TALE TRULY A FEAST FOR THE EYES

Hand-drawn film a work of art, writes Chris Knight

Talky and overly didactic, The Boy and the Beast will no doubt still appeal to fans of Japanese animation master Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Wolf Children). It’s also beautiful to behold; there are images as gorgeous as paintings, including rain-soaked streets and reflections in glass that are seldom even attempted in hand-drawn animation, and even less frequently managed so well. This is literally a work of art.

The story opens with nineyear-old Ren (voiced by Aoi Miyazaki), running away from home after the death of his mother. After meeting an adorable mouselike creature that becomes his familiar, Ren stumbles into an alternate world down a dark alley, Harry Potter style.

He winds up in Jutengai city, where all the inhabitants are anthropomorphic beasts. Two of them, Kumatetsu and Iozan, are angling to become the new lord of Jutengai.

Iozan, with two doting children and a passel of acolytes, is the favourite to succeed the old lord. Kumatetsu has no offspring and no apprentices, but something in the gruff beast appeals to Ren, and he decides to basically become both these things.

Ren refuses to tell his master his real name, however, so Kumatetsu calls him Kyuta, based on the Japanese word for nine, Ren’s age. But young apprentices have a way of growing up. Cut to eight years later, and Ren’s decision to revisit the human world, where he meets a girl and continues his education.

Hosoda spins a long and involved yarn, with digressions into the true meaning of being a student, a teacher and even a human being. It’s complicated stuff, and may try the patience of younger viewers.

The director has prepared us for incredible images throughout the film, but the final act of The Boy and the Beast is truly a feast for the eyes.