Studio Chizu dropped a new international trailer of Mamoru Hosoda’s upcoming animated musical fantasy, Belle. The animated feature is all set to hit the Japanese theatres on 16 July.
Hosoda is a well-established director who holds Academy Award and Golden Globes award nominations for his previous film Mirai. He also won the Annie Award for Best Feature Animation.
The one and half minute trailer features Suzu, 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 five 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 of becoming who they truly are.
The creative team of the film includes top Japanese and international artists like Jin Kim (Frozen, Tangled, Big Hero 6, Moana) who is doing the character design and created the look of Belle, the concept artist Eric Wong, as well as Oscar-nominated Wolfwalkers directors Tomm Moore and Ross Stewart of Cartoon Saloon (Song of the Sea, The Secret of Kells).
Belle will premiere in Japan on 16 July, but there’s still no release date for the international market.
