2026 is turning out to be a big year for those fans of the bard, but then, William “Big Bill” Shakespeare has never really had a bad year in popular culture, and we’re not talking years, but centuries. And not merely on stage, the first venue for his works, but in the movies. Now, many films are “line-for-line” adaptations, while others have used his themes as a “starting point”, much like WEST SIDE STORY, which has had its “progeny” (GNOMEO AND JULIET). Of the scribe’s plays, it’s “Hamlet” that seems to be this year’s big “inspiration”. Though it was technically a 2025 release, it’s almost a “sure bet” that HAMNET will snag some Oscar gold. That story of the “melancholy dame” has even been translated into animation. Yes, way back in 1994, there was THE LION KING (which got sequels and a CGI “live-action” remake), but now it’s getting another animated “spin”, though it’s closer to anime. And there’s a “gender swap” too, as its title character is a princess named SCARLET.
As the story begins, Princess Scarlet (voice of Man Ashida) is wandering alone through a dusty desert. The desolation ends when she is dragged down a watering hole by gnarled, claw-like hands. An elderly woman appears to tell her that she is in the “Otherworld”, a limbo-like region for the recently deceased, before their journey ends either dissolving into “nothingness” or basking in the heavenly afterlife of “Infinite-land”. Scarlet screams at the old woman, explaining that she can’t be dead, which prompts her to think about her past life. In 16th-century Denmark, she is the only daughter to kindly King Amulet (Masachika Ichimura), a widower who weds the cruel Gertrude (Yuki Saito). She plots with the king’s envious brother, Claudius (Koji Yakusho). Soon their plot to seize the throne succeeds when Amulet is framed for criminal misdeeds and is executed. A distraught Scarlet devotes herself to becoming a fierce fighter, with fists and swords. The conflict erupts at a big celebration ball when we see that a potion is poured into a goblet. Cut to Scarlet writhing in agony, then back to the Otherworld as she frees herself. Along the barren landscape, she encounters strangers from many eras (bandits with guns, camel caravans, etc.). Then, somehow, she bonds with a paramedic, a young man from modern-day Japan named Hijiri (Masaki Okada). He wants to continue healing others, while Scarlet embarks on a trail of revenge when she learns that Claudius and several of his underlings are also in this weird place. Can this mismatched duo work together in order to enter the Infinite-land, or will Scarlet’s uncle triumph? And is there a chance either or both will return to the land of the living?
This imaginative spin on a classic was written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda, who gifted moviegoers with another unique artistic interpretation a few years ago with his “Beauty and the Beast”-inspired BELLE. Huzzah to his dedication to classic drawn animation, which he has cleverly integrated with modern tech to provide detailed textures to figures and backdrops. It also stylistically separates the two “worlds” that Scarlet occupies. The real Denmark has a linear look resembling a children’s book illustration from early in the last century. The “in-between” Otherworld has a more “lived-in” appearance as each traveler carries the dust, dirt, and “mileage” of their journeys. Hosoda also provides a nice “tribute” to a couple of celebrated cartoon “gizmos” from the Fleischer Brothers Studio, a rival to Disney from the 1920s to the 1940s (the creators of Betty Boop, who also made the first screen incarnations of Popeye and Superman). At a couple of points in the story, we’re treated to elaborate dance numbers with characters whose renderings seem to be drawn over live footage of dancers, much like the use of “rotoscoping” (tracing over film of live actors) as used by many “Golden Age” US studios. Also, for heightened dramatic effect, Hosoda utilizes photographs and miniature sets, much as the Fleischers did by framing their clear cartoon drawings against tiny sets on a turntable (an early 3D feel). But these flourishes would falter without the superb storytelling and the expertly crafted staging and movement (concise acting and gesturing), from the quiet moments of the romance between Scarlet and Hijiri to the violent battle set pieces (the princess is quite a fighter). Yes, there are some tropes here from the anime world (the principals scream with wide-open mouths), but it never detracts from this fable of the afterlife. For lovers of animation who want something beyond the usual slapstick and adorable animals, Scarlet is quite an engaging cinematic fantasy.
3 out of 4
SCARLET opens in select theatres on Friday, February 6, 2026
