Mamoru Hosoda’s Belle Confirms Release Window with New Trailer

Mamoru Hosoda’s newest feature film, Belle, has confirmed its release window with its new trailer! Hosoda’s feature film slate has been filled with some of the most well received of all time with features like Summer Wars, Wolf Children, and most recently, Mirai, and now the famed director has a new film on the way to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Studio Chizu. But this time, Hosoda has enlisted some major help from other titans of animation such as the Academy Award nominated studio Cartoon Saloon (Wolfwalkers, Song of the Sea) and character design from Disney legend Jin Kim.

Confirming its upcoming release in theaters in Japan this July, the newest trailer for Belle shows off our best look at the new feature yet. This is especially true for the titular “Belle” herself, who was designed by Disney animator Jin Kim (who’s worked on films such as Frozen, Moana, and Big Hero 6). You can check out the trailer in the video above, and get a much closer look at Belle’s character design from Studio Chizu below:

Along with these collaborators, Mamoru Hosoda is credited with the original story and serves as writer and director for this new film. Studio Chizu officially describes Belle as such, “Our protagonist, Suzu, is a 17-year old high school girl, who lives in the countryside of Kochi Prefecture with her father, after losing her mother at a young age. She loves singing with her mother more than anything else, but as a result of her mother’s death was no longer able to sing. It wasn’t long before she and her father grew more and more distant from each other, and Suzu closed her heart to the rest of the world.”

The synopsis continues as such, When Suzu felt that writing music was her only purpose left in life, she then discovers the massive online space known as ‘U,’ where she takes on her persona, Belle. Another me. Another reality. We are no longer limited to a single world. Suzu quickly realizes that when she is inside ‘U’ as her avatar, Belle, she can sing quite naturally. As she continues to showcase her own music in the virtual world, she fast becomes the rising star of ‘U.’ Nonetheless, that surprise is short-lived. Suddenly, a mysterious dragon-shaped creature appears before her…”

What do you think of this newest look at Mamoru Hosoda’s next feature film? What’s your favorite film from the creator so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or you can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!