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Mamoru Hosoda's Belle Film Footage Previewed in Theme Song's Music Video
posted on by Alex Mateo
Millenium Parade began streaming the music video for "U," the theme song of Mamoru Hosoda and Studio Chizu's new BELLE (Ryū to Sobakasu no Hime, literally "The Dragon and the Freckled Princess") anime film, on Thursday. Singer-songwriter Kaho Nakamura, who plays the protagonist Suzu/Belle, performs the song written by Millenium Parade. The video features footage from the film.
The song debuted digitally on Monday, and the regular and limited edition single will ship on August 18.
The film will open in Japan on Friday. France's Cannes Film Festival is first screening the film in the festival's Cannes Premiere section on Thursday. This marks the first Official Selection at the festival for Hosoda. (The director's previous Mirai film screened at the Directors' Fortnight, an independent section held in parallel to the festival, in 2018.)
GKIDS licensed the film for North America, and will release the film in English and in Japanese with English subtitles this winter. The film will have IMAX screenings in 38 theaters throughout Japan. This makes BELLE the first of Hosoda's films to have IMAX screenings.
Hosoda (The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars,The Boy and The Beast, Mirai) is directing and scripting 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) is 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. Jin Kim (Frozen, Tangled, Big Hero 6, Moana) designed the titular protagonist Belle.
Sources: Millenium Parade's YouTube channel, Comic Natalie
