Arrietty, titled The Borrower Arrietty (Kari-gurashi no Arietti) in Japan and
The Secret World of Arrietty in North America, is a 2010 Japanese animated
fantasy film directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and scripted by Hayao Miyazaki and
Keiko Niwa.
This is a story of a family of “little” people.
ARRIETTY is a visually stunning animated film created by world-renowned
Japanese animation house Studio Ghibli (SPIRITED AWAY, HOWL’S MOVING CASTLE,
PONYO) and based on the much-loved children’s book The Borrowers by Mary
Norton.
In this whimsical adventure, tiny 14-year-old Arrietty lives under the
floorboards of a sprawling mansion set in a magical, overgrown garden with her
father and mother. Arrietty and her family live by borrowing. Everything they
have, they borrow or make from the things they have borrowed from the old lady
who lives in the mansion.
Their peaceful life is dramatically changed when the ever-curious Arrietty
accidentally allows herself to be seen by Sho, a lonely 12-year-old human boy.
The two begin to confide in each other and, before long, a friendship begins to
blossom…
From the Studio Ghibli Collection
Awards
- Won Japanese Academy Award for: Best Animation Film (2011)
- Won Tokyo Anime Awards for: Animation of the Year, Best
Director (2011)
- Won International Cinephile Society Award, Best Animated Film (2013)
- Nominated MovieGuide Award, Best Film for Families (2013)
Arrietty Movie Review
By EyeforFilm.co.uk
"Studio Ghibli's latest confection is a magical adaptation of Mary
Norton's oh-so-British kid-lit classic The Borrowers. For Hayao Miyazaki –
the ‘Japanese Walt Disney’ – the film marks the realisation of a project
he tried to get off the ground over 40 years ago, perhaps explaining its quaint
nature and the absence of much of his later output's surreal quirkiness.
It's also the directorial debut of animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi, the youngest
person to have made a film for the company. While some fans of their more
esoteric work – like Eighties faves Laputa and My Neighbour Totoro – will
bemoan the relative simplicity of the narrative, patient viewers will find
plenty to savour and all involved should be proud of their
accomplishment.
Sho is a terminally ill teenager, on his way to stay with his kindly aunt
Sadako. Their journey takes us from urban Tokyo out into the glorious green
countryside, where the dense foliage holds a surprise for the observant youth; a
miniature girl is slipping through the undergrowth. This is our heroine
Arrietty, first glimpsed on the run from the family feline, narrowly escaping
into her underground abode. There she lives with her mother Homily and father
Pod, thinking they may well be the last of their kind, the ‘Borrowers’.
These tiny beings are so named for their practice of taking what they need from
‘human beans’, so long as it's not something that'll be missed. The
family's fearful dependency is established on one golden rule: they must never
allow the humans to catch a glimpse of them. Arrietty's carelessness may
result in her family having to leave their treasured home, but a curious Sho is
determined to see more.
The first thing that will strike you about The Borrower Arrietty is how
absolutely lush it is visually; the pastel landscape is utterly iridescent by
day, and star-dusted luminous by night. The interior scenes are also gorgeously
intricate, with reams of noteworthy mise-en-scene in every frame. Most of the
screen may be filled with largely inanimate paintings, but every inch is awash
with vibrant color and alive with joyful detail.
The relative restraint of the animation works in the film's favour;
there's so much to take in that the action understandably takes a back-seat at
times. Special mention must also be made of the score, its wistfully pastoral
folk having been composed by unknown French musician and Gibhli devotee Cecile
Corbel after she sent the studio a gushing fan letter. This speaks volumes about
the personal touch that is evident all over; it's the sort of film you'll look
forward to owning, just to soak up all of its old-fashioned finery.
Screenwriter Miyazaki is surprisingly respectful of Norton's original
vision; the story references the books quite closely, subtly adapting several
aspects for both the Eastern locale and the modern age. Part of the
film's charm comes in its excellent evocation of scale; the use of perspective
is outstanding, and the sporadic employment of twinkly lighting effects also
adds to the atmosphere.
The way the little family uses our detritus – as well as the way they
ingeniously negotiate our outsized domain – is wonderfully conveyed. Sugar
cubes are their ultimate luxury; drops of water or soup are like boulders of
liquid; stamps make for paintings and fairy lights become battery-powered
lanterns. Arrietty's first Borrowing mission – under the shadowy cloak of
night – is fabulously exciting, their exploration of our environment
comparable to one of Indiana Jones' tomb raids. Scenes involving threat from
gigantic animals are also brilliantly handled, being both funny and frantic, if
perhaps a little less frequent than you'd expect and would maybe wish. This is
perhaps the film's greatest weakness; it is relatively uneventful and only
modestly humorous, especially given the potential for both peril and
hi-jinks…
For all that though, there's a timeless quality to
Arrietty's escapades, and a gentle poignancy that is all the more affecting
by being so unforced for the most part. Come the ending (don't miss the
animation accompanying the credits), you'll be sad to leave this world, but
happy to see the characters venturing out to find new adventures. Arrietty is
possibly the most accessible and consistent film by the studio yet, for both
children and adults, especially in the West. It'll probably bore the slightly
older kids who would prefer the wackiness of its predecessor Ponyo, and it may
fail to satisfy those enchanted by the wild fantasy of Spirited Away and
Princess Mononoke, but it's a hell of a lot better than the last time Studio
Ghibli tried to appeal to a more mainstream crowd (with the wishy-washy Tales
From Earthsea), and it stands as a wonderful testament to traditional
storytelling values and animation techniques." 4.5 out of 5 stars