No matter how long youve considered somewhere your home there are always going to be areas that you take for granted. Spaces in the walls between floorboards behind the stove maybe a forgotten crawl space or two... But theres a good chance these areas are not only seeing constant use but by more than just rats and spiders. They call themselves the Borrowers... Tiny people no bigger than your average action figure living in hiding and building their lives out of the random knickknacks that you thought you misplaced. They mean you no harm and have no actual ill intentions towards you but if you wake up at the right moment you just might catch a glimpse of them taking a tissue from your bedside. This is what fourteen year old Arrietty was doing on her first ever borrowing expedition with her father when a lonely young boy spots her and tries to make contact. Drawn together as two lonely souls often will be Arrietty and Shon begin a tenuous exchange that gradually brings misfortune upon misfortune to their tiny doorstep. Can Arrietty overcome the single minded curiosity of Shons aunt to protect her family or will the three of them be forced to leave their home behind before its too late? The very fact that this is a Studio Ghibli movie should tell you all you need to know about the quality of the animation. The budget was obviously generous as always and every second of animation is absolutely perfect even if there isnt as much to animate here as there would be in the studios more popular titles. This is a fairly uneventful movie with more stealth than action a lot of dialogue and barely any flying sceneswhich is anathema to a Ghibli film so its not the most visually stunning film in their catalogue but it is still impressive to go through an anime film actively looking for cost cutting techniques and cut corners and finding diddly squat for your efforts. Rather The Secret World of Arrietty is more known for its visual design than for its animation. The character designs are among Ghiblis more realistic revolving around anatomically believable characters with only slightly cartoonish faces that are perfectly capable of expressing a wide range of emotions without ever slipping into the range of moe. Whats more impressive by far however is the environmental design. We follow the Borrowers through their trials and tribulations from a fairly unique perspective travelling through the neglected nooks and crannies of the house and while it is pretty convenient how so much of it is set up just right so the cast can traverse it... Steps in just the right places nails sticking out just the right distance apart etc. none of it ever feels unbelievable and I never once found myself questioning the dimensions of the house. Their living space is full of repurposed small items and while its absolutely unnecessary to do so its still entirely rewarding to pause here and there and see just how much attention to detail went into this setting. From framed pictures of stamps to a leaky pipe giving them their water to the fact that the liquid in Homilys teapot has to bubble a bit before it pours as liquid on such a small scale wouldnt just flow like if it were in a life sized appliance. There are a few unexplained contrivances but youd have to go out of your way to look for them and even then I didnt totally mind. This is fantasy after all everything cant be totally realistic. What grabbed me even more than the visual design however was the sound design. As you would imagine everything is larger from the perspective of a lilliputian and that includes what we would consider your average everyday noises. When were following the borrowers around every single sound no matter how mundane is amplified tenfold. Everything from the rustle of grass to the squeaking of a window hinge to the monstrous echo of water dripping in a sink forms a very unique ambiance that serves as half of the soundtrack of the movie. As for the other half the musical score was composed by UK singer Cecile Corbel a French artist by birth whose body of work encompasses the entire western European region and has a strong Celtic vibe to it. As a lifelong Studio Ghibli fan she sent the studio her second album in 2009 and a producer was so enchanted by it that he hired her to compose the score. You could make an argument for her hiring feeling a tad random as she basically just got put to work on the movie they were making at the time but whether by accident or design her sound fits the film beautifully playing into its folksy aesthetic in a way that only Celtic music can. Speaking of Celtic there are two English dubs for this movie and the one we got isnt even the more English of the two. This isnt the first Ghibli movie to have two dubs but rather than being dubbed by two separate studios like a few of the other titles Arrietty has one dub for America and one dub for the UK and because I was looking for an excuse to watch the movie twice I saw both tracks all the way through. Starting with the adaptive script the American dub took a lot of liberties with the translation but with very little exception it didnt change anything too radically and it seemed to be moistly focused on giving the characters more personality and charm. The UK dub sticks far closer to the script changing only what was needed to match the lip flaps although if Im being honest they didnt do a GREAT job of it. Dont get me wrong its not like were in Kids on the Slope territory or anything but you do notice it a few times. Anyway the UK dub is a bit blunter with its wording and a little harsher in some scenes especially where it involves Arriettys father Pod and Shon the human boy she encounters. Arrietty herself is performed fantastically in both tracks. Shes played in the American version by Bridgit Mendler an up and coming Disney star at the time but one that I had never heard of until now and one who apparently hasnt acted since 2018. In the UK version shes played by the much more well known Irishborn actor Saoirse Ronan. Between the two of them Id say Ronan has more raw strength in the emotional scenes while Mendler is more likeable and charming in the lighthearted scenes but you cant go wrong with either of them. For Shon his performance by David Henrie is one of the biggest complaints people have and while he does sound way too old... He was in his early twenties after all... I do think his voice carried a lot of the pain and weariness of someone whos had to face his own mortality far too early. The UK version is played by Tom Holland the future Spiderman and he sounds way more true to the characters age but also a bit more believably childish... A little more immature and a little less self aware which fits some of his actions in the film better. Arriettys father Pod is played in the American dub by Will Arnett and while he does sound a little like Bojack Horseman in a couple of scenesor at least Bojacks father Butterscotch ironically its not too distracting. He actually has a lot more warmth and understanding in his delivery showing Arrietty the dangers of exploring while still acknowledging that we learn by making mistakes and even when she messes up hes more focused on fixing the problem than scolding her for it. In the UK dub Mark Strong is a lot colder which is appropriate given the amount of shit hes seen and can come off as harsher on her for her actions at some points. The only character who I have an objective favorite for is the mother Homily and while Im not saying Amy Poehlers performance is bad it can be a little screechy and incomprehensible at times and the script was rewritten in ways that make her come off as a bit daft and airheaded and I dont think thats Poehlers fault but I had a far easier time enjoying Olivia Colmans performance in the UK dub. I will also say that while this movie does take place in an older section of Tokyo the aesthetic still has a rustic and folksy quality that feels a little more organic with a mix of Irish and English accents. Then again the American dub has Carol Burnett in it so you know what? Both dubs are amazing you cant go wrong with either one. The Secret World of Arrietty is based on a long running childrens book franchise called The Borrowers which Im going to admit right now Im not very familiar with. I never read the books and I know I saw the 1997 American movie at some point but I dont remember almost anything from it aside from some wacky hijinks and the basic concept of what a Borrower IS. A Borrower is a tiny human that builds their lives off of small items they take that they know you wont miss which... As I was aware even back then... Is not borrowing. They dont return anything to you which makes it more like selfjustified theft but thats not the animes fault so Ill let it slide. The only piece of Borrowers media Im intimately familiar with is the film Im reviewing today and I have to say its kind of surreal to see Studio Ghibli directly adapting such an immediately identifiable western property. Yeah Miyazaki was involved with some western adaptations but not with Ghibli. Yeah he did make Ponyo with Ghibli but that was an extremely loose adaptation and it honestly had more in common storywise with Lilo and Stitch than The Little Mermaid. Arrietty is a very direct adaptation to the point that it largely covers the first book in the Borrowers series with some changes made to condense the story and fit a more Japanese style setting. Yet as surreal as this all may sound Arrietty has an unfortunate reputation of being one of the lesser Studio Ghibli films and Ive seen a lot of people call it slow and boring which I kind of get but which I also kind of dont get. On the one hand Miyazaki was not the director of this film and it kinda shows. Arrietty was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi whose body of work I cant really comment on because I havent seen either of his other directorial efforts. I do know that Miyazaki wrote the screenplay but despite the fact that hed been fighting to get the film greenlit for decades you can kind of tell that he wasnt that interested in directing the project himself from the start because its devoid of the kind of excess and visual spectacle that hed usually employ. I think the reason Miyazaki handed this project to one of the studios less experienced directors is because hes never been much of a story guy and likes to write his movies as he goes focusing more on emotion and visual magic than plot and a strong narrative. Thats not to say you cant go weird with an adaptation I mean just look at the American Borrowers movie. They basically threw out the source material fabricated a more American friendly greedy corporate villain and let loose with weird ideas and hijinks going ballstothewall with the concept. Miyazaki could have at least thrown in a scene where Arrietty has to fly a toy plane or something right? But the movie did wind up in Yonebayashis hands and to his credit he rose to the occasion coming up with storyboards that impressed even Miyazaki himself. The result however could easily be described as an antiMiyazaki Ghibli film as its the exact opposite of what Miyazaki would usually do. Arrietty is a really subdued and grounded film choosing to focus more on story and plot than action and thrills and while I do get why some viewers might find the result really slow and boring I have never felt that way while watching it. I dont know maybe Im just weirdI mean that is definitely true but while some people say this ninety minute movie felt like over two hours it feels more like one hour to me and I had an absolute blast with it. I can kind of tell which parts people find boring... There are these long wistful shots of Shon lying in a field of flowers but for me the beautiful music they play over these shots more than justifies them. There are lots of scenes where the Clock family... Yes that is Arriettys last name and Im kinda surprised it wasnt translated as Kuroku for the film... Are traversing the environment but I love the atmosphere in these scenes and with everything I said about the sound design earlier I always feel too immersed to be bored. Of course that not to say this movie doesnt have some flaws and as much as I enjoy it I can think of at least one pretty big one I never found this movie to be boring or slow but if I could put a label on its biggest issues its that it feels unfinished and I mean that in two ways. First of all there are several plot points that are set up early on and then never really pay off. Thats not to say they dont serve any narrative purpose but it does feel to me like they might have done some rewrites in the middle of production to make the film feel less frightening to a younger audience. For a couple of examples Arrietty performs her first borrowing picking up a lost needle and treating it like a sword. Problem is she never actually uses it. Another example were warned of the danger of animals like rats and toads but those never come back either despite a crow getting the narrative treatment that they should have had. Theyre clearly shown to live near an ant colony how is that not a concern? Theres even one moment towards the end where Im not going to tell you what happens but I found myself going Yeah no my cat would fuck you up without hesitation tear you apart and eat at least half of you. There is a substantial feeling of suspense and danger in some sequences and I do thoroughly appreciate that but they just leave so many potentially exciting ideas on the table. Theres also the fact that this movie doesnt really have an ending and I dont just mean the conclusion was unsatisfying I mean it kind of ends abruptly with the end credits coming down right at the moment where youd expect to see some kind of really powerful epilogue. And then it just ends and I do get that the way they took things is fairly faithful to the books but it still feels kind of disappointing. Still what we do get I do really like. Its a pretty small movie in the grand scheme of things I found myself resonating with both Shon and Arrietty both of whom are lonely and isolated youths for very different reasons and each of whom have an entirely unique and interesting perspective on the world around them. Its a cute charming story that doesnt have a whole lot of meat on its bones but it also doesnt try to pretend to be more than it is and it offers you an experience that you can lose yourself in if you choose to alongside a cast of likeable characters... Even the eventual antagonist whos surprisingly funny and has some pretty understandable motives... who youll have no problem rooting for and getting attached to even if it does lead to a kind of read the novels type of ending. It has its flaws but I still recommend checking it out. The Secret World of Arrietty is currently available in several different formats from Gkids. The original novels by Mary Norton are still in print and while copies of the 1997 Hollywood adaptation are easy to find online I dont know how youd go about finding the various British adaptations so good luck with that. I should also mention that Bridgit Mendler put out a tiein music video called Summertime but its kinda terrible especially compared to the songs Cecile Corbel wrote for the movie. To this day The Secret World of Arrietty is the highest grossing Studio Ghibli movie to receive an American theatrical release even succeeding beyond Spirited Away and Ponyo in that regard and while its possible that could be attributed to its roots as the adaptation of a beloved childrens book series its still really weird to know that its become one of the more forgettable Ghibli films. I would honestly consider it to be one of their most underrated titles and while I know Ive said that before about Only Yesterday at least that movie has managed to build up a decently sized cult following while Arrietty hasnt been able to do the same. Its not a particularly deep or exciting movie and it doesnt have the most dire stakes but I think theres more than enough to enjoy about it and what it does have it does really well. Its a really fun emotionally satisfying movie thats full of charm and likeable characters creative set pieces and immersive atmosphere and at least by my standards just enough adventure and peril to keep it from getting boring. I really like this movie and I cant guarantee youll feel the same way but its worth seeing at least once. I give The Secret World of Arrietty a 7/10.