The Boy and the Beast is somewhat like the Jungle Book, except the jungle has Japanese supernatural creatures competing for deity status, and the human village nearby is the bustling district of Shibuya. But what makes the film different is the main relationship. As boy and beast learn to become apprentice and master, and eventually father and son, their dynamic shifts their lives permanently, transforming their flaws into the keys to the worlds they once felt excluded from. It’s a familiar conflict, but The Boy and the Beast depicts its coming-of-age adventure with beautiful animation, an impeccable score, and unabashed heart.
"What sets this film apart from its generic predecessors is writer/director Hosoda's knack for playful set pieces, and unsentimental love of surrogate familial communities."
— Simon Abrams
"An action-packed buddy movie that strategically combines several of Japanese fans' favorite ingredients: conflicted teens, supernatural creatures and epic battles."
— Peter Debruge
Kyuta, a boy living in Shibuya, and Kumatetsu, a lonesome beast from Jutengai, an imaginary world. One day, Kyuta forays into the imaginary world and, as he's looking for his way back, meets Kumatetsu who becomes his spirit guide. That encounter leads them to many adventures.
After losing his mother, nine-year-old Ren runs away, stumbling into Jutengai, a world of talking beasts. Unable to come back, Ren ends up as Kyuta, the apprentice of a gruff bearlike creature named Kumatetsu.
There are plenty of aspects in the film that are clearly inspired by other works, but the way Mamoru Hosoda brings them all together is just so intuitive that seeing these familiar tropes doesn’t feel stale.
It’s not as profound as Mamoru Hosoda’s other films, but it’s not a bad introduction to the rest of Studio Chizu’s works.
