with Claudius radiates with the complicated poignancy expected of real, difficult catharsis. Read full review
70
Film ThreatAlan NgFeb 6, 2026
Scarlet is at its best when it is simply moving and letting the visuals, the fights, and the bond between Scarlet and Hijiri do the heavy lifting. Even when the destination feels obvious, the ride is so gorgeously constructed that it’s hard not to admire how confidently Hosoda brings it home. Read full review
70
Next Best PictureJosh ParhamDec 8, 2025
As is always the Achilles’ heel with Hosada, his narrative devolves into an elementary morality argument that feels completely dissonant with the extravagant imagination he’s able to conjure in his illustrations. His ambitions will always be appreciated for the bombastic exhibitions, but a deeper meaning to the themes he examines would also be appreciated. Read full review
60
The Irish TimesTara BradyMar 13, 2026
The Bard’s most famous creation may be many things, but Scarlet’s earnest moralising about empathy and collective responsibility feels more like Polonius’s vibe. Read full review
60
SlashfilmDevin MeenanOct 16, 2025
Dedicating yourself to revenge is an act of self-punishment that closes you off from a happier life. I admire the sentiment but a messy story that sometimes loses sight of Scarlet herself means it has limited resonance. Read full review
58
IndieWireAdam SolomonsDec 8, 2025
Scarlet amounts to a frustrating waste of animating and directorial skill for the price of an excessively ordinary story. Read full review
58
The Film StageJourdain SearlesOct 28, 2025
Opting for very few close-ups, Hosoda mistakes a large scope for compelling images and achieved something fans never thought possible: he’s made a film that looks generic. Read full review
50
The New York TimesMaya PhillipsFeb 12, 2026
“Scarlet” is peppered with a few exceptional moments of inspiration, but ends up caught in an awkward push-pull between Shakespeare’s text and the fantastical spaces where Hosoda’s vision extends. Read full review
50
The Travers TakePeter TraversFeb 6, 2026
The visuals dazzle, the plotting not so much in this gender-switched take on “Hamlet” as a warrior princess revenge epic from Japanese anime master Mamoru Hosoda. Read full review
50
RogerEbert.comRobert DanielsDec 12, 2025
Inspired but overwrought, “Scarlet,” an anime adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, begins with stunning style before falling off a major cliff. Read full review
50
The Associated PressJake CoyleDec 10, 2025
Hosoda grafted “Beauty and the Beast” into “Belle,” to sometimes awkward, sometimes illuminating effect. But in “Scarlet,” he struggles to bridge “Hamlet” to today. It’s a big swing, the kind filmmakers as talented as Hosoda should be taking, but it doesn’t pay off. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineJake ColeDec 8, 2025
On paper, anime master Hosoda Mamoru’s Scarlet sounds positively electrifying. Read full review
40
Little White LiesCallie PetchMar 13, 2026
On paper, it’s Hosada’s usual tunes blown up on a grander scale. In practice, the results are an overstuffed yet simplistic mess. Read full review
40
EmpireKambole CampbellMar 12, 2026
Mamoru Hosoda’s continuing experiments with animation are passable enough. But it’s not enough to uplift this loose adaptation of a literary classic with its rather clumsy thesis on cycles of violence.  Read full review
40
The GuardianPhil HoadMar 9, 2026
Visually ravishing though it is, Scarlet is a hefty disappointment from director Mamoru Hosoda, a leading light from whom we expect more than an incoherent and overbearing fantasy. Read full review
40
Wall Street JournalKyle SmithDec 11, 2025
For an animated feature, Scarlet is unusually ambitious: It’s a “Hamlet”-adjacent existential pacifist revenge parable. It contains lots of instances of its heroine stopping to wonder what everything means, which is another way of saying it’s ponderous and pretentious. Read full review
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