Belle: Collector's Edition - 4K Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Belle: Collector's Edition



Movie:
4K Video:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score:


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Movie
As is the case with many Gkids releases, they’ve opted to release the 4K UHD upgrade to May’s Blu-ray release (Review HERE) just a few scant months later. This time with an upgraded special features set, physical swag such as a poster, art cards, a new art book etc.. and some much needed boosting to the video score (which was the major problem for the Blu-ray release. Dig in fellas, cuz this is quite simply the definitive edition of the film releases domestically and the one you want to own if you’re a fan of the film.

Mamoru Hosoda is one of the most prolific animated directors in all of Anime, in my personal opinion, having directed some of my favorite films. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Wolf Children, Mirai, Summer Wars, and the incredible Samurai Champloo series, just to name a few. Basically if I see a movie with his name on it, my butt is firmly in the seat front and center when it comes out.

I vaguely remember hearing about Belle a year ago, and when my wife went to go see it in its theatrical run I came home to her babbling about the film for a good 2 hours straight like a crazy woman. Resisting the urge to catch a stream of it, or find other sources, I patiently held out for the home video release, and with trembling hands, sat down to watch it tonight. Honestly, I think I need to re-evaluate my “Mamoru Hosoda Hierarchy” again, as I think that The Girl Who Leapt Through Time has a contender for best film out of his catalog of works, and that’s really saying something.

Belle is a thematic retelling of Beauty and the Beast, with elements of Ready Player One and a scathing commentary on the state of social media in our lives today. On the surface that sounds completely ridiculous and cliched, but upon viewing it I have to admit that it is one of the most complex “simple” stories I’ve seen in ages. Suzu (Kaho Nakamura) is a shy young high school student who grew up in a single parent household after her mother died saving a child stuck in the river. She’s quiet, rather a crybaby (as stated by her best friend), and absolutely terrified of living. However, in the not so distant future that is this film, there’s a new social media giant out there. A virtual reality world ala Ready Player One called simply “U”. A place where you can reinvent yourself with the mask of an anonymous avatar system, and be whoever you want to be. Suzu dons the name Belle, and upon entering U finds out that she now has the courage to be what she couldn’t be in the real world.

Having the voice of an angel, Belle becomes a virtual superstar over night, shooting her in the hundreds of millions of fans as she sings her way into their hearts (there’s a hilarious bit where they satirize the entire entertainment and music industry with her best friend playing the part of the crazed and money hungry music producer to a T). However, in the middle of one of her concerts Belle is interrupted by a gigantic martial arts battle invading her arena. At the heart of it is the mysteriously ugly “monster” known as Dragyn. A rage filled martial arts beast that has been battling the U-verse fighting world with unheard of ferocity. The guardians of the U-verse (who are sadly a LOT like social media moderators. Something anyone who has ever spent time on social media will see immediately) are trying to subdue and unveil him (their version of doxing), but the beast is just TOO powerful. Naturally Belle is drawn to the beast, trying to figure out just what makes him tick, and what is causing him to be this vicious. However, the further and further down the rabbit hole she goes, the more questions are raised, until the shocking twist near the end reveals a purpose of Belle/Suzu that may require her to sacrifice her anonymity to fulfill.

Belle is actually two stories in one. On one hand we have the story of Suzu and her friends. Her ability to blend into the world and stay anonymous despite wanting to be seen desperately. It’s a scathing commentary on how social media and social structures can ostracize and put crushing weight on a person. Hosoda does a magnificent job at weaving a standard hero’s tale of going from weak to strong, but also infusing a rather biting satire on the state of our social media, and how we’ve actually became “less” as a result of more interaction with it.

On the other hand we have the fantastical and magical virtual reality world of U where the Beauty and the Beast story takes place. Fans of the classic fairy tale will recognize many of the beats (and even some of the songs are actually melodies from the Disney film, remixed and changed for the film, and sung as Belle), and the natural progression of Belle and the Beast’s friendship. HOWEVER (don’t worry, I’m not going to spoil the twist), there is a massive twist that completely subverts the audiences expectations over the who the Beast is in real life. It’s so subtle, so in your face, yet so shocking when it gets to you that I had to re-watch it twice just to realize how brilliant it is. Your eyes are firmly fixed on several people in the film over the 2 hour run time that could possibly be it, but instead the rug gets pulled straight out from under you in one scene. But honestly, this is one of the best portions of the film, as it re-adjusts the love dynamic between Belle and Dragyn/The Beast in a way that actually makes it MORE powerful than if it was your typical romance.




Rating:

Rated PG for thematic content, violence, language and brief suggestive material




4K Video: Video:

Now onto the MOST important improvement in the package. Gkids encode for the Blu-ray was the literal Achilles heel of the Blu-ray set. Don’t get me wrong, it wasn’t some awful DNR ridden crap fest or something. The disc had great colors, great details, and was generally competently done. It’s major flaw was that Gkids had stuck with a Constant Bitrate encode for the disc, and was just absolutely littered with banding. And I’m talking banding EVERYWHERE. Looking back I think it was partially a mistake with the CBR encode, and partially that the Blu-ray just didn’t have the bandwidth to handle sooooooooooooooooooo much activity and sooooooooooooooooooo much color saturation at once. Luckily, the 4K UHD fixes that with a massively improved encode that looks sumptous.

My initial statements from the previous review still stands. This is a gorgeous looking film that thrives off of the bright and DEEPLY saturated colors. The U-verse is just littered with a million shades of blue, pink, red, black, yellow and every color in between. The blast from the “revealing” beam is incredibly bright a stands out, as does belle’s hair and the deep blues and blacks of the Beast’s “castle”. Comparing the two discs it’s not even really a competition. Animation is sharper and cleaner, with better delineated lines, and color depth with the use of HDR is amazing. The colors are just that much more rich and vibrant, and give the film a real sense of pop. I still notice a little banding hear than there (chapter 13 and chapter 17 stood out), but overall it’s literally a fraction of a fraction of the banding available on the Blu-ray. Simply put, this is a huge upgrade over the Blu-ray and well worth upgrading to.







Audio:

I rated Belle’s 5.1 DTS-HD MA track a perfect 5/5 mix back in May, and I still stand by that rating. It’s an incredibly bombastic mix with amazing dialog, stunning use of surrounds, and HEAVY bass. Shout/Gkids has upped the ante just a little bit, making it a more perfect track with the use of Atmos. Atoms that is used quite well considering the nature of the film and how it really lends itself towards object based sound. Overheads are used with much aplomb while in the middle U-verse, with voices floating overhead as characters shift positions, and the music throbbing from literally EVERY speaker in the room. Bass is punishing at times, with the Beast’s massive spectacle fight in the arena all the more intense, and Belle’s opening song flapping every pant leg. It’s a nice improvement for sure, and while it may not be night and day different than the 5.1 mix, the use of object oriented positioning really makes it feel that much more encompassing.









Extras:

Blu-ray Disc 1
• The Making of BELLE
• A Conversation with Director Mamoru Hosoda
• The Music of BELLE
• Hosoda Draws BELLE
• Scene Breakdowns
• Finding the Voice of Belle
• Mamoru Hosoda at Animation is Film
• Design Gallery
• Kylie McNeill Performs “Gales of Song”

Blu-ray Features Disc 2
• Behind The Japanese Dub:
• Promo Events with Hosoda and Cast
• Special Dialogues with Cast
• Interview with Takeru Satoh
• Eric Wong Interview

Physical Features
• 60 Page Art Book
• 6 Art Cards
• Mini Poster
• Stickers

Final Score: ​

Belle was one of my favorite 2021 films and the Blu-ray (while not great on the video encode side) was watched more than half a dozen times in the last 3 months. The film is taken from the conceit of Beauty and the Beast with director Mamoru Hosoda specifically blending in allegorical references to how social media has consumed our lives, and grounding it in reality. It’s sweet, sorrowful, and completely engrossing to watch. The Gkids release through Shout Factory is head and shoulder’s better than the Blu-ray, with much improved video, slightly better audio, and a metric buttload (yes, a very technical term there we use in “the industry”) of special features. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED


Technical Specifications:

Starring: Kaho Nakamura, Ryo Narita, Shota Sometani, Tina Tamashiro, Toshiyuki Morikawa,
Directed by: Mamoru Hosoda
Written by: Mamoru Hosoda
Aspect Ratio: 2.39:1 HEVC
Audio: English: Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core), Japanese Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 Core)
Subtitles: English SDH, English, Spanish
Studio: Shout Factory
Rated: PG
Runtime: 122 minutes
Blu-Ray Release Date: August 30th, 2022

Recommendation: Must Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I can't remember seeing this one but will check it out.