animation, Denmark, film festivals, Kazuhiro Yamaji, Mamoru Hosoda, Mana Ashida, Masachika Ichimura, Masaki Okada, movies, Munetaka Aoki, reviews, Scarlet, Shota Sometani, TIFF, Tokio Emoto, Toronto International Film Festival, Venice International Film Festival, Yuki Saito
December 9, 2025
by Carla Hay
Directed by Mamoru Hosoda
Japanese with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place at the end of the 16th century in Denmark, the animated film “Scarlet” (inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”) features characters who live in a kingdom and who exist in an Otherworld afterlife.
Culture Clash: After her king father is murdered by his evil brother, a princess vows to avenge and finds herself in a mysterious Otherworld afterlife, where she meets a guy from the 21st century who shows her a different way of thinking.
Culture Audience: “Scarlet” will appeal primarily to people who are fans of filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda and time-traveling fantasy anime films that blend action adventure with existential life philosophies.
Inspired by William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” the visually dazzling anime film “Scarlet” has some predictable action in this adventure story about a princess avenging her father’s murder. The movie has a few surprises that save the narrative. “Scarlet” is a fairly simple story that has some deeper philosophical messages about revenge versus forgiveness.
Written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda, “Scarlet” had its world premiere at the 2025 Venice International Film Festival and its North American premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. “Scarlet” is not an exact replica of “Hamlet.” It borrows elements from “Hamlet,” but is a completely different story.
In the beginning of “Scarlet” (which takes place at the end of the 16th century in Denmark), a princess named Scarlet (voiced by Mana Ashida) has an idyllic life. Her kind and gentle father Amlet (voiced by Masachika Ichimura), who is the king of Denmark, adores her and spends quality time with her. Scarlet, who is an only child, wants to make her father proud. “I’ll be the princess you want to be,” she tells Amlet. Scarlet is definitely a “daddy’s girl” because she barely interacts with her mother Gertrude (voiced by Yuki Saito), who will further alienate herself from Scarlet later in the story.
The character of Scarlet is based on the character of Hamlet. Just like in “Hamlet,” Denmark and Norway are feuding with each other. Amlet has an evil brother named Claudius (voiced by Koji Yakusho), who wants to be king. Claudius has Amlet branded as an unpatriotic traitor to Denmark, which leads to Amlet being executed in public. Scarlet witnesses this horrific murder.
With Amlet dead, Claudius becomes king and marries Gertrude. In this movie, Gertrude is shown having a secret affair with Claudius before Amlet died. Scarlet wants to avenge her father’s death and begins training to become a warrior. Claudius wants to get rid of any possible threat to his power as king, so he poisons Scarlet.
Scarlet ends up in an Otherworld afterlife (which looks like a desert with mountains), inhabited by beings who could be dead or alive in the real world. While in this afterlife, she meets a young man from the 21st century named Hijiri (voiced by Masaki Okada), who is friendly and optimistic, in contrast to Scarlet, who is consumed with anger and rage. Over time, Hijiri and Scarlet develop an attraction to each other, but they come from two different worlds. In the production notes for “Scarlet,” Hosoda says that the character of Hijiri is inspired by the character of Ophelia in “Hamlet.”
Most of “Scarlet” consists of Scarlet and Hijiri battling various opponents in this Otherworld afterlife, while Scarlet is determined to find Claudius so she can kill him. Characters from “Hamlet” are also characters in “Scarlet.” Polonius (voiced by Kazuhiro Yamaji) is Claudius’ trusted adviser. Laertes (voiced by Tokio Emoto) is Polonius’ son. Rosencrantz (voiced by Munetaka Aoki) and Guildenstern (voiced by Shota Sometani) are two courtiers who are sent by Claudius to find and kill Scarlet in this afterlife.
The ghost of Amlet makes multiple appearances. And there’s a graveyard scene in “Scarlet” that is a very different version of the graveyard scene in “Hamlet.” In one part of the movie, Scarlet gets a glimpse of what her life would be like if she lived in the 21st century with Hijiri. The movie ends with a revelation that’s meant to pack an emotional punch.
“Scarlet” has some harrowing scenes involving the supernatural and deadly beasts, such as a dragon. The movie’s voice performances are perfectly adequate but don’t particularly elevate the movie. If there’s any criticism for some of the fight scenes, there are a few too many times that the movie has a “damsel in distress” scenario where Hijiri has to come to the rescue. Even with all the action sequences, the movie is at its best with its emotional dilemmas, when Scarlet has to confront her revenge motives, decide how far she’s willing to go, and wonder if it was all worth it in the end.
Sony Pictures Classics will release “Scarlet” in select U.S. cinemas on December 12, 2025. The movie will be re-released in select U.S. cinemas on February 6, 2025, with an expansion to more U.S. cinemas on February 13, 2025.