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BELLE MOVIE REVIEW
The “tale as old as time” gets a futuristic upgrade when shy schoolgirl, Suzu, enters the virtual world of “U,” and transforms into the pop singing sensation, Belle. Unfortunately for Belle, but necessary for the plot, her global VR-world fame draws the attention of The Dragon, a bruised and battered beast who is hated and feared by the rest of the U world. Driven to discover the identity of The Dragon, while still maintaining her own secret identity, Suzu also has to navigate the complicated, and often dark, real-world of school, friends, budding romances, witnessing child abuse, and suffering PTSD from the loss of her mother, in the latest animated film by Studio Chizu. Check out the review and see if Rose, Mindy, and Lewayne think Belle is a new animated classic or so derivative that it’ll get slapped with a lawsuit from the Disney empire.
**Subscribers at TIME LORD level or above can check out the longer video version of the review right here
DIRECTED BY: Mamoru Hosoda
STARRING: Japanese: Kaho Nakamura, Takeru Satoh, Kōji Yakusho, Lilas Ikuta, Ryō Narita, Shōta Sometani, Tina Tamashiro, Toshiyuki Morikawa, Fuyumi Sakamoto, Kenjiro Tsuda, Mami Koyama, Mamoru Miyano, Michiko Shimizu, Ryoko Moriyama, Sachiyo Nakao, Yoshimi Iwasaki, Sumi Shimamoto, Ken Ishiguro. English: Kylie McNeill, Paul Castro Jr., Ben Lepley, Jessica DiCicco, Manny Jacinto, Brandon Engman, Hunter Schafer, Chace Crawford, Ellyn Stern, Andrew Kishino, Noelle McGrath, David Chen, Jessica Gee George, Barbara Goodson, Martha Harms, Wendee Lee, Julie Nathanson, Kiff VandenHeuvel
YOUR REVIEWERS
Mindy Rast-Keenan (Screener Squad, Highly Suspect Reviews)
Having grown up in Nairobi, Kenya, and being very disappointed at the lack of riding elephants her cartoons had promised her, Mindy spends the majority of her time as a film, theater, and voice over actress in the Austin, Texas area. They still give her money for being on HBO that one time, with her name in the credits spelled wrong. A nerdy geek, this award-winning actress joined One of Us figuring she’d put her summa cum laude BFA acting degree to good use…by judging other people’s acting. In the few seconds she gets to herself, Mindy bakes for charity, knits eccentric plushies, plays original RPG’s with her gamemaster husband, and spends time with her soulmate, Batman.
Rose Mattox (Screener Squad, Eye On The Prize)
Originally hailing from Austin then Houston, Rose has been an avid movie and TV fanatic pretty much since birth. She spends spending her days watching Star Trek reruns, 60’s spy fiction, and Audrey Hepburn movies with her beloved minion (see: dog Riley). She also occasionally dabbles in comedy, screenwriting, as well as graphic and interior design. Rose has been contributing to One of Us since 2019 as a member of the Screener Squad, as well as making regular appearances on Eye on the Prize during awards season. She can be found on Twitter at @nightattheopera.
Lewayne White (Screener Squad)
Lewayne’s earliest memories are of watching movies and reading comics, which instilled in him a sense of wonder, a vivid imagination, and unrealistic expectations. It also means he spends a lot of time watching movies, writing scripts for them, and trying to get them made. He lives in the middle of middle America after landing there as a child, and has remained there mainly because he hates packing.
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