From visionary filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda (Summer Wars, Mirai) comes Scarlet, a powerful, time-bending animated film about a princess seeking revenge for her father’s death, but fails and awakens in a mysterious afterlife.
Director Hosoda began envisioning the story of Scarlet during the COVID-19 pandemic, the period of isolation kickstarting his inspiration. “Looking at the geo-political state of the world after COVID was a big point of inspiration for me. The idea that people can’t forgive these days still continues to this day and that brings a lot of worry. That influenced the start of this project for me, and I would like to pass on a positive message to the younger generation. In terms of revenge stories, Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a masterpiece. There’s this cycle of revenge that is still relevant today, which is why I weaved Shakespearean elements into the story and characters.”
He has also been pursuing a blend of different art styles to give Scarlet unique visuals that complement the themes of travelling to different timelines. “The tools in animation are constantly evolving and improving. Until recently, style of animation was rooted in the country of origin, for example there’s this CG style of animation with Pixar in the US whereas in Europe it’s more artistic and, of course, Japan is known for anime (cell look). Through COVID and streamers, people were exposed to different animations. Disney and Pixar used to dominate the stage of animation. More recently, different styles have mixed and we’ve elevated the industry. Scarlet is much heavier on the CG which enables me as a director to get more into the character expression. There’s lots of CG, of course, but I wanted the hand drawn to still be preserved. If you look at Spider-Verse, they found a way to mix different styles to have a huge visual impact. I wanted for my film to have a shift in visual style. It feels and looks new and it allows us to show these bigger themes.”
Director Hosoda hopes that Scarlet would start dialogue between moviegoers, and audiences would find their own point of relatability within the film. “Looking at the present-day conflicts, this movie is intended to be a thought-provoking experience. I hope it becomes an entry point for conversation. I think many moviegoers will relate to this idea of revenge. For me, it’s a romantic idea to many people all over the world. There’s always a revenge story. Everyone has someone they can’t forgive. Scarlet too suffers from this but there’s a transformation. I want the audience to feel the process of change and what helps her realize there’s something more important than revenge.”
A journey awaits as Scarlet arrives in Philippine cinemas on December 10.
Photo & Video Credit: “Columbia Pictures”
