The Secret World of Arrietty (2010)

• Story
• Animation
• Soundtrack

The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) also known as The Borrower Arriety 借りぐらしのアリエッティ (Kari-gurashi no Arietti) is a Japanese animated fantasy film based on Mary Norton’s juvenile fantasy novel The Borrowers. The film is directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, written by Hayao Miyazaki and created by Studio Ghibli.

Not only did Arrietty receive critical acclaim when the movie was released in Japan. It also won the Animation of the Year award at the 34th Japan Academy Prize award ceremony ~

[ please note ] This post contains spoilers !

Plot

Arrietty is a young Borrower who lives together with her parents in a beautiful little house under the floor of an old house in Koganei, Tokyo – Japan. Now that she will almost turn 14 years old, it is finally time to learn the skills of being a true Borrower. When Arrietty is outside in the garden collecting leafs she sees a young boy arriving at the house. With the arrival of Sho it might not be a good idea for Arrietty to go on her first Borrowing. But Arrietty’s dad believes young humans go to bed early. Taking Arrietty along with him won’t be a problem.

As Arrietty joins her father she is amazed by his skill as a Borrower and the magic of the big house they are living beneath. After they manage to get hold of a sugar cube they only need to get some tissue paper as Arrietty’s mother has requested. Just when they are about to get their hands on the tissue paper, they are spotted by Sho! Humans are a danger to Little People so Arrietty’s father tells his family they need to move away. Once a human has spotted them, their curiosity won’t be stopped.

Arrietty is sad that she has put her family in danger. But Sho doesn’t seem a dangerous human at all. Curiosity brings the two closer to eachother, but will their friendship end well?

Thoughts

It’s been a while since I saw an animated film that truly swept me off my feet. After I watched the trailer of the upcoming United States release by Disney Pictures, I simply wanted to see more. Since ‘Arrietty’ is a Studio Ghibli product, I really wanted to get my hands on the original Japanese language version. As a former student Japanese I of course have a preference for the Japanese version.

At a first glance the story of ‘Arrietty’ might look quite simple. A magical story, boy meets girl, even a rescue at the end. But, when you take a better look you will realize the story is much deeper. I’m really impressed how Studio Ghibli (again) takes the audience by the hand and pulls them into the setting of the story with beautiful animation. Next to that the characters all have their own personalities. Even though the character design might look clean in contrast with the amazing detailed environments, the studio has truly been able to convey emotion through their characters.

The movie doesn’t have a goodie goodie magic theme, which is great! Even though the movie is very colorful and Arrietty is a very happy go lucky girl. We do see Arrietty struggle with her emotions after she is spotted by Sho. At first she is very disappointed in herself and feels terrible about putting her parents in danger. Even though she has a happy life with her parents she also realizes it is a lonely life they are living. Arrietty becomes just as curious about Sho as he is curious about Arrietty. The two become friends, in a way. They both feel lonely in their small worlds. Arrietty is already a brave and smart girl, but through the movie her character still matures. I really love it to see characters grow during a movie.

I really like how Yonebayashi has taken his time to tell the story. In a way, while you’re watching you don’t want the movie to end. The movie has a bittersweet ending which isn’t all that bad, but realistic and magical at the same time.

Verdict

There isn’t a good reason not to watch The Secret World of Arrietty (2010), it’s simply a must see film! As expected from a Studio Ghibli film ‘Arrietty’ pulls you in with beautiful animation, soundtrack and solid story. Living in the United States? Then you’re extra lucky. Disney Pictures has planned a theatrical release on February 17th, 2012 (!) . The movie is already available on DVD in various countries. The DVD & Bluray will be released on November 17th, 2011 in The Netherlands.