Review: Mamoru Hosoda's Conventional And Unsatisfying ‘The Boy And The Beast’

Japanese animation is at an interesting crossroads. At home, it’s obviously as big as ever, and there’s a smattering of hardcore otaku across the world. But the filmmakers who won the most acclaim for those movies, in the West at least, have started to drift away — Oscar-winner Hayao Miyazaki has retired, as has his colleague Isao Takahata, with their Studio Ghibli home winding down, while Satoshi Kon passed away five years ago, and “Akira” helmer Katsuhiro Otomo hasn’t made an animated feature in a decade.

But there is hope, and some of it is in the form of director Mamoru Hosoda, who’s become one of the most hotly-tipped anime filmmakers of the last few years. Though he came from somewhat ignoble beginnings (his first feature was “Digimon: The Movie,” and he was allegedly fired off Ghibli’s “Howl’s Moving Castle”), he’s consistently impressed with his last few features — the acclaimed “The Girl Who Leapt Through Time,” “Summer Wars” and “Wolf Children.” Now, Hosoda’s back with...