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Video: Giant Belle Mural Created in London (Updated)

Anime Limited has posted a YouTube video which shows the creation of a giant BELLE mural at Camden Lock in London, to promote the release of Mamoru Hosoda's film in UK and Ireland cinemas.

The mural was created by the artist collective Global Street Art, and painted over three days by a team of four.

The film's broad release is on Friday February 4 in both dubbed and subtitled versions, but some cinemas are already showing it. There are venue details and booking links at https://bellefilm.co.uk/.

The film had its world premiere at the Cannes film festival on July 16 2021 and was released in Japanese cinemas on the following day.The BFI website describes the story:

High-school student Suzu finds everyday social conventions difficult to deal with and is increasingly drawn into an alternative, virtual world via the U app – an Internet-based environment with five billion members. Here, she excels as singing megastar BELLE; her alter-ego even providing her with a confidence boost in reality. U allows people like Suzu, who battles to cope with the loss of her mother, to find some sanctuary from the pain and struggles of their real lives. Yet, within its atmosphere of beauty and wonder, an underlying danger surfaces. BELLE/Suzu's life becomes entwined with a disruptive presence known as the ‘Dragon’, as she recognises that behind this threatening façade someone pained is crying out for help.

Singer-songwriter Kaho Nakamura plays the protagonist Suzu/Belle. Nakamura also sings in the film.

Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars,The Boy and The Beast, Mirai) directed and scripted the film, and is also credited for the original work. The film marks Studio Chizu's 10th anniversary. Taisei Iwasaki (Blood Blockade Battlefront, Dragon Pilot: Hisone and Masotan, The Naked Director) was the film's music director and composer.

Eric Wong, a London-based architect and designer, created the concept artwork for the film's online world of U. According to Chizu, "Hosoda personally found and commissioned Eric to come up with this universal and international "internet space" from both an architectural and design perspective."

Jin Kim (Frozen, Tangled, Big Hero 6, Moana) designed the titular protagonist Belle.

Update - More details added.