With his other two recent feature films, Summer Wars and Wolf Children, acclaimed director Mamoru Hosoda had a focus on unique family dynamics. Whether it is a large family full of colourful and at times conflicting personalities uniting over a common goal or a small family with a hidden secret they must ultimately embrace – his films often provide a satisfying mix of strong storyline foundations, heartwarming moments and the occasional tearjerker. While not as heartwarming as Summer Wars and not as tearjerking as Wolf Children, The Boy and the Beast provides an experience which plays to Hosoda’s strengths while presenting something just as magical and distinct as his past work.
Having recently enjoyed a few seasons on the silver screen at select cinemas across Australia and New Zealand, regional anime publisher Madman Entertainment have brought The Boy and the Beast to store shelves through both DVD and Blu-ray media formats. With their work on Mamoru Hosoda’s latest hit seemingly concluded, it is time to judge how this film fares as an entire “in-front of the television” package.
Storyline / Character Development
The Boy and the Beast follows Ren, a nine year old boy who runs away from his adoptive family following the passing of his mother. Actually accomplishing this and refusing to run back home, he spends his time on the streets of Tokyo, with a brooding sense of despair at what has happened to him. While this unfolds, the alternate world known as Juutengai is abuzz, as the lord of the land is soon to reincarnate as a god. However as this land is in need of a new ruler, one of two powerful beasts will use their strength to determine which is most fitting to take the previous lords place: Iozen or Kumatetsu. While Iozen is popular with the populace and from even my perspective the most suitable candidate at the time, Kumatetsu is completely the opposite in terms of popularity. It is therefore at the advice of the lord that Kumatetsu gains himself a disciple.
Through a series of events, the sullen Ren (Adopting the name Kyuuta) and the short-tempered Kumatetsu are drawn together, as their conflicting personalities and habits see them clash regularly. But while there might be conflict, a quest to discover what strength actually is sparks the growing of a relationship which is an absolute joy to watch.
While Hosoda has provided some enticing narratives prior, I think The Boy and the Beast has been the best structured to date. The slow but steady construction of a family dynamic (or Master-Student relationship if you would prefer to call it that) between Kyuuta and Kumatetsu is a thrill to watch. It is particularly interesting to watch Kyuuta grow as a human who resides in the world of beasts, and what this means for him as time progresses. There is also a colourful set of characters, who help bring the film and its world to life.
But while there were many things done right… there were a few issues which made the story less tightly packed than Hosoda’s other films. Many elements of the film were predictable, however I wouldn’t say this was necessarily an issue given how enjoyable the journey proved to be. My main concern however was that the events leading to the finale, and particularly the final antagonist, felt rushed and was not fully justified or even closely explored until shortly before actually happening. I think the film might have benefited from an extra 30 minutes on its runtime, to tie-up the loose ends and make the journey from start to finish more solid.
Design / Music / Voice Acting
While it might not be comparable to the works of Makoto Shinkai and his stunning vistas, the design and animation quality in The Boy and the Beast was of a consistently high standard, with great attention to detail. The animation is strong enough to justify the extra $5 for a Blu-ray copy. The musical backing was also commendable, with a range of tunes which helped construct the mood of each and every scene.
Although those hoping to see The Boy and the Beast in cinemas often had only one language option to choose from, the DVD and Blu-ray release comes with both Japanese and English audio on-disc. While I personally liked both dubs, I prefer the English dub, which was created in close consultation with Mamoru Hosoda.
Not unfamiliar with voicing children, Luci Christian excels at voicing Kyuuta, while John Swasey is a perfect match for the gruffer tones of Kumatetsu. Some other special mentions go to Bryn Apprill as the young and guiding voice of Kaede and Ian Sinclar as the harsher-toned Tatara. One of the bigger surprises was Brittney Karbowski, who managed to provide something a little bit different from normal with her role as the young Jiroumaru.
Extra Content
The only DVD and Blu-ray editions of The Boy and the Beast currently available from the Madman Entertainment website is the “Collector’s Edition” set. From what I can tell at the moment, the only difference between this and an eventual “Standard Edition” would be a slipcase. Sure it is a nice edition, but isn’t anything particularly notable in my opinion.
Competing with the on-disc extras offered on the Blu-ray releases of the Studio Ghibli collection, there is a very nice assortment of extras available to watch post-show. Aside from the usual US trailer and Madman Trailers, other offerings include a 44 minute making of documentary in Japanese (w/ English subtitles) which focuses on many facets of the films creation, a set of four sizable videos focused on the cast/creative team (Under the header “Cast Interviews”), and a range of other Japanese promotional videos. I can hardly fault their choice of extras, although as this was localised by Funimation Entertainment, an English cast commentary would have been a nice addition.
Final Words on The Boy and the Beast
Although it is not as tight-knit as other animated features by Mamoru Hosoda, The Boy and the Beast is nevertheless an enjoyable film and well worth watching if you have the chance in my opinion. It was an absolute pleasure to peer into the changing lives of both Ren (Kyuuta) and Kumatetsu, as their personalities and different realities both clash and paves the way for development. That being said, some plot elements did feel rushed, and really needed more time to provide what I would consider a complete experience. As an overall experience however, The Boy and the Beast presented something memorable, and will be a film I foresee myself returning to many times in the future.
