While a visual marvel in CGI scenes and a musical delight, unfortunately Belle is not a short visual demonstration.
This film has many plot holes and unused plot devices and feels very much unfinished.
1. WHY is the beast being chased or regarded as a criminal in the virtual world? The first time we see him he is being chased into the concert, so we can only assume that he had committed a crime before that, or that it is assumed so by the police force. HOWEVER we never figure out why and in the wiki, it says that he is being chased BECAUSE he went into the concert.
2. VIOLENCE. If you are going to show us bruised backs, pictures of a wife that has had its frame punched through, and increase the tension of violence, only to have the father stand there awkwardly while the older brother practically looks like he is humping the younger one (which was extremely uncomfortable to watch) - what was the point? Why does this - fully grown - domestic abuser cry and scream at the sight of a random kid t-posing in front of the children he abuses, why does he fall to the floor, scream and run away as if he just saw his worst nightmare.
3. VR World Building. If by world building you mean outlining a basic idea, we do not see what the point of 'U' is, other than an upgraded version of VR Chat. Do people live here? Can you buy stuff in shops? Is there a monetary system? Why can Belle fly everywhere but in the castle she has to run up every step? Why can Belle run in the real world while also co-piloting her avatar in the VR world at the same time?
4. Childhood Friend Arc. You waste 3/4 of the film building up to this guy being the Beast, heck he even says that he knows that Belle is who she is in VR, you hint at every aspect that he is the beast and then you throw away everything you built up. Why on planet Earth did I get invested in this guy only for him to just be forgettable? Why couldn't he be the one who was abused in secret which would make for a cool juxtaposition as he is the popular kid in school. He felt like such a key important character and yet ended up in the waste bin.
5. Inanimate Characters doing nothing when in real life they'd be doing things as humans do. Why does everyone in the room while Belle is having a meltdown do nothing? They just stand still and stare at her? We get a "Belle" gasped in unison by everyone as though they were forced to say it at gunpoint. Why do they not comfort her? Especially her established mother figures who have essentially brought her up when she was with them, who would understand her pain and struggle - Why do they leave her alone? You cannot tell me that everyone in that room was personally attached to her and yet chose to stand still while she clearly needed emotional support.
6. Important Influences. Belle clearly has deeply ingrained trauma and consequently anxiety from her mothers death. However the film glosses over this trauma in a matter of a few minutes, she gets to become this avatar Belle and becomes a literal pop-star and you are telling me she has magically lost all trauma or that it no longer has such a negative influence on her? It feels like a lot is lost here, a lot that could have been explored within the film, while instead of showing glorified shots of an out of context virtual world, we see more of the shots showing her relationship with her father - that makes us connect more with the protagonist. It was nice showing her progression into singing in real life, but even that was an afterthought when she sang perfectly in VR and all of a sudden the film stops focusing on her real world progress as a character.
7. So what now? Belle finds the kids after taking an abrupt trip to Tokyo alone (how she magically "enhanced" her way into finding exactly where they were, without anyone accompanying her - as a high school student - to a fully grown man who we know domestically abuses his children. Her father just accepts this random trip without any worries after his child has been clearly depressed, thinking about someone (The Beast). What now? The domestic abuser is going nowhere, is she going to take the kids home? What is the moral of the story? I get there might be some cyclical symbolism with her mother also going to save someone alone, but the only reason she went alone was because there was a huge water current which meant certain danger. Unless train tickets have skyrocketed in price like bitcoin, why is she alone and what closure does this even bring? How did they manage to find each other so easily, when Belle had no idea where she was and they didn't even know she was there?
I gave it a 4/10 because I managed to watch it beginning to end ('managed'), and I liked some of the music and visuals (although the 2D animation was basic and industry standard at best).
In terms of plot, it had no plot. It was not coherent. People in this world did not act like people in a fleshed out existence and there was not an end in sight.
I was left confused and do not recommend a full watch to anyone, they should just watch the trailer or short clips online.
This film has many plot holes and unused plot devices and feels very much unfinished.
1. WHY is the beast being chased or regarded as a criminal in the virtual world? The first time we see him he is being chased into the concert, so we can only assume that he had committed a crime before that, or that it is assumed so by the police force. HOWEVER we never figure out why and in the wiki, it says that he is being chased BECAUSE he went into the concert.
2. VIOLENCE. If you are going to show us bruised backs, pictures of a wife that has had its frame punched through, and increase the tension of violence, only to have the father stand there awkwardly while the older brother practically looks like he is humping the younger one (which was extremely uncomfortable to watch) - what was the point? Why does this - fully grown - domestic abuser cry and scream at the sight of a random kid t-posing in front of the children he abuses, why does he fall to the floor, scream and run away as if he just saw his worst nightmare.
3. VR World Building. If by world building you mean outlining a basic idea, we do not see what the point of 'U' is, other than an upgraded version of VR Chat. Do people live here? Can you buy stuff in shops? Is there a monetary system? Why can Belle fly everywhere but in the castle she has to run up every step? Why can Belle run in the real world while also co-piloting her avatar in the VR world at the same time?
4. Childhood Friend Arc. You waste 3/4 of the film building up to this guy being the Beast, heck he even says that he knows that Belle is who she is in VR, you hint at every aspect that he is the beast and then you throw away everything you built up. Why on planet Earth did I get invested in this guy only for him to just be forgettable? Why couldn't he be the one who was abused in secret which would make for a cool juxtaposition as he is the popular kid in school. He felt like such a key important character and yet ended up in the waste bin.
5. Inanimate Characters doing nothing when in real life they'd be doing things as humans do. Why does everyone in the room while Belle is having a meltdown do nothing? They just stand still and stare at her? We get a "Belle" gasped in unison by everyone as though they were forced to say it at gunpoint. Why do they not comfort her? Especially her established mother figures who have essentially brought her up when she was with them, who would understand her pain and struggle - Why do they leave her alone? You cannot tell me that everyone in that room was personally attached to her and yet chose to stand still while she clearly needed emotional support.
6. Important Influences. Belle clearly has deeply ingrained trauma and consequently anxiety from her mothers death. However the film glosses over this trauma in a matter of a few minutes, she gets to become this avatar Belle and becomes a literal pop-star and you are telling me she has magically lost all trauma or that it no longer has such a negative influence on her? It feels like a lot is lost here, a lot that could have been explored within the film, while instead of showing glorified shots of an out of context virtual world, we see more of the shots showing her relationship with her father - that makes us connect more with the protagonist. It was nice showing her progression into singing in real life, but even that was an afterthought when she sang perfectly in VR and all of a sudden the film stops focusing on her real world progress as a character.
7. So what now? Belle finds the kids after taking an abrupt trip to Tokyo alone (how she magically "enhanced" her way into finding exactly where they were, without anyone accompanying her - as a high school student - to a fully grown man who we know domestically abuses his children. Her father just accepts this random trip without any worries after his child has been clearly depressed, thinking about someone (The Beast). What now? The domestic abuser is going nowhere, is she going to take the kids home? What is the moral of the story? I get there might be some cyclical symbolism with her mother also going to save someone alone, but the only reason she went alone was because there was a huge water current which meant certain danger. Unless train tickets have skyrocketed in price like bitcoin, why is she alone and what closure does this even bring? How did they manage to find each other so easily, when Belle had no idea where she was and they didn't even know she was there?
I gave it a 4/10 because I managed to watch it beginning to end ('managed'), and I liked some of the music and visuals (although the 2D animation was basic and industry standard at best).
In terms of plot, it had no plot. It was not coherent. People in this world did not act like people in a fleshed out existence and there was not an end in sight.
I was left confused and do not recommend a full watch to anyone, they should just watch the trailer or short clips online.