THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY

Reviewed by Patrick Gibbs

 GRADE: A

Bridgit Mendler, David Henrie, Will Arnett, Amy Poehller, Carol Burnett
Screenplay by Hayao Miyazaki & Keiki Niwa
English Adaptation by Karey Kikpatrick
Directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi

Just a small sized girl, living in a lonely world.

Arriety  is a “borrower,” one of a disappearing race of little people who live under the floorboards of houses. When little things go missing inside your house, and you have no explanation for it – it just might be “The Borrowers.” But borrowers aren't thieves – they take only what they need.

Arrietty is a spirited young girl, living alone with her parents, and reaching adolescence. She longs for more than her isolated word. Excitement, friends – anything. When young Shawn arrives at the house his mother lived in as a child, to live with his great aunt Jessica, Arriety is intrigued by the boy. When Shawn leaves the car, he sees a cat trying to attack something in the bushes, but the cat leaves after being attacked by a crow. Shawn goes to see what the cat was trying to attack – and catches a glimpse of Arriety.

That night Arrietty's father, Pod, (voiced by Will Arnett of Arrested Development) takes Arrietty above the floorboards to show her how he gets sugar – her very first “Borrowing.” Their first stop is the kitchen, then they walk within a wall to reach a dollhouse in Shawn's bedroom, to get tissue. Before Arrietty and Pod can leave, Arrietty notices Shawn is awake, and accidentally drops the sugar cube they got. Shawn tells them not to be afraid of him.

It's not long before things spiral out of control, and Arrietty's high strung mother, Homily (voiced by Arnett's real life wife, Amy Poehller) is terrified of being discovered, and talk of picking up and moving begins. But the lonely Arriety may have found a reason to stay.

Generally speaking, I am not a fan on Anime, but Hayao Miyazaki doesn't make ordinary anime. I find his works to be wildly inventive and captivating, and once again, Disney has expertly adapted it for an American audience. Typical to the Disney treatment of Studio Ghibli films, this is a heavily Americanized take on the original Miyazaki screenplay, complete which American names replacing the Japanese names (Sho becomes Shawn, for example) and American stars, including Disney Channel flavor of the month Bridget Mendler of Lemonade Mouth fame (yes, it is sad that I know that) as Arrietty, and Poehller earning big laughs as the fragile Homily, not to mention the the great Carol Burnett as the housekeeper, Hara. The film has been given a lot of American sensibilities, and it would be easy to forget that it wasn't made for English original without the little tell tale signs (Konji writing, a worker drinking cold coffee out of an aluminum can.). At the same time, the style and the spirit of the atmosphere are distinctly Miyazaki. There are a few moments in particular that shout out Miyazaki's influence on this magical world, and the result is really quite delightful. This is quite little a grand adventure on a small scale, or vice versa, depending on your perspective, and Arrietty herself is quite the resourceful heroine.

Based on the Award Winning Novel The Borrowers, which was the basis for a 1997 film, The Secret World Of Arriety may be a bit more distinctly aimed at kids than Spirited Away or Howl Moving Castle, but it's one that can be readily enjoyed by adults, and is an excellent family film. The pacing is fast, the characters involving, and the vivid world of the Borrowers is one I could disappear into for a long time. This is a wonderful little film that deserves an audience, and one that I could see many times.

The Secret World of Arriety is rated G.