"Belle", aka "The Dragon and Freckled Princess" is the new Japanese animated science fantasy feature, written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda, opening in theaters January 14, 2022:
"...'Suzu Naito' is a high school student in Japan. When she was young, she was close with her mother who supported her love for singing and writing songs.
"But one day Suzu witnessed her mother save a child from a flooding river at the cost of her own life. The traumatic experience caused Suzu to resent her mother for 'abandoning' her for a stranger's child, and she was unable to sing.
"Pressure for her to sing would make Suzu cry alienating her from most of her classmates with the exception of her childhood friend 'Shinobu Hisatake' .
"Suzu reluctantly signs into the popular virtual world 'U' and creates an avatar with freckles she names "Belle", finding her voice once again..."
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