This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:08] Jesse McAnally: Hello, I'm Jesse McAnally.

[0:10] Andrew DeWolf: And I'm Andrew DeWolf.

[0:12] Liz Eston: And I'm Liz Eston.

[0:13] Jesse McAnally: And welcome to Musicals with Cheese, a podcast where I try to get Andrew and Liz to like musical theater.

[0:18] Jesse McAnally: How are you doing, guys?

[0:20] Andrew DeWolf: We're the Broadway Con team reunited.

[0:23] Jesse McAnally: Oh boy, we're talking about more nonsense.

[0:26] Andrew DeWolf: Such not—I mean, I wouldn't say that.

[0:26] Jesse McAnally: I wouldn't say that.

[0:31] Andrew DeWolf: I feel like it is uncharitable.

[0:33] Jesse McAnally: It is uncharitable.

[0:35] Jesse McAnally: Um, but Andrew, how are you doing today?

[0:38] Andrew DeWolf: You know, um, I just found this new app. Um, it's like, uh, one of those apps, what do they call them?

[0:45] Andrew DeWolf: It's like, uh, an AS app, you know?

[0:47] Jesse McAnally: No, I don't. Please elaborate.

[0:49] Andrew DeWolf: It was created by the voices.

[0:52] Jesse McAnally: What?

[0:54] Andrew DeWolf: What? Wait, you don't know what I'm talking about? It's an app, it was created by the voices, and there's an entire world inside of your phone and you get sucked in.

[1:01] Jesse McAnally: No.

[1:02] Andrew DeWolf: But basically, I'm a pop star now. Um, you can call me Gaston.

[1:09] Jesse McAnally: That's what they call me in—

[1:11] Andrew DeWolf: Do you have a French accent in this app?

[1:16] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, yeah, and I'm able to sing, so you know. It's like a big—it's a big deal. I'm a big—

[1:20] Jesse McAnally: But are you able to sing in real life, like in the human world?

[1:23] Andrew DeWolf: Uh, it's complicated—uh, trauma stuff, you know.

[1:27] Jesse McAnally: Oh, so you can only sing in the app.

[1:30] Andrew DeWolf: I can only sing in the app. It's unfortunate.

[1:32] Jesse McAnally: No, I'm gonna be—

[1:40] Andrew DeWolf: Am I on the right track?

[1:42] Jesse McAnally: I'd say you're about a six out of ten, in case you haven't picked up on what we were throwing down this week. We are talking about the anime musical Belle.

[1:50] Jesse McAnally: Q the music, Brie.

[1:52] ♪ Musical number: "Song Title" — performed by Performer ♪

[2:19] Jesse McAnally: Um, Belle is an anime musical written by Mamoru Hosada with music and lyrics by Tasai Awazaki, Ludwig Forcell, Yuda Bando, and Miho Saki, based on Beauty and the Beast by Gabrielle Suzanne Barbotil De Villanouve. Um, it premiered on July 16, 2021, in Japan, with a January 14, 2022 release in the United States, and got a 14-minute standing ovation at Cannes. Um, the plot of Belle is a high school student becomes a globally beloved singer after entering a fantastic virtual world called You. She soon embarks on an emotional and epic quest to uncover the identity of a mysterious beast who's on the run from ruthless vigilantes.

[3:14] Jesse McAnally: Alright. What did we think of Belle? And also, I do want to say this is a Patreon request from Cinemagedon Reviews, Sebastian over on our Patreon. Thank you for supporting us and suggesting us to talk about it. It is a little out of our wheelhouse. Um, what do we think about Belle?

[3:31] Andrew DeWolf: So like, it's a very hit-or-miss movie, in my opinion. There's some really good-looking art, and the music is actually pretty good most of the time if it isn't really make sense music like as a musical. It feels like a lot of the songs are just like being sung, and I can't see performances, so to say.

[3:56] Jesse McAnally: Yeah. I mean, if, um, the Bob Fosse Cabaret counts as a musical, I think we can count this.

[4:02] Andrew DeWolf: True, true. So we'll count it. Um, I feel like the music is generally pretty good. Um, and it looks pretty nice, but then you have some weird stuff, like it does the technology thing where somebody who didn't understand how computers work made this, or, uh, you know, and then the way the beast talks is, um, extremely funny in a way that I don't think they intended.

[4:29] Jesse McAnally: Let's say we watched the dub, not the sub, because we are ruthless, ruthless, terrible people that watch things badly.

[4:38] Andrew DeWolf: True. I was not given an option.

[4:40] Jesse McAnally: Um, just sent me one vial and said this is it.

[4:46] Andrew DeWolf: So, uh, I didn't get a choice. I probably would have preferred to watch the sub. But, uh, yes, the dub, there's some iffy voice acting, um, on certain characters. Uh, yeah, what did you guys think? Liz, why don't you go first?

[5:02] Liz Eston: Okay. I like to start this with I am very deeply attached to the 1991 Disney Beauty and the Beast.

[5:09] Liz Eston: Well, I mean, this is very different. So, but there's very attached to the 2017 Disney live-action Beauty and the Beast.

[5:15] Jesse McAnally: That's unfortunate.

[5:16] Liz Eston: Not funny.

[5:16] Jesse McAnally: That isn't a funny joke.

[5:17] Liz Eston: It's not a funny joke, Jess. There's a lot of references and nods to the 91 version. I'm like, that's cool, but there's like five too many. But they almost have Gaston—there's like an almost Gaston character that isn't quite, but it said like 500 different musical characters are almost Gaston.

[5:35] Andrew DeWolf: Well, I mean, this one, literally speaking, is almost Gaston in a little sense.

[5:40] Liz Eston: Yeah. Thank you. Um, I liked a lot of it. It looked great. It was very pretty. The plot goes some weird directions, and there's some tone shifts that feel abrupt. Like, is that just our cultural—like us wanting beginning, middle, and resolution, all those things that we're in tune to because of how Western film is released and shown to us?

[6:10] Andrew DeWolf: Maybe.

[6:11] Liz Eston: Yeah, I think so. Um, I'm not gonna claim to be any sort of anime weeb or anyone that's like super into that or aware of that culture. I know that is a big subset of the internet, and me and Andrew had a conversation about it earlier today. Um, the only anime I've ever seen beginning to end is La Maison de la Culture because La Maison de la Culture.

[6:31] Liz Eston: Um, I have never watched until today an anime all the way through. I've seen like half of The Promised Neverland. I've watched the entire story mode of, uh, Guilty Gear Strive, which is a fighting game that is anime, and it is extremely funny because it doesn't make any sense. Um, that's the closest to an anime I've ever watched. Are either of you into the world of Miyazaki or anything like that?

[6:57] Andrew DeWolf: I've seen like two of his movies.

[6:59] Liz Eston: I've not seen—I’ve seen Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away.

[7:06] Andrew DeWolf: Um, I've seen most of Miyazaki's movies, none of them hit with me, except one, which I think is just at the time I found it. I really love Kiki's Delivery Service. I think that movie is incredible and such, but it has no narrative. It's much like this where things just kind of happen and the movie ends, and it's a very slice-of-life kind of movie, and it brings me joy to watch it.

[7:28] Liz Eston: Um, Belle I tried to go in with as open a mind as I could. Um, because I knew sometimes just cultural differences make different narratives, and that's a good and beautiful thing, and I agree with what you guys are saying, but I still liked it.

[7:46] Andrew DeWolf: I yeah, I didn't enjoy it. I—this is a strangely—um, I tried to do research into this movie, um, specifically about how people react to it on the interwebs. Um, and it's kind of like the most divisive film of 2021 if you're in the animated community.

[8:05] Liz Eston: And why is that?

[8:07] Andrew DeWolf: Um, I don't know. It's either like you absolutely adore this, it really speaks to you, or it's the worst film you've ever seen, and you're gonna make 50 video essays about it. That if you go on YouTube and just type in Belle—

[8:16] Liz Eston: Is it because there's a girl in it though?

[8:20] Andrew DeWolf: No, it's strangely all about like there wasn't enough world-building. And I'm like, no, no, no. Who gives a shit about world-building at a certain way? If anything, what I didn't like is that the world-building that did exist didn't make any sense.

[8:34] Liz Eston: I don't even—the thing is I don't care about it.

[8:36] Andrew DeWolf: Like they're just able to like video call people, like just whenever they want. They have like magical AirPods that like fully embrace them in a universe while still staying in the real world.

[8:46] Liz Eston: I kind of like the fact that it doesn't—it just sit down and explain everything to you that you're kind of forced to pick things up based on just how people use things. I actually kind of appreciated that and how they didn't like just full-on explain it. It just made the world feel a little bit more lived in because if everyone knows what a thing does and how it works, they're not gonna sit and explain it.

[9:07] Andrew DeWolf: I don't know, I just kind of dug that. Um, so I didn't care because at least up to the hour point, most of the emotional beats were hitting for me, especially like her backstory with her mother and how that was explained and how that affected her music and how she sang. I was like, all this makes sense to me. Emotionally, it's hitting home, so I don't really give a shit if I don't really a hundred percent get the day-by-day of how the You works.

[9:32] Liz Eston: But then the beast kind of comes in and changes the movie a bit.

[9:37] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. So I feel like when there starts being like actual stakes, it starts to not make sense. Like, okay, Belle gets like captured by the Gaston stand-in who wants to reveal her.

[9:51] Liz Eston: Yeah.

[9:52] Andrew DeWolf: And so why doesn't she just log off? Like, is there a reason she's being held captive? Like, can you—I mean, can technically she's just standing next to her phone, right? Couldn't she just log off?

[10:05] Liz Eston: It just—that's—

[10:10] Andrew DeWolf: I mean, you wouldn't want to end that conversation either.

[10:14] Liz Eston: Yeah, but is it in—I feel like there's another movie like Ready Player One, right? Don't they explain in that movie that you have to like do something to log off, and that's why they can't just log off anytime they want?

[10:26] Andrew DeWolf: Never watched that movie.

[10:27] Liz Eston: Uh, I read the book and watched the movie, so I should know this. But, um, I think they could explain that like when you're like in a certain—the character that does get trapped, they're trapped within the evil corporation of the world, so they literally cannot take the headset off. Like, she's forced to have it on. Like, she cannot rip it off.

[10:44] Andrew DeWolf: The thing is here, I don't care about any of that as long as the story is emotionally satisfying and makes narrative sense, if that makes sense. None of that really matters to me as much as that happens, and I think the fact that most people are noticing that as opposed to just ignoring it is because emotionally it kind of drops the ball there.

[11:04] Liz Eston: Yeah.

[11:04] Andrew DeWolf: Well, yeah, so like the second half of the movie is like we have to figure out who the beast is. And I don't understand the why there. Why do you have to dox this poor guy?

[11:16] Liz Eston: Well, yeah, and then they're like looking for him and like it's so bizarre. My favorite—my favorite scene in the whole thing is when they Google contemporary artist and find a picture of a guy that has the same like pattern on his back that the beast does.

[11:32] Andrew DeWolf: Um, and they're like, "Oh, this might be him," because in the real world he kind of looks like that, so—and then they video call him and he gets all edgy and angry and blocks his camera with his hand.

[11:45] Liz Eston: And it's like, why didn't you just not pick up the video call?

[11:48] Andrew DeWolf: And then there's sometimes where they just, uh, come into a live stream, like there's a button you can click to call into a live stream on like where it was presumably YouTube based on the error screen when they logged off.

[12:01] Liz Eston: So yeah. Remember when the, uh, the child abuse gets streamed and everyone likes to watch it?

[12:06] Andrew DeWolf: It's my favorite show.

[12:08] Liz Eston: Just a thing that happens.

[12:10] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. Is it like live leak?

[12:12] Liz Eston: Yeah, and so the character that actually is the beast is, um, like the older brother Kai. He's a—he's 14.

[12:20] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, and he—his younger sibling gets bullied by his dad, um, abused, probably a more accurate word. Um, and the older brother Kai protects him and gets bruises on his back emotionally because of it. Um, it's like the meme where the one guy stands over the sleeping child and knives fall from the sky.

[12:42] Andrew DeWolf: Liz literally sent me this meme and said it'll make sense once you finish Belle.

[12:49] Liz Eston: Did it make sense?

[12:50] Andrew DeWolf: It didn't hit me until Suzu actually does it. Can we—I feel like we've gone too far, we haven't even explained the basic plot. Could you please do that for me, Andrew?

[13:01] Andrew DeWolf: Okay, yeah. Um, so the main character is, uh, Suzu.

[13:05] Liz Eston: Am I saying that—Suzu?

[13:07] Andrew DeWolf: It's like Suzanne.

[13:08] Liz Eston: Yeah, yes, which I guess means Belle, they explain that.

[13:12] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, it means Belle in the native language.

[13:16] Liz Eston: Yeah, yeah.

[13:16] Andrew DeWolf: Um, but Belle also means beautiful in French if we're gonna go fancy, oui.

[13:23] Liz Eston: This movie isn't French.

[13:26] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, but it's spelled French.

[13:27] Liz Eston: Yeah, that's true.

[13:28] Andrew DeWolf: There's a lot of comments on how it's spelled.

[13:30] Liz Eston: Yeah, why don't you sh—why don't you shut up then, Andrew?

[13:34] Andrew DeWolf: Jeez, okay. Can I keep going?

[13:36] Liz Eston: No.

[13:36] Andrew DeWolf: Yes, you can.

[13:37] Liz Eston: Yes, Andrew, you can.

[13:38] Andrew DeWolf: Okay. Uh, correct me if I'm wrong on any of this, but I'm pretty sure, uh, Suzu's, uh, mother dies trying to save like a child.

[13:47] Liz Eston: Yeah, she gives her her life jacket.

[13:49] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, and then she drowns.

[13:51] Liz Eston: Yeah, yeah.

[13:52] Andrew DeWolf: And I want to say that scene specifically is very well executed, and the snot and tears coming down Suzu's eyes is like so specifically the way children cry.

[14:02] Liz Eston: I really like that scene.

[14:03] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. Very sad. Uh, she can't sing anymore because of it, is I think the implication.

[14:08] Liz Eston: Yes.

[14:09] Andrew DeWolf: I'm pretty sure.

[14:09] Liz Eston: Yeah.

[14:10] Andrew DeWolf: Um, so she is unpopular in school because I guess she is. She's weird, I guess.

[14:17] Andrew DeWolf: I don't even think. She's super unpopular. She just gets picked on by like two girls, two specific girls.

[14:22] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, and she has a friend who I can't remember the name of.

[14:26] Andrew DeWolf: Um, but a little nerdy friend, like the best friend character.

[14:30] Jesse McAnally: Naroka.

[14:31] Andrew DeWolf: Haroka?

[14:32] Jesse McAnally: Heroka.

[14:32] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, I think so.

[14:33] Jesse McAnally: That may be correct. It doesn't really matter because the friend doesn't do anything. Um she is moral support.

[14:38] Andrew DeWolf: She's like the agent of the—she's the girl in the chair.

[14:41] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, she's the girl in the chair. She's the weight of this movie.

[14:46] Andrew DeWolf: What's the sitch? What's the situation? How's the concert going?

[14:50] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, I mean, she kind of is, because eventually, uh, Suzu creates an account on you, which I guess is a program created by the voices, which is never explained in the slightest.

[15:02] Andrew DeWolf: Um it's well, except for at the very beginning where they tell you that that's what happened, except for we don't know who the voices are. We don't know any of this shit.

[15:09] Jesse McAnally: Um so in it like it scans you and makes an avatar for you based on your soul.

[15:17] Andrew DeWolf: Can we pause here?

[15:22] Jesse McAnally: They're some of the—I swear to god, if I turn on the you and they made me the fucking little baby, I would have just, uh, I would stop you saying, I'm fucking out.

[15:31] Andrew DeWolf: I'm out of here.

[15:32] Jesse McAnally: It'd be like a like going on to fucking like Pottermore and getting put into Slytherin, and I'm like, oh, put in the Nazi group I ain't playing this one.

[15:40] Andrew DeWolf: I'm in the racist house. I should buy some merch.

[15:45] Jesse McAnally: Um, but sincerely, um, what do you think? Um, Liz, if you had to rate our souls on the U, what do you think we'd look like?

[15:54] Liz Eston: Jess would be a baby.

[15:55] Jesse McAnally: Jessica would be a baby.

[15:58] Liz Eston: No, I'd be, uh, oh god, I would be something much more annoying.

[16:01] Jesse McAnally: I feel like you'd be some type of anime animal that's like hard to define the species of who's also wearing glasses.

[16:08] Andrew DeWolf: Like the beast?

[16:09] Liz Eston: No, no, no, no, no.

[16:11] Jesse McAnally: No, because the beast implies that you have emotional trauma.

[16:15] Liz Eston: Involves the emotional baggage.

[16:16] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[16:16] Liz Eston: I can have a dark side, you guys.

[16:19] Jesse McAnally: I could have a dark side on the be— isn't that how he sounds like? It's a big thing.

[16:23] Andrew DeWolf: He does talk like that.

[16:26] Jesse McAnally: And what do you see? His child's up is like talks like a normal person.

[16:29] Andrew DeWolf: It's like, yeah, hello, I'm a child.

[16:31] Liz Eston: Hello, I'm a child.

[16:33] Andrew DeWolf: I'm—I'm what would I be?

[16:35] Jesse McAnally: Uh, I think you'd just be the cowardly lion.

[16:37] Andrew DeWolf: I'd be a lion.

[16:38] Jesse McAnally: You'd just be the cowardly lion from Wizard of Oz.

[16:40] Andrew DeWolf: Just in there, yeah.

[16:41] Jesse McAnally: Specifically the Bert Lahr.

[16:43] Andrew DeWolf: The Bert Lahr one, yeah.

[16:45] Jesse McAnally: I mean, you're—you're kinda already it. I'm seeing it right here.

[16:50] Andrew DeWolf: And Liz, um, what would you be?

[16:53] Liz Eston: Uh, probably be like an alien or something.

[16:56] Jesse McAnally: She'd be the, uh, the weird thing that the girl in the chair was.

[16:59] Liz Eston: Yeah, I'd be that thing.

[17:01] Jesse McAnally: Very ill-defined.

[17:03] Andrew DeWolf: Mushroom head, like tiny fairy.

[17:06] Jesse McAnally: Like a Mario character, but not.

[17:07] Liz Eston: Yeah.

[17:08] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[17:08] Andrew DeWolf: Toadette.

[17:09] Liz Eston: Yeah.

[17:10] Jesse McAnally: That's—that's my main on Mario Kart.

[17:14] Andrew DeWolf: Oh my god.

[17:15] Jesse McAnally: Okay, where were we?

[17:16] Andrew DeWolf: Okay.

[17:17] Jesse McAnally: I lost it.

[17:18] Andrew DeWolf: Oh, we're talking about how you is a thing.

[17:19] Jesse McAnally: We're talking about the world building.

[17:21] Andrew DeWolf: That made no sense to you.

[17:22] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[17:22] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[17:22] Jesse McAnally: So there's already like in this is another like plot line that doesn't do anything or go anywhere. There's another like pop sensation that's already in the U.

[17:31] Andrew DeWolf: Um, but, uh, once Suzu joins and becomes Belle, Belle takes over as the pop sensation.

[17:39] Jesse McAnally: It's like Christine and Carlotta.

[17:41] Andrew DeWolf: It's Phantom of the Opera again, guys.

[17:42] Jesse McAnally: It's yeah, it's like that, except for no tension and no resolution.

[17:47] Andrew DeWolf: Except for at the end where she's like, Oh, she was a normal child. Okay, maybe I shouldn't have hated on her.

[17:52] Jesse McAnally: Just like me.

[17:53] Andrew DeWolf: She's just like me for real for real.

[17:56] Jesse McAnally: That is the resolution of the movie. Is she just like me for real for real?

[18:00] Andrew DeWolf: That's the entire ending scene.

[18:03] Jesse McAnally: Um, so and then Belle's gonna hold like a big concert in the dome.

[18:03] Andrew DeWolf: In the dome.

[18:08] Jesse McAnally: It's a big thing.

[18:09] Andrew DeWolf: And then the beast attacks the dome.

[18:12] Jesse McAnally: I don't know why.

[18:13] Andrew DeWolf: Um, it's not really explained.

[18:15] Jesse McAnally: The beast just likes fucking around, and the Power Rangers can't be a big—Power Rangers can't stop her.

[18:20] Andrew DeWolf: Basically an internet troll.

[18:21] Jesse McAnally: Basically one of the Power Rangers is Gaston-ish character who has a lion head arm cannon that can turn you into not the U avatar and show you who you really are, like for real for real.

[18:39] Andrew DeWolf: Um and he tries to shoot the beast with it to figure out who the beast is, but he misses a lot, and then the beast gets away because the beast is super badass and cool.

[18:48] Jesse McAnally: And so Belle is like, Man, I gotta figure out who the beast is. I'm gonna go follow him.

[18:51] Andrew DeWolf: And so she follows him to his creepy castle that is like nobody knows where it is, apparently, except for Belle finds it really easily.

[18:59] Jesse McAnally: She had the help of the angel though.

[19:00] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[19:01] Jesse McAnally: Right.

[19:02] Andrew DeWolf: And, uh, those like guardian things outside of the castle.

[19:05] Jesse McAnally: Like six walls outside of it.

[19:07] Andrew DeWolf: And so she goes to talk with the beast and the beast is like, get away from me. No nice me. I'm awful.

[19:14] Jesse McAnally: Um, and Belle's like, I actually like you. And that's—that's like the rest of the movie.

[19:19] Andrew DeWolf: Um, that scene happens four or five times.

[19:21] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[19:21] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, yeah.

[19:22] Jesse McAnally: The first time she sings a song, and the rest of the time she just talks to him.

[19:25] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, there is one time she sings a song, and the song is pretty good.

[19:28] Jesse McAnally: All the songs are pretty good.

[19:29] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[19:30] Jesse McAnally: I like the songs.

[19:31] Andrew DeWolf: Eventually, though, it gets to the point where the beast has to get unveiled.

[19:35] Jesse McAnally: Um so they're like looking for him on the computer, and, uh, Suzu like hears her song being sung.

[19:44] Andrew DeWolf: Can I ask you a question?

[19:45] Jesse McAnally: Why does the beast need to get revealed?

[19:47] Andrew DeWolf: Uh yeah, the beast has to get revealed.

[19:50] Jesse McAnally: Um why though, Andrew?

[19:52] Andrew DeWolf: I—I asked.

[19:53] Jesse McAnally: He's an internet troll. Come on.

[19:56] Andrew DeWolf: No, you don't have to.

[19:57] Jesse McAnally: I mean, I feel like if you told me the reason why he needed to be revealed, I'd understand where you're coming from.

[20:03] Andrew DeWolf: So just let me know where you need to get to reveal, Andrew.

[20:06] Jesse McAnally: He's gonna make off with your children in the night.

[20:11] Andrew DeWolf: Protect your women and children.

[20:13] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, I forget the lyrics to the song.

[20:16] Andrew DeWolf: I only know the 2017 version because that is the better version, Luke Evans.

[20:21] Jesse McAnally: Oh, okay, sorry. Um yeah, so they have to unveil the beast.

[20:26] Andrew DeWolf: They're on the computer, Suzu hears her song being hummed by some child, and they are able to pinpoint it through like 800—this you gotta clean up your computer.

[20:35] Jesse McAnally: You can't have windows like this. Like just every single window is just kind of hovering around.

[20:40] Andrew DeWolf: Like, come on, organize your shit a little bit.

[20:43] Jesse McAnally: I'm just imagining Hero, uh, quote Jesse Slaughter's father, like, I done back traced all them comments.

[20:49] Andrew DeWolf: I found him.

[20:50] Jesse McAnally: So they find—they find a live stream of a child humming a song with one viewer, which I think is them.

[20:58] Andrew DeWolf: Um I got a question.

[21:00] Jesse McAnally: Oh no, go ahead.

[21:02] Andrew DeWolf: I'm just imagining what service would allow a child to run a Twitch stream of just them humming?

[21:09] Jesse McAnally: Twitch.

[21:09] Andrew DeWolf: Maybe, maybe.

[21:12] Jesse McAnally: I guess I don't go on Twitch.

[21:14] Andrew DeWolf: Okay, so after they find the live stream, they start watching it and they're like, oh well, that could be the beast because he's singing the song that I—but I don't think it's the truth.

[21:14] Jesse McAnally: But I don't think it is because it doesn't seem like he's got the emotional trauma.

[21:26] Andrew DeWolf: He don't got scars.

[21:27] Jesse McAnally: He ain't got no scars.

[21:28] Andrew DeWolf: He doesn't have the bruises on his back that the beast has.

[21:31] Jesse McAnally: And then, oh no, the dad comes into the room and is like just the worst.

[21:36] Andrew DeWolf: And then the older brother comes in and is like hovering over him, like over the small kid, um, and protecting him and getting bruises on his back emotionally.

[21:46] Jesse McAnally: Um, and they're like, oh well, that's—that's him right there, that's the beast, and then they go and find him by tracking.

[21:53] Andrew DeWolf: Andrew, you're forgetting what's in their window.

[21:59] Jesse McAnally: No, no, no, you're forgetting a very important part of this. This is actually the emotional climax of the movie, so it is kind of important that we bring this up.

[22:07] Andrew DeWolf: Um so the beast yells at her saying that you're just making fun of me, you're just a big big bully.

[22:13] Jesse McAnally: Um, turns it off. She's like, oh no, how are we gonna dox him now if we—if he turned off the live stream?

[22:20] Andrew DeWolf: Um, and she decides to go into the U as Belle and reveal herself as Suzu and sing as Suzu, and therefore repairing her entire arc that we set up about her not being able to sing as herself, and then the entire U starts singing along with her, and it's kind of a great moment.

[22:39] Jesse McAnally: I feel like if we didn't bring that up, it would be kind of a waste.

[22:42] Andrew DeWolf: But also, how does this tie back to the beast story?

[22:45] Jesse McAnally: Fuck all we know.

[22:47] Andrew DeWolf: Oh, oh wait, because then the beast sees in and he's like, Maybe I can trust her, but maybe I can't.

[22:52] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, that's why it ties back.

[22:54] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, it doesn't really tie in that tightly.

[22:57] Jesse McAnally: But it is the emotional cortex of the story.

[22:59] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, her, uh, her boyfriend, her love interest is like, you need to do this as yourself so the beast believes that you're like a good person you want to help him.

[23:07] Jesse McAnally: Are we gonna agree this is like top ten worst love interest ever?

[23:10] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, he's kind of just annoying and doesn't even do anything.

[23:13] Jesse McAnally: Also in the English dub, he's voiced by Jason from the Good Place, so I was just like, Why aren't you talking about jalapeno poppers and being in Florida?

[23:21] Andrew DeWolf: I—you know the only romance that works in this movie is fucking Kayak Guy and her friend.

[23:26] Jesse McAnally: Oh yeah, Hunter Schaefer.

[23:28] Andrew DeWolf: I love Kayak Guy has a sign that says canoes.

[23:32] Jesse McAnally: Canoes are not kayaks.

[23:33] Andrew DeWolf: I mean, that's all he talks about.

[23:35] Jesse McAnally: Different. Those are two different types of things.

[23:37] Andrew DeWolf: I like that he—I like that he just walks around in crocs.

[23:40] Jesse McAnally: There's a lot of things about Kayak Guy that I think fucking rolls.

[23:44] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, I like Kayak Guy.

[23:45] Jesse McAnally: But they basically they just fully full on dox the beast guy and find his house.

[23:50] Andrew DeWolf: And that's a good thing looking at the buildings outside.

[23:53] Jesse McAnally: Well, in the movie's defense, he's about to say the address on a live stream, and then the internet gets cut off by evil dad.

[23:59] Andrew DeWolf: So no, dad walks in and then like turns the internet off.

[24:03] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[24:04] Andrew DeWolf: Full Jesse Slaughter dad.

[24:05] Jesse McAnally: Full yeah, full Jesse Slaughter dad.

[24:07] Andrew DeWolf: So they had to use context to the stuff.

[24:11] Jesse McAnally: Oh, my son's about to say our address live on stream.

[24:16] Andrew DeWolf: Maybe not saying the dad was a good character, but that might have been a good decision.

[24:20] Jesse McAnally: No, he was a bad character. Very bad.

[24:22] Andrew DeWolf: But one a broken clock is right twice a day.

[24:26] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, maybe don't—don't give people your address on the internet that you don't know.

[24:30] Andrew DeWolf: This movie gives out some, uh, weird messaging to children.

[24:33] Jesse McAnally: Um but eventually they go there and Suzu's like, I'm gonna protect you from your dad.

[24:39] Andrew DeWolf: And she literally just stands between them and the dad, and the dad just starts like beating her.

[24:44] Jesse McAnally: Um yeah, scraping blood on her face and all that.

[24:46] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, literally scrapes blood like with his fingers, like peels part of her skin off in and causes bleeding.

[24:57] Jesse McAnally: Um I guess that's how it's resolved, because she just kind of leaves and they have to stay with their dad still.

[25:04] Andrew DeWolf: Um, that story doesn't get it resolved.

[25:06] Jesse McAnally: Abuse is stopped by w at one time stopping it kind of.

[25:12] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[25:12] Jesse McAnally: I guess maybe the thought is that the dad learned a lesson or something.

[25:17] Andrew DeWolf: No, he didn't.

[25:17] Jesse McAnally: No, I don't—I don't think he did.

[25:18] Andrew DeWolf: I think he'll just do it again.

[25:24] Jesse McAnally: I think the beast guy was like, you gave me strength to fight back against my father, and it's like sweetie.

[25:30] Andrew DeWolf: I don't think no, I don't think that's a—you're 14. You need actual help.

[25:35] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, maybe call some—call the authorities.

[25:39] Andrew DeWolf: Everyone says they'll talk to him and fix him, but they never fix him.

[25:42] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, that's a little bit.

[25:46] Andrew DeWolf: You call Mario and he shows up and he comes out of your dad's head.

[25:50] Jesse McAnally: Jumps out of your toilet and he sounds like Chris Pratt.

[25:55] Andrew DeWolf: It's me, Mario.

[25:56] Jesse McAnally: It's a me, Chris Pratt.

[25:57] Andrew DeWolf: That's not the voice.

[25:59] Jesse McAnally: That's not the voice.

[26:01] Andrew DeWolf: You know what? It's time for us to compare our opinions to those of the new—of those of critics who saw this.

[26:08] Jesse McAnally: Um, it's time for previews.

[26:11] Andrew DeWolf: It's time for preview.

[26:16] Jesse McAnally: It's time for previews.

[26:18] Andrew DeWolf: Um I just wanted to pull a review from like a Western film reviewer, like a normal New York Times reviewer, just to see what they had to say.

[26:26] Jesse McAnally: Um, and this is from, um, Manhola Dargus, um, who says much of what ensues after this narrative turn is familiar, and while not everything that happens then works equally well, it's unfailing touch—it's unfailingly touching.

[26:40] Andrew DeWolf: Who Hotsoda throws drama, meanies, and a couple of romantic rivals, predictable cuties with floppy hair, into the mix.

[26:48] Jesse McAnally: But to his credit, the story remains focused on its heroine.

[26:52] Andrew DeWolf: Suzu is moving between two different outwardly echo irreconcilable worlds, each with its own texture, shapes, and colors, a divide that reflects and speaks to her internal struggles.

[27:03] Jesse McAnally: And while she sets out to escape, what she finally finds needs is to find a sense of wholeness, even when everything seems broken.

[27:11] Andrew DeWolf: So, as far as Western audiences go, most of them kinda got it.

[27:15] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[27:16] Andrew DeWolf: Except if you're on YouTube where they're all like, oh my god, none of this makes sense.

[27:21] Jesse McAnally: Iron Man is better.

[27:23] Andrew DeWolf: Why didn't they mention 9/11 and Turning Red?

[27:27] Jesse McAnally: Why didn't they mention the January 6th invasion in fucking Belle?

[27:34] Andrew DeWolf: It's true.

[27:35] Jesse McAnally: It's true.

[27:36] Andrew DeWolf: Why didn't they mention it?

[27:37] Jesse McAnally: Why didn't they mention it?

[27:43] Andrew DeWolf: This movie has the same audience and Round Tomatoes critic score.

[27:47] Jesse McAnally: And 87%.

[27:48] Andrew DeWolf: 95%.

[27:50] Jesse McAnally: I feel like audiences are high.

[27:51] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, but also not as many people see it as other films, you know, like when what came out fucking, um, Morbius.

[27:59] Jesse McAnally: I feel like I'm in a smaller minority here, but I don't—I don't think I like this that much.

[28:06] Andrew DeWolf: Like I liked like certain things, but there is just so much like weirdness and unexplained shit that happens that I just I'm not into it.

[28:16] Jesse McAnally: Well, part of me kind of likes the fact there's weirdness and unexplained shit that happens, because at least that makes it interesting and not like the same cookie cutter films that we're all getting nowadays.

[28:24] Andrew DeWolf: And I also have this weird opinion, um, that I think a lot of this would have just like been a spectacle if seen in theaters on big screens and having that music hit you because the music sounds like it's made to be on a big screen.

[28:37] Andrew DeWolf: I think the music was good and some of the visuals were really good. Although I feel like a lot of the visuals just looked like normal anime stuff, but there was certain stuff that looked nice.

[28:48] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[28:48] Andrew DeWolf: Usually when they were in the U, like that looked a lot better.

[28:51] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[28:51] Jesse McAnally: Alright, Liz, Andrew. Are you ready for the next part of Letterboxd?

[28:55] Jesse McAnally: Where it's one star or five-star previews where we compare reviews on Letterboxd, and you guys have to tell us whether it's a one-star or five-star.

[29:03] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, I just feel like I'm gonna be really good at this one.

[29:05] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, I just gut feeling. I usually beat me, so I'm gonna go with the assumption I'm gonna lose.

[29:11] Jesse McAnally: Alright, alright. And forgive me if I say things wrong. I'm a little out of my brain, but let's go.

[29:15] Jesse McAnally: Alright, who wants to go first? Liz?

[29:17] Liz Eston: I'll go first.

[29:19] Liz Eston: This is how I imagine my rise to TikTok fame would be like.

[29:23] Jesse McAnally: Okay.

[29:24] Jesse McAnally: Go a lot of ways.

[29:27] Liz Eston: Uh one.

[29:28] Jesse McAnally: That is correct. Alright, Andrew, you're up.

[29:30] Andrew DeWolf: Okay. Metaverse propaganda. I don't want to live in VR.

[29:34] Jesse McAnally: One star.

[29:37] Andrew DeWolf: That is correct. We're one-to-one, guys.

[29:39] Jesse McAnally: Oh no. Andrew comes for you. Alright. Yeah, Liz, you ready?

[29:45] Liz Eston: Alright. Same shit happened to me in a VR chat in a Daffy Duck avatar. Um, but Daffy is spelled D-A-P-H-Y.

[29:54] Jesse McAnally: Daffy Duck. Is that how you spell that?

[29:57] Liz Eston: No, it's D-A-F-F-Y. Don't know why they spelled it that way.

[30:00] Jesse McAnally: Oh god. Um that must have been a very interesting experience. So five.

[30:04] Liz Eston: That is correct. Alright, Andrew, you're up next.

[30:07] Andrew DeWolf: Okay. Child abuse has been averted.

[30:10] Jesse McAnally: No. Uh I mean, I guess that that is a good thing, but it's kind of a so many questions. It sounds negative. I'm gonna put one. I'm gonna say one.

[30:22] Jesse McAnally: That is correct. Alright, we're head to head. Sounds like what I would say about like Hairspray when we solved racism. We solved depression, Dear Evan Hansen though. Alright, Liz, you ready?

[30:34] Liz Eston: I'm ready. Better than the actual Beauty and the Beast because it's about gamers.

[30:39] Jesse McAnally: One.

[30:39] Liz Eston: True.

[30:39] Jesse McAnally: That is a five.

[30:41] Liz Eston: Oh. Come on, it's about gamers. It's gotta be a five star.

[30:44] Andrew DeWolf: A lot of people hate gamers. Alright, Andrew, you ready?

[30:48] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. Everybody gangster till Dream pulls out the docs gun.

[30:53] Jesse McAnally: What?

[30:55] Jesse McAnally: What the fuck? Why dreams? Why are Dreamstands invading the Belle Letterboxd page?

[31:00] Andrew DeWolf: I don't know. I was equally confused. I thought it was funny. Five?

[31:03] Jesse McAnally: That is correct. Liz, Andrew is taking the lead. You gotta get it back right, Liz. Redemption.

[31:09] Liz Eston: Sorry, but if I download a VR app that's supposed to reveal your true self and it made me a cop named Justin, I would kill myself immediately.

[31:19] Jesse McAnally: True.

[31:20] Liz Eston: One.

[31:21] Jesse McAnally: That is correct. You're tied again. Alright, Andrew, back to you.

[31:24] Andrew DeWolf: Okay. This is the last movie I watched before Roe v. Wade was overturned.

[31:31] Jesse McAnally: Okay, god. That's not a review of the movie.

[31:34] Andrew DeWolf: Oh god. I mean, that's bad. One?

[31:38] Jesse McAnally: No, that was a five. Liz back to you. You can take the lead.

[31:46] Liz Eston: So confused. Liz, you can take the lead.

[31:49] Liz Eston: I know. So much pressure. Alright. Watch with my grandma. She did not like it very much.

[31:57] Jesse McAnally: And she shouldn't. This internet's too confusing for me. I was going out. I don't remember any of this. Why is the lady so pretty? Wait, is she not the same girl? Is that not the girl in the school? Is that a different girl? What's happening?

[32:12] Liz Eston: Um five.

[32:14] Jesse McAnally: That is correct. Liz is taking the lead. Andrew.

[32:17] Andrew DeWolf: Yep. Unrealistic, because in real life the beast would have had an army of furries at his disposal instantly.

[32:26] Jesse McAnally: Five stars.

[32:27] Andrew DeWolf: That is a one-star.

[32:29] Jesse McAnally: How is that a one? Come on. That it was unrealistic. Alright, Liz, you ready?

[32:33] Liz Eston: I'm ready. Great music, two hearts.

[32:36] Jesse McAnally: Wait, it's wait. What? Great music. Exclamation point, two hearts.

[32:40] Liz Eston: Okay. Oh, oh, that's two heart emojis. I thought they were rating it two hearts.

[32:44] Jesse McAnally: It was like you gave away the rating, Medusa.

[32:46] Liz Eston: No, no. Uh five?

[32:48] Jesse McAnally: That is a one-star. Andrew, back to you.

[32:52] Andrew DeWolf: What the fuck? Two hearts. Was it just me, or is this kind of like Beauty and the Beast?

[33:02] Jesse McAnally: It was called Belle. You know what? I'm starting to see it myself. I saw the guest on parallel and it's opened my mind. One.

[33:13] Jesse McAnally: That is correct. Andrew, you have now tied with Liz.

[33:16] Andrew DeWolf: Oh. Liz, your turn.

[33:19] Liz Eston: This film saves cinema right next to Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit.

[33:24] Jesse McAnally: True. That movie's great.

[33:25] Liz Eston: That movie's I I don't have I seen that? Oh, I have seen that. I saw it in elementary school probably.

[33:29] Jesse McAnally: I saw it in theaters. It was great.

[33:30] Liz Eston: The movies are 10 out of 10. Five.

[33:32] Jesse McAnally: That is a one. Andrew, you can take the lead and win the game here.

[33:36] Andrew DeWolf: How is that a one? Okay. Actually, there's two more left. I lied. Um so disappointed in this Ready Player One meets Sing 2 remake.

[33:46] Jesse McAnally: I Sing 2. It's the same as Sing 1, isn't it? Well, Sing 1 isn't a musical. Sing 2 technically fits the format better.

[33:55] Andrew DeWolf: Um one star?

[33:58] Jesse McAnally: That is correct. Liz, you can tie this up, but you can't win this, and you got this, alright?

[34:03] Liz Eston: Alright. Gamer moment.

[34:05] Jesse McAnally: That's it?

[34:06] Liz Eston: Yep.

[34:06] Jesse McAnally: Okay. Five.

[34:07] Liz Eston: That is correct. And you've tied the game. You know everybody, everybody loves gamers.

[34:12] Jesse McAnally: People love gamers. That's what I've learned. Everyone loves gamers and gamer moments. It's their favorite parts of the internet. I love gamers.

[34:20] Andrew DeWolf: Um speaking of which, before Andrew says the gamer world, let's go into a mid-show announcement and hear some other names.

[34:25] Andrew DeWolf: I don't get to finish the round. I I went second.

[34:29] Jesse McAnally: Nope. Alright!

[34:31] Andrew DeWolf: I don't think.

[34:40] Jesse McAnally: Musicals with Cheese.

[34:43] Jesse McAnally: Hey guys, and welcome to the you!

[34:46] Andrew DeWolf: Whoa! We're the digital world.

[34:50] Jesse McAnally: Andrew's a lion now.

[34:53] Andrew DeWolf: Oh. And I'm a weird creature that you said I was earlier, but I don't remember.

[34:58] Jesse McAnally: Ill-defined anime animal sidekick.

[35:01] Andrew DeWolf: I'm an ill-defined anime animal sidekick.

[35:04] Jesse McAnally: But you know what? Today's show is brought to you by the extremely kind donations by our donors over at Patreon. Patreon is this wonderful place where you can donate to us and you can even pick what we choose. Like today's episode was a Patreon request from Cinemageddon Reviews, and you can even join us for episodes if you reach a higher high enough tier.

[35:24] Andrew DeWolf: Um there's so much other fun stuff over at Patreon. You could do I have monthly hangouts where you get to spend time with me and Andrew specifically. It's a good amount of fun. Um you also get our weekly ish tangled episodes with me and Liz. We got a lot of those going on. And commentaries and such. We're gonna hopefully do some more commentaries if I can force Andrew into it sometime.

[35:44] Jesse McAnally: Um, but Andrew, who's currently supporting us over at Patreon.

[35:47] Andrew DeWolf: Our current patrons are Melissa Goldwyn, Layton Accles, Danielle Rennix, Just the Stampede, Ewan Cassidy, Monica Thoreau, Mina Maniri, Brent Black, Lithanial Stacey Coombe, Joseph Evans Green, Carrie Ahern, Mary Louis Choquette, John Vanels, Russ Walker, Musical Hell, Emily Gracie, Kyle Summers, Janae C, Scootin' the Technical Dreamco, Liz Limb, Alison Staller, nothing is certain except Beth and Taxes, Thesbian, Ren Cullen, Raphael, Martinez Salaz, Jessica T, Mitchell Young, Chai Teacup, Katie McDonough, Timothy Keyes, Chris Marcote, Mimu, Hiji Marie Anastasio, Leela, RJ Nariga, Super Antelope, Charlie B, Patrick Deering, Avery Brinson, Bjorn Hermans, Erica S.

[36:28] Andrew DeWolf: Toriana Frazier, Sammy the Most Lopez, Liana Morton, Angela, Kylie Blazier, Bergman69, Samagedon Reviews, Villainous Miss, Sophina Alley, The Omega Geek, Katrin Evans, Paige Pearson, Maddie Wargle, uh Alana Resnick, Eliza Erdman, Anna Lostova, uh Jessica Vere, and Sarah Den Blake here.

[36:52] Jesse McAnally: These folks support us over at Patreon and give us a little extra financial support that helps us keep the lights on here at Musicals with Cheese. If you'd like to join them in supporting us and get tons of fun perks, which is Patreon like commentary star episodes day early and even earlier, and a bunch of other shit. Come join them over at Patreon.

[37:07] Jesse McAnally: Alright, you guys, ready to talk about some songs?

[37:10] Andrew DeWolf: Let's do it.

[37:16] Jesse McAnally: Musicals with Cheese. What's your favorite song from Belle, Andrew?

[37:23] Andrew DeWolf: I think my favorite song is the one that Belle sings after she reveals herself. Um I'm trying to remember that name. I think it goes la la la la la.

[37:33] Jesse McAnally: Is it saying la, that's a good lyric. Is it a million miles away?

[37:39] Andrew DeWolf: I think it's that one.

[38:11] Jesse McAnally: So how do you like the vocals altogether, Andrew?

[38:14] Andrew DeWolf: Uh I think the one of the strongest elements of this is that the vocals are very good and the orchestrations are very good. Um like it's powerful sounding music.

[38:22] Jesse McAnally: Yes.

[38:27] Andrew DeWolf: It reminds me a little bit of the Bridgerton album.

[38:29] Jesse McAnally: A little bit.

[38:30] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, yeah, I can sort of hear that. Like how percussion was used and for like a single female voice.

[38:36] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[38:37] Andrew DeWolf: Um I think I I kinda had trouble hearing some of the lyrics. Like, and I feel like they didn't really actually fit into the plot at all, unless I missed something on most of them.

[38:49] Jesse McAnally: They push forward. Umatically less so, but the way they're used tends to.

[38:55] Andrew DeWolf: Okay. Um if that like a song will happen and the way it's used will push us to a different part at the end of the song.

[39:01] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, but I don't think the lyrics are ever like describing how someone feels in more than a superficial like pop song way.

[39:08] Andrew DeWolf: No. Um, but they're good pop songs. Like a good pop song is just as good as anything else. And it's not the way they're used in the movie, they don't really need to be as intense.

[39:19] Jesse McAnally: No, because they're almost always performances, um, either for an actual crowd or just like practicing a song or something like that.

[39:28] Andrew DeWolf: Um I don't think they ever do a song where it's like non-diagetic, is that right?

[39:32] Jesse McAnally: Yeah.

[39:33] Andrew DeWolf: Well, that's that's like that's actually a thing I'm I don't think any music in this movie isn't non-diagetic.

[39:39] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, yeah.

[39:40] Andrew DeWolf: So that's like I'm I'm not even like talking about like I'm talking about like even interstitial store score. We don't hear music when we're in the real world, it is all just the universe. We only hear music when we're in the U, and you're not unconvinced that the music isn't just the noises that the U makes.

[39:56] Jesse McAnally: It's actually pretty interesting.

[39:58] Andrew DeWolf: It would make sense. I didn't really notice that, but I think you are kind of right. The real world segments always felt more like bland, and it's probably because they didn't really score anything. Just like ambient noise and like long shots of people like traveling. So it's like you're in the real world and it's dull and you're not happy.

[40:16] Jesse McAnally: And the way the camera moves. They tend to lock it down in very far shots when you're in the real world, and then it moves like crazy when you're in the U.

[40:24] Andrew DeWolf: I like things like that. And the time that it really came to life, um, was actually during the song Gales, Gales of a Song, I believe it's called. Uh Gales of Song, um, which is the first moment Belle sings in the U. Um, and you just kind of get to be immersed in that world from that point of view, and the camera's moving intensely, and you get to see all these characters or avatars or whatever you want to call them.

[40:48] Jesse McAnally: This scene is where it's like, oh, this this is cinema. This is a movie.

[40:51] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. But now she'll gone.

[40:54] Jesse McAnally: I have to move on.

[40:56] Andrew DeWolf: Seems like everyone. Just monster at the sun, but I will know where I should go.

[41:08] Jesse McAnally: Oh, girls you sing and go. I walk along. There's more to life I have to know.

[41:19] Andrew DeWolf: And how do you like the design of Belle as the anime character?

[41:23] Jesse McAnally: Um it's interesting. She's got that like eye makeup thing going on. It looks kind of weird.

[41:30] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. I guess I I don't fully understand why that is the representation of Suzu, I guess. Like, why would that be.

[41:37] Jesse McAnally: I maybe they scanned the soul and was like, you're a pop star.

[41:44] Andrew DeWolf: Scan the soul and just scream painting. Because like all a lot of the other characters, like in the U just kind of look more normal or small.

[41:58] Jesse McAnally: Normal or less normal.

[41:59] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah. They're like it's either like big abnormal or really intense normal.

[42:05] Jesse McAnally: It's strange. And it's like, why is she why is she pink? I don't know.

[42:11] Andrew DeWolf: You know? But okay, I'm I'm like scrolling through the movie as we're talking. Um the camera is moving like crazy anytime we're in the U. And the the digital camera, because this they didn't shoot this with a real camera. Um but everything uh shot in the real world, quote unquote, is locked down shot reverse shot or wide shots. Like it's nothing moves.

[42:31] Jesse McAnally: There’s not a single bit of movement. It is shot like a Woody Allen film.

[42:36] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, I think that's part of what I don't like about a lot of the movie is the real world stuff is boring.

[42:42] Jesse McAnally: But it's that's where I feel like the most emotional connection comes from.

[42:46] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, so they shouldn't have made it boring. They should have made it more interesting.

[42:50] Andrew DeWolf: It's not I like the contrast of it a lot. Like the you is like so like energetic and fast cuts and moving cameras, like as soon as we got to the real world, I was like, okay, I can breathe for a minute. And also the you is maybe it's just because I'm overstimulated as a human being at the moment. It's over stimulating. Uh so much visually. Oh god. I yeah, I know he I I was just gonna let it pass. I know, I know, but I had to response. Someone had to say something, and I'm glad it was you and not me. Um, but in that song, in that specifically Gail's song, I think that song really shows how the potential of this world and how cool it could be. You know what's really strange? I kept expecting the U to be a bad thing, you know.

Like at the end it's revealed the like, oh man, people needed more of a human connection and the U was bad, and they never do it. They never do it. They're just like, no, no, the U the U is so why wouldn't they? That's cool as shit. I mean, I agree. I kinda like that though.

[44:02] Jesse McAnally: I I absolutely fucking hate that message in movies. I fundamentally disagree with it. It's so stupid. We're gonna definitely boomers just not understanding the internet. And the main thanks. This was my only thing. I only did this so I could like make out with my girlfriend for a day, but the rest of the week I'm gonna go online and just be everyone should have a girlfriend that they make out with on Tuesdays.

[44:36] Andrew DeWolf: And finger blast on Tuesdays.

[44:38] Jesse McAnally: Don't say finger blasts.

[44:45] Andrew DeWolf: It's a it's a Michigan thing.

[44:47] Jesse McAnally: You're not gonna get them to stop.

[44:50] Andrew DeWolf: That's how they say it.

[44:54] Jesse McAnally: Well, how would you say it, Andrew?

[44:56] Andrew DeWolf: I'm not gonna say that here.

[44:57] Jesse McAnally: Knuckle gush, what would you say?

[44:59] Andrew DeWolf: I'm not gonna say that here. This is why I'm here, everybody. Jess just wants some finger blasted Cheetos.

[45:24] Andrew DeWolf: But not from that one.

[45:26] Jesse McAnally: But not from the 2017 one, the Close Superior product.

[45:29] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[45:34] Jesse McAnally: So hard. Living home by yourself.

[45:43] Andrew DeWolf: It is an heart.

[45:46] Jesse McAnally: Yes, I know that's what you say. It's what you have told yourself.

[46:01] Andrew DeWolf: And darkness.

[46:03] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, it's not evermore, sadly enough, but it is it's clear. Great song. Not rushed together, not third. I totally don't totally don't only like it because Dan Stevens is singing. I have a huge crush in him anyway.

[46:18] Andrew DeWolf: Dan Stevens can't sing it though. He sounds like Ray Fines when he tries to sing in Princess. Anyway, let me is good, but did anyone else want the beast to sing? Because I thought it would be really funny. Like the deep voice beast being.

[46:31] Jesse McAnally: I mean okay. The thing I love about the beast though is he can only open his mouth up and down. He can't really articulate in the same way to sing. So it would be actively funny, like in a Kermit the Frog way where you see Kermit sing and it only goes open down. Like there's one point where he screams get out, but it's just like I I love the beast so much. I I I don't think I've emphasized it enough, but every scene of the beast is I laughed like out loud every single time. Comedy goals.

[47:05] Andrew DeWolf: He's so it's like Shadow the Hedgehog. You know, it's like it's like that pure edgelord energy.

[47:12] Jesse McAnally: Yeah. And it's so cringe. I love it. Like Bell is there, like, I love you and comfort you, and I'll I'll help you. Like, tell me what's who you are. And he's like, get it out. Get out of here. And it's like, oh my god, dude. You gotta chill. You gotta chill out. It's great. Um, I I agree. Did you how do you feel about the beast and Belle not really having a romantic relationship?

[47:35] Andrew DeWolf: That's fine. I don't I don't really care. I preferred that. I thought that was a smart move. Honestly, just because we've seen so many versions of it. Yeah, and also the Bills will be a 14-year-old boy, so you know how old was Suso? Because I didn't I I couldn't quite place 16. That's not that big an age. But she also had a love interest. That sucked. So she should have gone for Kaya.

[47:59] Jesse McAnally: I mean, yeah, he's cool. Canoe man. Um, one last final song I want to talk about before we wrap this up, and that is duh um A Million Miles Away, which is the song that Suzu sings as herself in front of the you.

[48:14] Andrew DeWolf: Come back to me. Say by my side feel my heart shake. Come to sick. I'm standing on here, reaching for you. So come back and stay.

[48:42] Jesse McAnally: I like the song. I think that this is like the most effective moment in the entire story, in my opinion. Yeah, like I understand this as an emotional catharsis. I stand it as a resolution to her arc. Everything here worked for me. Um and the song itself is just good. All the songs themselves are very good, as you've picked up on the clips you've heard of like, oh, this is this so uh on Spotify here. How long do you think this song is? About three minutes?

[49:04] Andrew DeWolf: Eight minutes. It has one nearly two million streams.

[49:09] Jesse McAnally: It's not bad though, and I'm not saying it's eight minutes is a bad thing. No, it's a good one. Uh and yeah, it probably kept in all the instrumental where there's dialogue happening in the movie. Although there's no negative video edit from the looks of it though, which is kind of odd.

[49:23] Andrew DeWolf: Are you thinking the English version of it on Spotify?

[49:26] Jesse McAnally: Yes.

[49:26] Andrew DeWolf: Okay.

[49:27] Jesse McAnally: And the Japanese version.

[49:28] Andrew DeWolf: Okay. The English version. You'd think there's a uh a reprise as well that's six minutes and a half. Uh being the credits. Cool indeed. Good song.

[49:36] Andrew DeWolf: I almost feel like this moment would work better if it was like uh it wasn't Beauty and the Beast and the Beast thing didn't exist, and this was just like her trying to finally be able to sing for herself and not have Yeah, I feel like the beauty and the beast thing is a bit of a distraction from the overall effective emotional plot. Because this is like the real ending, and then there's just like more tacked on at the end where like, oh let's go save the beast guy. Then there's just a goofy message about d like family violence and pro paternal violence, which not saying that's not a worthy story worth telling, it just feels out of place. Not that it isn't done well, it's not done in depth.

[50:20] Jesse McAnally: No like amount of depth that that sort of topic would need. It's like a twist. It's framed as a twist to an overall narrative. Like there's a mystery on the beast for like nearly half an hour, and it's like, oh, twist, it's a young abused child. You're like, oh, okay, this is where we're going now.

[50:35] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, because there's the two red herrings, the the sports guy and the artist.

[50:41] Jesse McAnally: Oh yeah, the sports guy hold a bunch of surgeries, so he has scars. That's why he might be.

[50:44] Andrew DeWolf: But they're not on his back though. They're on his chest.

[50:47] Jesse McAnally: Yeah weren't just say not sure why they even thought it would be the sports guy.

[50:51] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah, why do you think it was a baseball guy? The other guy at least made sense because he had art that looked like a big thing.

[50:56] Jesse McAnally: And he had like a dead girlfriend and he was like mourning her, like hit some yeah it's some shit going girlfriend and girlfriend wasn't it revealed that the girlfriend was actually alive though I don't even remember I don't know I think it was real to not be a girlfriend or something I don't a lot happened with that micro plot I liked when they called him and and um angrily put his hand in front of the camera instead of just not picking up the video call guys guys we gotta wrap this up what is our overall thoughts on Belle and our cheese ratings andrew why don't you go first uh you know it's it's okay I I feel like there's like good stuff in here but I think overall it just kind of falls a little bit flat for me.

[51:38] Andrew DeWolf: Uh honestly I would just go listen to the soundtrack because all the good stuff is on there and then watch some of the you scenes on YouTube if you want to see the good art. Uh I don't know I I feel like it was a bit of a uh slog to get through some of it um oh well I'm gonna give it candy cheese um which is a uh Japanese snack which is just bite-sized cheese uh that you eat and you know what there's some good stuff in here enough for a bite-sized cube of cheese no one that's fair what about you was uh I like the contrast between the two worlds and I liked a lot I liked the stuff with Suzu a lot I did connect with her at a lot during times especially when like those moments when I was younger and I felt insecure and I was like I was that teenage girl for a bit I just I didn't sing I actually cannot sing.

[52:24] Jesse McAnally: I have no rhythm or tonality so don't ask me to sing ever. But I enjoyed it um I think it's a decent experience. There is some sloggy bits like in the middle, but the ending is great, like the final like s song scene. Like it's definitely worth the build up to that. Um so I enjoyed it. Uh I'm gonna give it a Japanese cheesecake, because it's pretty fluffy sometimes, but looks good.

[52:48] Andrew DeWolf: It's from Japan.

[52:52] Jesse McAnally: Yeah. Andrew texted me early on in the movie, like, is this just like animated be more chill?

[52:57] Andrew DeWolf: I thought that because I was so I'm so used to that plot that I thought that the U was gonna end up being like a corruptive influence, you know what I'm saying?

[53:04] Jesse McAnally: It sounds like Keanu Reading. Even in the I will say in the book of Be More Chill, like the squip was just kind of a neutral thing. Where it wasn't evil, it was just a a thing that existed, and it's like, oh, how do we turn you off? You know, like in the script's like, oh, you can do this. It was just like go buy some mountain dew, it'll turn me off real quick. Cool.

[53:22] Andrew DeWolf: All right, go drink it.

[53:23] Jesse McAnally: Yeah, and that's that's the resolution of the movie. I read that book when I was 12. Start of the book. Be more chill is fine. Um Bell is also fine. The score is incredible, the visuals are great. If you can see it on the big screen, I think it's better than watching it alone in your house.

[53:39] Andrew DeWolf: Um especially if you have COVID and you're stuck in a room.

[53:44] Jesse McAnally: Yeah. Don't watch it on COVID. The brain fog will make it all worse.

[53:47] Andrew DeWolf: It does. It was not fun to watch this on COVID. Let me just say that.

[53:51] Jesse McAnally: Um and I I will say I remembered a good majority of the plot accurately. Um, despite watching this twice on brain fog and listening to the kit um soundtrack once in English and once in Japanese. I feel I feel like I got most of it. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

[54:06] Andrew DeWolf: Um visually, I wish more movies looked like this.

[54:08] Jesse McAnally: I miss 2D animation sincerely. I wish that we had Western 2D that looked like this.

[54:14] Andrew DeWolf: I completely agree.

[54:15] Jesse McAnally: Completely agree. The animation's gorgeous. Like, I just wish we had 2D animation at all anymore.

[54:20] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[54:21] Jesse McAnally: Um, but the ch my cheese rating is you per c picorino, um, which is it starts with the letter U because the you.

[54:30] Andrew DeWolf: Yeah.

[54:31] Jesse McAnally: Yeah. It does. It doesn't just start with it either. It's a you and then a space.

[54:35] Andrew DeWolf: Yes.

[54:36] Jesse McAnally: Yeah. It's the you. Um, so that's my cheese rating. Um, all right, guys. I think it's time we wrap this on up. Thank you guys for listening to the show.

[54:46] Andrew DeWolf: Um, please send us a review on iTunes.

[54:49] Jesse McAnally: We need more iTunes reviews. And if you do, Andrew will read it aloud in our mid show.

[54:53] Andrew DeWolf: If you okay, if you write us a review right now, by the time we do uh our next um mid show recording, we will read the reviews in total that we get in between then and now. And it'll be a good long time because we're um we're not recording our next episode until August 10th.

[55:07] Jesse McAnally: So you got plenty of time to write them in. Negative, positive, we'll read them all.

[55:11] Andrew DeWolf: Um, so get them in.

[55:12] Jesse McAnally: They're all gonna write negative stuff just so we can read it.

[55:15] Andrew DeWolf: It'll be funny though.

[55:17] Jesse McAnally: Either way, content. We win. We're on Spotify, Stitcher at Musicals with Cheese. We're on Twitter at Cheesy Musicals, Patreon Musical Cheese, Instagram musical so cheese, music page musicals with cheese. We have a patron only podcast called Patreon, which is email us at musical theater lives at gmail.com. Our keeper of the cheese is Julietta Antonio. This show is produced by the wonderful the incredible the closing in on a house today, so she's moving today. Brianna Joel.

[55:39] Andrew DeWolf: Very good.

[55:43] Jesse McAnally: Thank you for stepping in, Liz. You did an amazing job today.

[55:45] Liz Eston: Happy to be here.

[55:46] Jesse McAnally: Um, yes. Our theme songs were created by the amazing Robin Nash of IOU Music UK. Thank you to the Broadway Podcast Network for having us on the platform and for not kicking us off for talking bad about the you. I I know they have that in their policy, but we gotta say what we gotta say.

[56:01] Andrew DeWolf: Um, all right, guys. Is there anything else we gotta say before we wrap this on up?

[56:05] Jesse McAnally: Don't uh don't persecute the bees, don't dox people.

[56:09] Andrew DeWolf: Do dox people.

[56:10] Jesse McAnally: It was actually a good one.

[56:10] Andrew DeWolf: That's true. The message movies dox people, gotta br gotta dox people.

[56:15] Jesse McAnally: I want to hear Jess sing one of the songs from this.

[56:18] Andrew DeWolf: I'm trying to rem go right ahead, Jess.

[56:21] Jesse McAnally: Go, Jess, go sing. There's uh an actual one I remember the melody too, and I want to make sure I get the lyrics right.

[56:27] Andrew DeWolf: He's Googling.

[56:28] Jesse McAnally: It's not Googling. I didn't just want to try to have it right. Um, lend me your voice.

[56:31] Andrew DeWolf: Lend me your voice.

[56:39] Jesse McAnally: This is a jazz scat version of lend me your voice. Damn, he is he is trying.

[56:43] Andrew DeWolf: He's trying his best.

[56:44] Jesse McAnally: I didn't even look up the song. I just want to make sure I got the title right because I knew that one was it. Like, look it up. Compare that. Compare that to what I was saying. I think I got the melody.

[56:52] Andrew DeWolf: 68% right.

[56:55] Jesse McAnally: 68%.

[56:56] Andrew DeWolf: 68%. That's such a rare number.

[57:03] Jesse McAnally: Music calls with cheese.