The Secret World of Arriettyby Wolfen MoondaughterReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Studio
Credits Grade: 8 Arrietty (Bridget Mendler) is a Borrower, a member of a tiny race of people who only "borrow" what they need from "Human Beans," and make use of our small, throw-away objects in inventive ways. Borrowers must not be seen, lest they risk the capture of their species. Even well-meaning humans pose a threat, as any contact risks more antagonistic humans learning of the Borrowers and seeking them out. So when Sean, a gravely ill Bean boy, Shawn (David Henrie), spots Arrietty and tries to initiate true contact, will Arrietty's family have to move?As much as I love David Henrie, there were points where his voice-work made me wince, most notably when he was trying to sound sickly. He wounded much more natural when he was speaking "normally." There was a moment or two where Arnett's (Arietty's father, Pod) performance made me wince as well, though he was fine on the whole, even if he clashed with my mind's ear's voice of Pod (I actually liked him much better). Mendler, Poehler (Arrietty's mother, Homily), and Burnett (Hara) each did a brilliant job with their respective characters. However, all the characters who said the name "Arrietty" sounded ridiculous when doing so with their American accents, badly over-enunciating the "t"-sound. Apparently there is a UK adaptation — I would love to see that! I'm thinking it would sound more natural. (And I'm deeply puzzled as to why an American version was made if an UK version already existed.) Voice aside, I liked Shawn's sweet but melancholy character. It's nice to see a boy character who isn't acting all hyper (though it's sad that it took an illness to make him that way). And of course I love Arrietty. She's bold without being bratty, and cognizant of the consequences of her actions. Both are highly relatable in their sadness, uncertainty, and their joy. The animation was wonderful, as per usual with Ghibli, but even more appealing were the backgrounds, particularly Arrietty's family's home, with its bright colours and lovely design. I wanted to live in it myself! Now, let me address complaints I've seen of the concept of the Borrowers being a "rip-off" of The Littles. This film is based on a series of books by Mary Norton — the first book of which was published in 1952, long before the first book about The Littles was published in 1967. I've read the first of Norton's books, and I've seen the live-action film, 1997's The Borrowers. While, like Studio Ghibli's Howl's Moving Castle and Tales of Earthsea, Arrietty bears some sizable differences to its source material, it's still a significantly closer adaptation than the live-action film (which I still enjoyed). Its flavour is also quite different: that live-action film was a frantic, comedic adventure, while this is an infinitely more sedate and contemplative piece. While both films feature a human who wants to expose the Borrowers, the villain here is smaller-scale. The bulk of this film is more about personal growth than any sense of jeopardy. Here, we are given more of an opportunity to explore and savour the Borrower way of life, and watch Arrietty and human Shawn's uneasy friendship bloom. While in the text, Spiller doesn't appear until the second novel, he's well-used in his few scenes here, and much truer to his textual depiction than the live-action film's vision of him. If you loved that film, don't fret about a retread: that film and this are wildly different animals, so much so that you might as well be watching two different stories altogether. But if you're haven't seen either and are only willing to see one, this is the one I'd go with. Written: March 4, 2012
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