Arrietty - Die wundersame Welt der Borger

In a world engulfed by Kevin James comedies and ghastly and unnecessary reboots, the public is honoured with the animated Arrietty: a heavenly and gentle tale inspired by Mary Norton's novel 'The Borrowers'.

Arrietty Clock is a 14 year-old girl who lives with her family underneath a home inhabited by humans. The Clock family borrows items it needs to survive from the people living 'above' and love their beautiful, delicate home. However, when a young boy arrives (Shô) to stay with the human family, Arrietty is accidentally discovered by him. Due to fears of borrowers being seen and captured by human beings, the family fear for her safety. Shô finds himself fascinated by Arrietty and a bond builds between the pair, breaking the boundaries between human and borrower.

Arrietty is an intimate and emotional anime resembling the style of Spirited Away.

Arrietty is an intimate and emotional anime resembling the style of Spirited Away.

The film has currently been released in two languages: Japanese and English. The UK version has voice casting from Saoirse Ronan and Mark Strong, whilst the US version stars Will Arnett and Amy Poehler.

What Arreitty has is heart – it cares for its viewers and expresses this with irrevocable beauty. All viewers, young and old, will be unable to help being swept up in this animated treasure and taken aside by just how visually, narratively and emotionally stunning it is. Arrietty is the cinematic equivalent of whatever one believes to be the definition of 'beautiful'.

Hiromasa Yonebayashi's animation, aided by manga artist, film director and animator Hayao Miyazaki, swallows the screen in a sea of plush foliage, raindrops and climbing vine.

Every individual item is intrinsically detailed from a microscopic teapot to a leaf swaying in the wind. The artistic nature of Arrietty is a marvel of dedication and effort. This film is certainly the best animated film of 2011.

Furthermore, the film features rounded and wonderful characters, all of whom have an important role to play. Arrietty is a great role model for children, particularly young girls. She cares and wants to support her family, she's strong, hard-working, determined and she isn't prejudiced. She understands Shô and learns to enjoy his company. Regardless of the reality, the film's heroine provides plenty of positive energy and a great moral compass.

Arrietty is a love-letter to childhood enchantment, to that feeling of awe and magic and the belief in another.

Verdict: ●●●●● Sumptuous and marvellous storytelling aided by eye-watering beauty, Arrietty is simply sublime.

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This was stunning. I saw it just days after going to the Ghibli Museum in Japan, and it was breathtaking. I'm glad since I loathed the last Ghibli film I saw (Pom Poko). Arriety is the exact cure needed for such loud and obnoxious 3D CGI movies that come out every other week. It's quiet and full of soul. There are moments here that you wouldn't even get in a live action movie. Subtle moments of life and nature, that the animators could have saved time and money by not including them. Luckily for us, the details are all present. A shot lingers just long enough for a ladybird to take flight, or the mother to stir her tea after a conversation. What Ghibli understand, more than anyone, is that kids don't need bright/crass/non stop films. The quiet nature of Arriety is so relaxing, with gorgeous music from Cecile Corbel. First time director Yonebayashi shows that Ghibli has much more life and talent to give.

I was very familiar with The Borrowers, and was a bit disappointed I was getting something original from Ghibli. I'd already seen the excellent TV Mini-series and the over-the-top American film with Goodman. Ghibli have taken everything great about the story, and toned down the designs and motives, making this a realistic and engaging fantasy. The father is stoic and caring. Arriety is adventurous, but never annoying. Her heart is in the right place, but she doesn't get into a ridiculous amount of trouble. Being Ghibli we get a lovely little cat character, Niya. The designs are ace, and the world of the borrowers and the human beans merge beautifully.

Such a lovely, tender-hearted film, with themes of coexistence and the need to live in harmony. It's a touching relationship between the young girl, a teeny person, and the boy resting at his mother's childhood home while waiting for an operation on his heart. In more than one instance we see two very different responses to coming across some other type of creature; one simply letting it be, and the other, lashing out at it, and there is such a nice message there. Contrast the girl playing with the rolled-up pill bug and then letting in go along its way with the horror of the scene with the jar and its airholes. The cat has a nice character arc in this regard. :D On top of it, Studio Ghibli gives us fantastic attention to detail in every respect, the visuals of course, but also the sound design and the mannerisms of the characters. Magical, and a good one for both kids and adults.

Arrietty is a worthy addition to the Studio Ghibli canon, with animation that matches some of the best of the studio's past efforts. It's the first film directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, and it's based on the novel The Borrowers by English author Mary Norton. The script was written by Hayao Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa. Arrietty is a perfectly admirable first effort by Yonebayashi though it in no way matches Miyazaki's best films. It reminds one of Spirited Away (2001). This is because the story is somewhat similar but also because the hand-drawn animation is used in the same wondrous way to show scenes of everyday life of the characters. The buildup in the story takes a while, however, by then the viewer is immersed in the anime's world. It seems to go by fast though the running time is 94 minutes. The score by French singer Cecile Corbel is a definite benefit, with a sound that's distinctly European. Arrietty is a simple but charming film that, in my opinion, is mostly for children. Adults won't get much out of it, but if you're in the mood to see a good animated film then I recommend seeing Arrietty.

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You can't beat hand drawn animation. No matter how realistic your computer generated image is or how much the train conductor looks like Tom Hanks, you can't really compete with the beauty of Ghibli's animation. And that really comes across when seeing this new offering on the big screen. Along with some descent English dubbing and the humour that always accompanies tiny people with giant sugar cubes, Arrietty is the usual charming goodness from team Ghibli.

Arrietty is The Borrowers (in fact many cinemas are calling it just that) Tiny people live under the floorboards of a house where a young boy with a heart condition is gathering some much needed rest before his impending risky operation. They hide themselves from us humans waiting until night to sneak into our homes and 'Borrow' the things we wont miss, like sugar cubes and tissues. The majority of the fun in this film comes from watching the tiny borrowers clamber around the shelves using string to rappel off cupboards.

Olivia Colman (Peep Show, Hot Fuzz) Is brilliant as the panicky Mum of Arrietty constantly fretting about the humans and her daughter running off all the time. Geraldine McEwan (Miss Marple) is also great as Haru, she is a classic creepy Ghibli old lady and some of the noises she makes are making me laugh just now thinking of them.

It's easy for kids to follow and endlessly beautiful to watch. Not really surprising that they have done it again and thanks to Pixar dropping the ball (again) with Cars 2, Oscar this year please?

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