Scarlet (2025 film)

In 16th century Denmark, King Amleth is accused of treason and sentenced to execution by his envious brother Claudius. Amleth's daughter, Princess Scarlet, is traumatized when she fails to hear her father's last words. While Scarlet grows up, Claudius is crowned king, but reigns with terror. Scarlet confronts her uncle at a ball in attempt to kill Claudius, but ends up collapsing after apparently consuming poisoned wine intended for Claudius. As she loses consciousness, she vows to avenge her father.

Scarlet awakens in the underworld, where the living and dead co-exist. An old woman informs her that Amleth has turned to nothingness, but Claudius is present in the underworld and seeks to enter the Infinite Land, where the dead can continue to exist. As she dispatches knights sent by Claudius to capture her, Scarlet encounters Hijiri, a paramedic from 21st century Japan, and Cornelius, one of Amleth's assassins. After she bests Cornelius with Hijiri's help, Scarlet learns that Claudius is close to the Infinite Land. Bent on revenge, Scarlet sets off to find Claudius, accompanied by Hijiri. Scarlet and Hijiri come across a caravan of elderly souls attacked by bandits. Hijiri begs for the bandits to stop, but the fighting continues to escalate until the leader is killed by a massive lightning strike from a dragon that oversees the underworld. As Scarlet and Hijiri continue their journey, they are attacked by Voltimand, another of Amleth's killers. As Hijiri tries to beseech Voltimand and his men to cease fighting, the dragon returns and forces Voltimand's forces to take cover. Afterwards, Scarlet confronts Voltimand, who begs for mercy and reveals Amleth's last word: "Forgive", which Scarlet does not understand.

Claudius amasses an enormous army that he promises will join him in the Infinite Land. After learning that Cornelius failed to capture Scarlet, he enlists Polonius, Laertes, Guildenstern, and Rosencrantz to locate and kill her. Scarlet and Hijiri meet an army of civilians opposed to Claudius who are preparing to storm Claudius' castle. Guildenstern takes a young civilian girl hostage to force Scarlet to appear, leading to her capture. Traumatically remembering his death by a serial killer while protecting a group of kids from getting killed back in his time, Hijiri kills both Guildenstern and Rosencrantz and manages to save Scarlet, but is wounded in the process. The civilians arrive at the castle, but Claudius is nowhere to be found. Scarlet and Hijiri ascend a mountain in search of the stairway to the Infinite Land, but are attacked by Polonius and Laertes. Cornelius and Voltimand arrive to finish them off, and they inform them that Claudius has taken a celestial stairway to the Infinite Land, which Scarlet then climbs up.

As Scarlet reaches the gate, Claudius finds himself barred from the Infinite Land due to his sins, and asks her to forgive him. Believing her father wanted her to forgive Claudius, Scarlet implores him to ask for forgiveness for killing Amleth, but Claudius spitefully rejects her as he reveals his only regret was not torturing Amleth before his execution. Enraged, Scarlet almost kills Claudius, but hears Amleth's pleas to forgive, to let go of her desire for revenge, and to live happily without him as she meets with his spirit one last time. Scarlet tells her uncle that while she cannot forgive him, she will no longer pursue revenge and instead seek to lead a war-free world. Claudius makes a final attempt to kill Scarlet, but he gets obliterated and disintegrated by the dragon, who disperses into a mass of birds.

Reunited with Hijiri, Scarlet tells him that she can now die in peace. However, Hijiri informs her that she is still alive, while he refused to accept that he had been murdered in his time. The old woman returns and reveals that she can only send one soul back to the living. Although Scarlet advocates for Hijiri to return to life, he reveals he had been fatally wounded by Rosencrantz. As Hijiri slowly succumbs to his wound, the old woman refuses Scarlet's plea to let her take Hijiri's place in death. Scarlet tearfully tells Hijiri that she would rather be dead due to her obsession with revenge, but he demands that Scarlet live her life. Scarlet gives Hijiri a last kiss as he disintegrates, before she returns to the living.

Back in Denmark, Scarlet awakens from a coma thanks to an antidote given by her caretakers. She discovers that Claudius died from drinking the same poisoned wine that Scarlet had accidentally consumed, while Gertrude is griefstricken for his death and ungratefully furious at her daughter Scarlet for her survival. Scarlet becomes the new Queen of Denmark, telling her people that she will create a war-free world with a future full of love and harmony. Her people cheer and support her, as she looks into the sky, smiling.

Mamoru Hosoda, the film's writer and director, stated that Scarlet will not use 2D animation nor "Hollywood-style CG", instead aiming for a different look.^[10] The film took four and a half years to produce, longer than Hosoda's previous films, due to incorporated digital techniques for a more detailed aesthetic, including facial expressions that are uncommon in anime. Hosoda stated: “The detail on a lot of the characters and models is something that would be extremely challenging to do with 2D, if not impossible.”^[11] Studio Chizu is producing the animation with the company also producing alongside Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group/Columbia Pictures, and Nippon Television.^[1][10] Yuichiro Saito, Toshimi Tanio, and Nozomu Takahashi are credited as producers.^[6]

The film's joint-distribution is handled by Toho Co., Ltd. and Sony; on behalf of the latter company, Sony Pictures Classics distributes for the United States and Canada, while Sony Pictures Releasing International handles all other territories.^[12] Originally, Toho was set to only distribute in Japan, while Sony would distribute internationally under Columbia, before North American rights were transferred to Sony Pictures Classics.^{[6][13][14][15][16]}

The film released in Japanese theaters on November 21, 2025.^[12][17] Initially planned to release the film in North America three weeks after on December 12, Scarlet was given an awards-qualifying run later that year,^[6] followed by a 1-week IMAX run on February 6, 2026 before finally expanding wide on February 13.^[14]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 72% of 85 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's consensus reads: "Scarlet is a narratively ambitious take on Hamlet that delivers awe-inspiring fantasy, wondrous animation, and an unforgettable atmosphere"^[20]

Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 56 out of 100, based on 20 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[21]

Matthew Joseph Jenner from International Cinephile Society described the film as "not only a strong narrative work, but an accomplished visual and aural achievement", and noted "this is a film that will become more rewarding through multiple viewings".^[22] IndieWire's film critic Adam Solomons referred to the film as a "visually impressive but narratively forgettable baroque fantasy".^[23]

Critics and Shakespeare scholars also discussed the film as an adaptation of Hamlet. Writing for Sight and Sound, Blake Simons described Scarlet as a gender-swapped take on Hamlet that uses the play as a basis for exploring revenge and forgiveness.^[24] Shakespeare scholar Shoichirō Kawai, who provided research cooperation for the film, discussed its use of specific scenes and lines from Shakespeare.^[25] Sae Kitamura, another Shakespeare scholar, also discussed the film's relationship to Hamlet, including its political dimension and afterlife imagery.^[26]