This summer, step into Mamoru Hosoda’s first virtual world in a decade.His new film, Belle, is the story of an ordinary 17-year-old who finds online fame as a singer. At a time when social networks eat away at reality and online abuse runs rampant, this story is a gentle reminder that both our real-world and online selves are genuine.Scenes from the movie and the rest of Hosoda’s oeuvre make their way to UT for the first time.
More than a virtual world: The Internet as another reality
Billowing white clouds, lush green landscapes, water glittering in the sunlight, the protagonist running vigorously through the dazzling midsummer light—Mamoru Hosoda's films embody summer, offering thrills from the very first scene. When asked why his films are all set in these vibrant summer landscapes, Hosoda laughs, “I'm often asked that. But you know, my films are always released in the summer.”
“I like summer movies,” he continues. “When it’s hot out, there’s nothing better than watching a feel-good movie in a cool movie theater.”
While Hosoda was at Toei Animation, another animator taught him that the season determines the mood of a film. Spring is for meetings and partings, fall is for musings on life through philosophical stories, and winter is for celebrations because of the New Year holiday. Summer, when it is too hot to think about anything difficult, is for upbeat films that remind us of going on vacation. “I’ve stubbornly stuck with that lesson,” he laughs.
His newest summer movie, Belle, opens in July. The film is set in the lush countryside of Kochi Prefecture, but there is something fantastical in the meticulously animated nature scenes, infused with a rawness that somehow feels more tangible than a real cloud or river.
“Animated films show a greater appreciation for the beauty of a landscape than live action,” says Hosoda. “It’s not just that seeing something beautiful stimulates the pleasure centers of the brain; filmmakers and audiences alike have high expectations about the quality of the animation. I'm always looking for settings that allow the animation to come alive.”
Hosoda has long had affection for Kochi. Ever since reading RYOMA!, the novel by Ryotaro Shiba, he has seen Kochi as one of the most historically significant areas in Japan.
The revolution that brought an end to Japan’s feudal era may have had its origins in Kochi, but visitors now are greeted by a tranquil and humble countryside full of nature. “The rivers in Kochi are so beautiful. The Niyodo River, especially, is unlike any other,” says Hosoda. “But at the same time, the area suffers from depopulation, disappearing villages, and declining birth rates at a higher rate than other parts of Japan. So rich in nature yet beset with acute social problems—Kochi is a microcosm of modern Japan.”
This is U, the massive virtual world designed by architect Eric Wong. He was asked to create a flat, CGI world reminiscent of OZ from Summer Wars and found inspiration in the European chord harp. A waxing crescent moon floats low in the sky.
Animating the Internet once a decade
Modern Japan is a constant theme in his films, often depicted through the use of the Internet. In Digimon Adventure: Our War Game! (2000), the protagonists access the Internet over a primitive ISDN connection and use emails to fight monsters. The idea of battling monsters through a computer monitor, without ever leaving the house, inspired a love for the Internet in the children who saw the film in theaters. In Summer Wars (2009), the characters team up through their avatars in the virtual world of OZ to stop a hacking AI. In the climax, the protagonist challenges the AI to a traditional Japanese card game. In a foreshadowing of what the Internet would become, social necessities such as gas, water, and taxes are paid through OZ.
About once a decade, Hosoda makes a film in which the Internet plays a prominent role; each time, that role changes. In Digimon Adventure, the earliest example, the Internet was still seen as a state-of-the-art tool used only by a subset of young people. When Summer Wars was released ten years later, it was much more commonplace. “Now, after another decade, we are debating about online harassment,” Hosoda says. “Anyone can send a message that causes direct harm to a person. I’ve seen a dynamic shift in the past few years. The Internet is no longer a separate virtual world but another reality.”
Once considered a utopia, the Internet has become a parallel world. It is easy to change our profile picture, age, or gender to present an idealized version of ourselves, but doing so eventually creates friction.
“I think what people are most afraid of when it comes to the Internet is someone discovering who you really are,” says Hosoda. “When you pretend to be someone else, it’s scary to think someone could reveal your identity. Traditional communication starts with knowing something about the person you’re talking to, but online, the entire premise of communication is different.”
Suzu, the protagonist of Belle, also wears a different face online. Ordinarily, Suzu is a normal 17-year-old from Kochi, but she takes on the persona of Belle, a diva with hundreds of millions of global followers, in the virtual world of U.
The film suggests that a star known far and wide online could actually be that quiet girl in your classroom—an idea that Hosoda finds exciting. “I'm the kind of person who roots for the shy girl. Besides, the person you are online and the person you are in real life are both true aspects of yourself. If who you are online gives you courage and strength in the real world, what’s wrong with that?”
From the character designer of Frozen
The glamorous Belle was designed by the legendary Jin Kim, who has created characters for animated hits such as Tangled, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and Frozen.
Following Mirai’s Golden Globe nomination, Hosoda began traveling frequently to LA. There, he met Glen Keane, the designer of Beast in Beauty and the Beast and whom Hosoda has been a fan of for thirty years. “If that wasn’t exciting enough, I also met Jin Kim, who worked on some of Keane’s films. I was just overjoyed. That’s how I got to ask Kim to work on Belle.”
And so the freckled diva came to life. But what was it like to work with the man behind some of the world’s best known Disney princesses?
“I was struck by his artistry,” says Hosoda. “We began by discussing the script, which had been translated into English. He was so sincere, offering his opinion as an American and asking if his interpretations were correct. We designed Belle together as we tossed around ideas about what it would take to become such a huge online star. And it's thanks to Jin that she has freckles.”
Creative collaborations bring a film to life
Kim is just one of the creators from around the world who helped bring Belle to the silver screen. When designing Belle’s dresses, Daisuke Iga, a stylist and the film’s chief costume designer, consulted with Kunihiko Morinaga of Anrealage, a fashion brand that presents at Paris Fashion Week, and Megumi Shinozaki, the floral artist behind edenworks in Tokyo. The concept art for the fantastical scene in which Belle is led to the dragon’s castle was created by Cartoon Saloon, a five-time Academy Award-nominated studio in Ireland. Eric Wong, a London architect and designer, led the production design for U.
Fittingly, it was on the Internet that Hosoda met Wong. After becoming enchanted with the artwork Wong had uploaded online, Hosoda recruited him to design U. “That I discovered him online, without knowing who he was, fits the premise of the film. Despite harassment and other problems, the Internet still has the power to let you discover interesting people.”
Meanwhile, Hosoda found Kaho Nakamura, the voice of Suzu, and Rira Ikuta, Suzu's best friend Hiro, at an audition.
“They are both so talented, it’s hard to believe that they had no prior acting experience,” says Hosoda. “We cast our voices through auditions, and there’s a real thrill of discovery when we hear the perfect voice for the role. I’ve been lucky to meet so many talented actors through my films.”
All of these creative influences helped bring Belle to the screen, but it is the staff of Studio Chizu who played the biggest role. Hosoda takes a moment to reflect on the decade since he founded the studio.
Ten years of Studio Chizu
Every film is different, and not every film is a hit. However, Hosoda still pours his all into each and every film, bracing himself—but with no regrets—for the possibility that the film might bring the studio under. “Now that we've been around for a decade, I think our legacy is on more solid footing. I know how lucky we are, and I want to savor this happiness so that we can continue making interesting films.”
Towards the end of the interview, Hosoda is asked what qualities are important for a director. His response: “The ability to make something as a team. One person can't make a film alone.”
Hosoda forges close connections with long-term staff as well as legendary creators from around the world to weave together a story. Like the Internet itself, Hosoda’s film career continues to transform and expand.
1. Belle
The virtual world U, created by Eric Wong, is printed on this shirt. This sprawling city of Lego-like towers is inhabited by five billion avatars, or Azes, created from biometric data scanned from the world’s populace.
This T-shirt features concept art for the dragon in Belle. The fascinating creature is the result of Hosoda’s note specifying a beast rather than a dragon. The images on the dragon’s body reveal his inner world.
3. Summer Wars
This shirt features King Kazma, a martial arts champion in the virtual world of OZ, winning a rematch against an AI named Love Machine. Kazma has the same hairstyle as Kazuma Ikezawa, his user.
After Love Machine takes over Kenji Koiso's original avatar, a boy with big ears, Kenji switches to Polly Possum, the squirrel avatar embroidered on this T-shirt’s chest pocket. On the back is a code solved by Kenji.
4. The Boy and the Beast
This T-shirt features the title of this film and a montage of Kyuta training in martial arts under Kumatetsu. The montage shows Kyuta’s growth in both height and strength over the course of several years.
5. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time
This T-shirt captures one of the most iconic moments of this 2006 film, when Makoto Konno runs up a set of stairs to jump through time. A cumulonimbus cloud, ubiquitous to Hosoda's films, is visible behind her.
PROFILE
Mamoru Hosoda | Born in Toyama in 1967, Hosoda is a director of animated films. Since he founded Studio Chizu in 2011, all five of the studio's films have won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Animation; Mirai (2018) also received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations.
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