If you can believe it while I did watch a Ghibli movie when I was younger My parents said I saw My Neighbor Totoro but I dont have many memories of it I didnt start watching Ghiblis filmography until I was in...maybe late high school or college. I remember asking my dad to take me to see Ponyo in theaters when it first came out in the US and not long after that me and one of my friends went to see The Secret World of Arrietty. I had already seen it before I saw it in the theater but in Japanese and both times I remember liking it to the point where I bought the DVD that Disney put out afterward. But on a whim I decided to rewatch the movie and see if it still holds up especially now that Ive seen more Ghibli movies since then. Im glad to see that Arrietty knocked it out of the park here. If youre a fan of slowpaced family movies that arent filled with overwrought sentimentality and avoid a lot of the usual trappings and cliches Arrietty is definitely a mustwatch. Based on the 1952 book by British author Mary Norton a family of ten centimeter tall humans called Borrowers live quietly under the eaves of a house in a forest. This particular familythe father Pod the mother Homily and their 14yearold daughter Arrietty live peacefully and happily making a home for themselves by taking things that the regular humans wont miss like dropped items or miscellaneous things like sugar cubes dropped pins or tissues. But they have to be careful as they cant afford to be seen by the larger people afraid of the dangers they pose. However on Arriettys first attempt at a real borrowing shes seen by Sho a young boy who moved into his grandmothers house in preparation for his upcoming heart operation. Sho wants to befriend Arrietty but she and her family decide they have to move afraid of what will happen if unscrupulous people see them. But circumstances force Sho and Arrietty to work together and Arrietty learns that maybe the human race isnt so bad. I mean...what can I say about Ghiblis animation that hasnt been said already? Character motion is smooth the colors are vibrant theres meticulous detail put into just about everything and I really dont think I can add anything new that others havent said already. That being said if theres one thing Arrietty as a movie absolutely succeeds in its its sense of scale. The creators really succeeded in showing how everything feels absolutely huge compared to Arrietty and her family. When big things are around her they really look BIG and its especially prevalent when regular humans are animated around her. Plus the movie also makes great use of its setting as well. Arrietty and her family live in a brick pile underneath a house near a forest and it goes way out of its way to show what the Borrowers manage to create out of everything they take. Since Arrietty is the main viewpoint character rather than Sho making this more of a fantasy creature meets boy rather than the other way around which is the more typical setup for these kinds of movies we see how she and her family live and how they go about their day. Arrietty is a lush movie that just sparkles with life wherever it goes. The soundtrack is also nothing to sneeze at either especially since Joe Hisaishi isnt involved with it for once. In a rather bold move Ghibli decided to hire a Frenchwoman by the name of Cecile Corbel to not only sing the opening and ending songs but to basically make the entire score for it. Even back in 2010 it was fairly rare for Japanese movies to hire people outside the country to compose music for movies though thats been steadily changing what with people like Evan Call and Kevin Penkin being recruited to make music for anime as of recently. I think this was a good decision on Ghiblis part as the entire soundtrack has this really neat subdued somewhat Celtic and Irish sound to it what with its heavy usage of harps acoustic guitars Irish flutes bagpipes and other instruments. It really makes it feel otherworldly even though the movie takes place in the modern day and its just so refreshing to listen to. The vocal songs are great too and considering the OST won best original soundtrack at the Japan Gold Disc Awards and sold more than 200000 copies upon its debut thats how you know for sure the soundtrack rules. The characters are pretty good too save for one. While they dont exactly get much in the way of development as this is a sliceoflife movie tinged with light fantasy their acting is excellent on both the Japanese and English sides and the animation really brings them to life and conveys their feelings and emotions through their expressions and body language. The only character I really had issue with was Haru the housekeeper. She just felt like she was just shoved into the movie for the sake of having a villain and introducing a conflict that honestly didnt really need to be there. Arrietty as a movie already had a good source of conflict via the subtle tensions between coexisting species. I mean Haru is a pretty subdued villain all things considered and shes better executed than other villains similar to her but the artificiality of her presence and the conflict she brings just felt a little forced. Then again something like this was in the original book as well and Haru and the overall conflict is significantly toned down compared to the novel. But its been a long time since Ive read the original book so I cant comment on how the movie executed it compared to the source. Speaking of toning things down I admit that I hated Homily in the book. I thought she was way too neurotic and hated that she seemed to freak out over everything even over things not worth making a fuss about. She literally calls Arrietty wicked and claims shes the devils spawn because the latter made an innocuous comment in the book. Im so glad the movie toned down Homilys personality and made her more subdued making her fears and nervousness feel much more realistic and understandable. Furthermore Arrietty does have themes of environmentalism throughout its narrative but it never feels preachy or condescending focusing on the subtle tensions between the coexisting species. It doesnt point any fingers but lets everything resolve itself naturally. I personally had no problem with the movies deliberately slow pacing as Im always a fan of anything that actually allows its characters and world to breathe let the audience soak things in and appreciate atmosphere but this isnt a movie for anyone looking for Michael Bay style action movies. Others wanting something more exciting may take issue with this but I dont see the pacing as a problem. So yeah The Secret World of Arrietty is definitely one of Ghiblis better movies and a great movie to watch if you want something more peaceful and subdued rather than the more fast paced instantly gratifying fare the movie industry has been churning out today.