O Mundo dos Pequeninos

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.

Let me start off by saying that the film is not a masterpiece - the storyline, development, interactions and plot is rather dull, simplistic and boring - this is not a film to appease fans of complex dramas.

Why do I give this film an 8/10, then? The reason why, is because this is not a film intended to be thought-provoking or philosophical - this is a film about the existence of a world entirely parallel to ours, a view of our daily life from a different perspective. It's an adventure into the unknown, an insight into a culture so similar yet so mysteriously different. It is a typical Studio Ghibli piece in this regard, and that is a Good Thing.

The presentation of the film is brilliant and worked very well. The magnitude and immersion with which the Borrowers' forays into our daily lives is shown never ceased to impress me. The visuals, artwork, animation, sound and music played together perfectly.

Overall, the film is colorful, cheery and entertaining. If you watch it with high expectations you'll be disappointed, but you won't regret relaxing and enjoying it.

In Tokyo, the boy Sho has a heart condition and is neglected by his parents. He moves to the house of his Aunt Sadako and her housemaid Haru to wait for a heart surgery, but he is depressed with the absence of his mother.

Meanwhile the fourteen-year-old Arrietty lives on the underground of Sadako's house with her father Pad and her hysterical mother Homily. They are Borrowers, tiny people that collect simple things they need in the house. Sho sees Arrietty on the garden and during the night, she participates for the first time of a harvest with her father. Arrietty accidentally drops a sugar cube in Sho's bedroom, but on the next morning Sho leaves the cube near a window in the basement.

Arrietty's parents decide to move to another place since they have been discovered by an inhabitant of the house. But there is the menace of Haru that wants to capture the tiny people.

"Kari-gurashi no Arietti" is a beautiful and melancholic tale of friendship between different ones. Arrietty is a lovely and sweet character and it is impossible not falling in love with her. The conclusion is open despite the message of hope, since the fates of Sho and Arrierry and her family are inconclusive. We hope that the boy recovers from his heart surgery and Arriety and her parents find a new home. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Mundo dos Pequeninos" ("the World of the Little Ones")

A "smaller-scale" Ghibli movie than what we're used to, but a good one. The Secret World of Arrietty is the story of a family of "borrowers" a tiny race of people who live within the homes of ordinary humans and who are supposed to stay hidden from them at all times. 

It's visually as beautiful as you'd expect from Ghibli, with even simple backgrounds looking as lovely as a painting. Instead of the fantastical lands of most Ghibli films like Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle, The Secret World of Arrietty is set in an ordinary home. But the simple beauty of everything and seeing the lovingly-drawn detail in everyday items from the view of smaller eyes makes this one of the more memorable Ghibli movies from a visual standpoint, in my opinion. 

As for the story, it's simple and effective, and deals with nothing more than the human occupants of a home, including a young boy with a heart condition, and the family of borrowers that also lives there unknown. Arrietty herself, the daughter of the family of tiny people, continues the tradition of fantastic female characters that comes from Studio Ghibli. 

This isn't an action-packed movie with a grand climax or anything like that, but I found it satisfying and pleasantly watchable. Arrietty left me with good feelings and avoided being heavy-handed with messages as some Ghibli movies can tend to do. I liked it a lot (better than Howl's Moving Castle and Tales from Earthsea, if not quite as much as Ponyo), and I'll be happily seeing it again at the theater when it comes out in the U.S.

Studio Ghibli have been responsible for some of my favourite animated movies, especially Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Grave of the Fireflies, Castle in the Sky and My Neighbour Totoro. In fact I haven't seen a Ghibli I dislike, even their weakest Tales from Earthsea while problematic is worth a viewing. Arietty is not one of Ghibli's best, but that doesn't stop it from being a truly charming film. As with all Studio Ghibli's work, the visuals are stunning, with the colours especially having such an ethereal quality to them, and the music has a pleasant Celtic lilt making the movie even more beautiful than it already is. The script amused and touched me, and the storytelling doesn't rely on wisecracks and action(not that it's a bad thing as such) but instead it is subtle and gentle with a lot of charm and heart, letting us bond emotionally with the characters and their world. True, the ending is a little bittersweet, but considering the storytelling it worked I felt. The characters, especially Arietty, are likable and engaging, and the voice work is terrific, the standouts being Olivia Colman, Geraldine McEwan, Mark Strong and very talented child actress Saoirse Ronan. Overall, a very charming film. 9/10 Bethany Cox