Grace Heart

This movie was beautiful. There were several instances where it made me cry, however its flaws are glaring. The animation and the music are absolutely amazing. Suzu, a high schooler who could not sing after losing her mother, discovers the world of U. U is a different world where you could look different and be someone else. It isn't clarified whether entering the app means your consciousness also enters the world of U or if it's like a video game and you are aware of both reality and U. Belle looks like a Disney character, a Beauty and the Beast reference is what I'm guessing. Suzu is able to sing as Belle in this different world. However I do not find the two to match. Even though they are one and the same, their personalities seemed to differ slightly. There are several moments where the movie drags. This does not do too much to hinder the movie, although it is boring. The most glaring flaw is in the ending. Minor spoilers ahead, but I think the end really ruined it for me. Suzu discovered 2 kids being abused by their father. Desperate to help, she tried to gain their trust and find their location. The adults contacted the police, but the police brushed it off. Suzu's father, despite what I expected, only told Suzu that she grew up to be a great girl instead of acting like a caring parent and calling the officials, leading me to believe he was not very concerned for her safety. The problem was wrapped up messily. Suzu glared at the abuser, who scurries away and nothing more is said about the children. The main problem of this movie is that everything is way too focused on Suzu, and while that isn't a bad thing, it also makes the other characters feel incredibly one dimensional. Those scenes with nothing but pretty animation could have been better used to describe Suzu's father or her friends or even the fate of the two kids. The music is very touching and captivating and the story was a very good idea. U is an interesting world. I only wish the last quarter was done a little better. Overall, beautiful movie, but nowhere near the best.