Scarlet (2025 film)

Scarlet (Japanese: 果てしなきスカーレット, Hepburn: Hateshinaki Sukāretto; lit. 'Endless Scarlet') is a 2025 Japanese animated fantasy action film written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda. It was animated by Studio Chizu, who co-produced with Nippon Television and Columbia Pictures. Inspired by the Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet,^[4] the film follows the eponymous princess who can cross time and space on a quest of vengeance after her father is murdered.

Scarlet had its premiere out of competition at the 82nd Venice International Film Festival on September 4, 2025.^[5] It was released theatrically in Japan on November 21, 2025, by Toho and Sony Pictures.^[6][7] It was released in the United States on February 6, 2026.^[8]

In 16th Century Denmark, Princess Scarlet reunites with her father Amleth, a kind, grand king beloved by his people except for his wicked brother, Claudius, who wants to be king in order to win the heart of Gertrude, Scarlet's vain mother. In order to prove himself to her, Claudius receives words that Amleth has betrayed his kingdom and sentences him to be executed. Before Amleth is killed, Scarlet watches in horror as Amleth speaks his last words, but she can not hear them. Scarlet tries to get Amleth to tell her what he said, but he is instantly killed. Soon after, Claudius is crowned King, but his orders cause great terror and hunger to the kingdom.

Much to the anger of Scarlet, she starts training very hard to yield swordsmanship and fight. During a ball, Claudius greets Scarlet, in a short, but heated encounter. Soon, they are both offered wine, one of which has been spiked with poison in a plan to kill Claudius. As the ball ends, Scarlet finds Claudius in the hall. Holding a knife, she attempts to kill Claudius, but before she can strike him, she collapses on the floor, indicating that Claudius had poisoned Scarlet's wine. She vows for revenge, as Claudius walks off laughing.

Scarlet then awakens in the underworld, a place where the living and the dead co-exist. Scarlet questions if she will reunite with her father, but an old woman tells her that he has become nothingness, a pile of ash, but she tells Scarlet that her uncle is also in the underworld, but not fully turned into nothingness. Infuriated, and as arms from dead bodies grab and pull her in, she escapes them, and begins her mission to avenge Amleth. Obtaining some armor and swords from other fallen knights, Scarlet fights off knights who attempt to capture the princess in order to be transported into the "Infinite Land", a world where the dead can live. Scarlet escapes the knights with the help of the old woman.

Shortly thereafter, Hijiri, a paramedic from the present day, finds himself disoriented and encounters Scarlet, who is lightly injured. Scarlet informs him that he has been deceased and is now residing in the underworld, a notion that Hijiri vehemently denies. As Hijiri recounts his journey to this realm, additional soldiers assault Scarlet, who swiftly eliminates them and vanishes into nothingness. Subsequently, Cornelius, one of King Amleth's assassins, fights and bests Scarlet in battle. Despite being on the brink of defeat, Hijiri retrieves a bow and arrow, shooting a whistling arrow to distract Cornelius and allowing Scarlet to stab Cornelius in the leg.

Hijiri nurses Cornelius back to health, and Scarlet confronts him on the whereabouts of her uncle, telling her that he is close to the Infinite Land. She begins her journey to find him while Hijiri tags along with her, and they soon encounter a caravan of elderly souls, who have been robbed by bandits. Hijiri begs them to stop, but gets attacked, and as the bandits drift away, with other bandits attacking, a dark bolt of lightning disintegrates the leader. Hijiri looks up to see a dragon like creature flying in the dark sky, fading away.

As Scarlet and Hijiri continue their venture, they are thanked by the elderly souls, and Hijiri offers medical attention to them, whom are concerned at first, but are intrigued by his efforts, even Scarlet. He and a Hula dancer dance in the early evening in order to communicate to God. They say he doesn't listen through words, but listens to dances. After being thanked by the elderly as they go on their separate ways, Scarlet and Hijiri spot Voltimand, another of Amleth's killers. Hijiri demands him and his men to stop fighting, but is almost shot at. During their fight, the thunderous dragon returns, forcing Voltimand and his men to take cover, and Voltimand aims his gun at Hijiri. After Scarlet protects Hijiri and gets shot in the arm, Hijiri bandages her arm quickly before Scarlet soon confronts Voltimand, who begs for her forgiveness and is soon spared, before telling Scarlet that he and Cornelius know the last word of King Amleth before his execution: "Forgive", which Scarlet does not understand. Soon after, Hijiri lets Voltimand and his soldiers free, continuing their mission.

Claudius, standing with vigor in his castle over thousands of civilians, pledges to them that if they fight alongside him, they will be led to the Infinite Land. He is also informed that Cornelius failed to capture the princess, and he enlists Polonius and Laertes to find her. Meanwhile, Scarlet begins to dream of why her father wants her to forgive Claudius, only to have her vision become a dark nightmare of two gravediggers burying what Scarlet believes is her father. They begin to open the coffin, but nothing is inside, Scarlet looks in, as the gravediggers suddenly push her and lock her inside. After she wakes up, Scarlet comes over to Hijiri around an open fire, who is playing a mandolin and singing a song from his future. As he continues to play, Scarlet suddenly has a vision of the present, where she sees herself dancing alongside Hijiri and thousands of civilians in Shibuya. As she wakes up back to the underworld, she tearfully hugs Hijiri, and slices her long hair.

As King Claudius prepares his soldiers for war, Guildenstern and Rosencrantz are enlisted to locate the princess and kill her. Many civilians are killed, and Guildenstern finds a group of innocent civilians, demanding to know where Scarlet is. He then grabs a young girl, who bears the same colored hair as Scarlet and whom has talked to her before the battle, as a hostage. Scarlet saves the girl and is caught by Gildenstern, only to have him be shot by Hijiri, who also stabs a retaliating Rosencrantz, but gets wounded in the process. As the civilians finally reach the castle, Claudius is nowhere to be found.

Scarlet and Hijiri reach the top of the mountain, trying to find the stairway to the Infinite Land, but Polonius and Laertes attack Scarlet. Cornelius and Voltimand arrive in time to save her and fight Polonius and Laertes, having fed up with their mistreatment. As Cornelius kills Polonius with a sword hidden in a cane given by Hijiri, Laertes aims his gun at him, only for Voltimand to jam it and explode, killing Laertes. Cornelius tells Scarlet that Claudius is located in the Infinite Land, and is taken there by a celestial stairway.

At the gates of the Infinite Land, Claudius frustratingly demands to get inside before realizing his sins prevent him from reaching the Infinite Land. Scarlet, once again filled with rage and anger, yields her sword and attempts to kill Claudius, but before she can, Claudius asks for forgiveness in order to enter the gate. Scarlet drops her sword and asks Claudius for forgiveness for killing her father. However, Claudius spits on Scarlet, spitefully claiming that his killing of Amleth should've been much worse. Enraged by her uncle's unsympathy, Scarlet attempts to kill Claudius, until she hears her father's voice, demanding to forgive. As she lets go of Claudius in a nervous breakdown, Scarlet begins asking herself if she could forgive herself, until she sees a ethereal visage of her father's spirit, begging Scarlet to stop carrying out her plan for revenge and to live a happy, shining life without him. As Scarlet tearfully embraces her father, Claudius attempts to kill Scarlet once and for all, before Scarlet tells Claudius that while she can never forgive him, her plot for revenge is over, choosing to conceive a war-free future. Just as Claudius raises his sword, he is suddenly struck down twice by the dragon's lightning blasts, causing Claudius to disintegrate.

Hijiri reunites with Scarlet and she tells him that she can die in peace after avenging her father, but Hijiri tells Scarlet that it was not her who died, but Hijiri. The old woman returns, telling them only one of them can return to the world of the living, as one of them is still alive and must go back to where they came from. Scarlet tells her that it was Hijiri who must return, but Hijiri denies, telling her that he was actually murdered in the present day, and was also stabbed by Rosencrantz when he killed him. As Hijiri slowly succumbs to his wound, Scarlet begs the old woman if she can take Hijiri's place, but the old woman refuses. Scarlet tearfully tells Hijiri that she would rather be dead due to her obsession with revenge, but Hijiri demands Scarlet to live her life. As Scarlet is being brought back, she tearfully gives Hijiri a last kiss as he disintegrates, and she returns to the living.

Back in Denmark, Scarlet awakens from a coma from the poisonous wine thanks to an antidote given by her caretakers. She later finds out that Claudius has already been killed by poison, the same that Scarlet accidentally drank. Gertrude is crestfallen that her husband is dead and mournfully blames Scarlet for her survival, and Scarlet later 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/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 Pictures; 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]

Scarlet was released for purchase and rent on digital streaming on March 17, 2026, and will be released on Blu-ray, Ultra HD Blu-ray, and DVD on May 19.^[18]

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 74% of 69 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Scarlet is a narratively ambitious take on Hamlet that delivers awe-inspiring fantasy, wondrous animation, and an unforgettable atmosphere"^[19] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 60 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews.^[20]

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".^[21] IndieWire's film critic Adam Solomons referred to the film as a "visually impressive but narratively forgettable baroque fantasy".^[22]

• Official website
• Official website (in Japanese)
• Scarlet at IMDb
• Scarlet (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia