Borrow Some Small Wonder: The Secret World of Arrietty
Posted on 19 February 2012
I do not have time to write a proper review of this wonderful movie, so let me just gush. Think of some of the better Disney movies you saw a a child, or some of the better Hayao Miyazaki films. This is on par with that. I think every man should, upon reading these words, go get married, father a fourteen year old daughter, and take her to see this film. That is what I did. Okay, well I did not get married JUST for this film, but it made me glad I was a Dad. It is one of the few where the relationship between a stern and loving father and a willful yet obedient daughter is done right.
It is based on the book THE BORROWERS by Mary Norton (which I read as a child, but, alas, do not remember). The conceit is that some houses have little people living under the floor or in the walls who ‘borrow’ small items humans think we only misplaced. The charm of the original illustrations in the book are here given magic and glamor by exquisite execution: I watched in fascination scenes where the tiny Borrowers poured tea (made from a single leaf) from a toy teapot into doll house cups, and the artist remembered to scale up the water tension so that the water drops were as big as softballs to the little people, and flowed like magical pearls.
The typical Miyazaki care and detail lavished on every frame is here most evident. Miyazaki and company love drawing insects, crows and cats, particularly on a giant scale.
One scene showing the young Borrow girl Arrietty, climbing a vine. The art showed every vein on every leaf and the water droplets from a late rain sliding as the wind across the housetop blew. She turns and looks out upon the back yard, but instead of a back yard, it was as fabulous, seeing it through her eyes, as elfland.
It takes true magic to made stealing a lump of sugar and a single tissue into an adventure across the grand canyon like spaces of an enchanted giant’s castle.
The plot is simple. A young man, resting up before an operation he fears he may not survive, spends his days while his uncaring parents are away in his mother’s old house, under the care of a servant. His grandfather believed in the little people, and so does the young man. Meanwhile, Arrietty and her parents fear they may be the last Borrowers alive in the world, and the father strictly enjoins the daughter not to take foolish risks, neither to show herself to any humans — for if they are seen, even once, the Borrowers must abandoned their beloved home and flee.
And, of course, when the young human sees Arrietty on her first mission out into the vastness of the human house …
I don’t think it ruins any surprise to reveal that both the young Borrower and the young human are curious about the other, and want to befriend each other, but their two worlds want to separate them. This is not a film about action and plot twists. The scenes unfold slowly and deliberately.
I will mention Spiller, who is an ‘outside’ Borrower, who lives not in a human house, but in the wild, as even though he has less than half a dozen lines, comes across as noble and romantic a figure as Ashitaka from Princess Mononoke (who, come to think of it, he dressed somewhat like.)
The English dub was done with Disney’s characteristic attention to detail as their other Miyazaki dubs, with professional voice actors whose performances blend smoothly into the animated expressions and lip movements. There were certain places I suspect Disney put in dialog where I thought a more Japanese moment of silence would have been better.
See this movie in the theater. Bring your family. Buy popcorn. Let us by all means reward Hollywood with our entertainment dollars when they do something right.
My only complaint is an absurdly small one. I like the title THE BORROWERS. The title in Japanese is ‘The Borrower Arrietty’. The decision to change this to ‘The Secret World of Arrietty’ strikes me as being a little tin-eared.
I will not provide a link to the trailer, which I think spoils all the surprises in the film in a ham-handed way. But I will insert some stills.
Didn’t realize it was out. Will go tomorrow!
As a side note to Miyazaki fans…the success of this movie is crucial to Studio Ghibli’s future.
That’s enough for me to pony up the cash on Monday, loath as I am to bother with a first-run theater. Groan.
Studio Ghibli is in financial trouble?
I like the first 2 pics by the way.
They are always in trouble. Quality animation is expensive. It’s why they signed the deal with Disney (Oh, the horrible crimes of envy! You might think that the lack of marketing in America was an oversight, if not for the Totoro in Toy Story III).
I was just in Tokyo…in the airport…where, during my hour stay, I was able to buy a Totoro, a catbus, and a Jiji the Cat for my kids at the airport store. We need more of that here. (Totoro bags were huge in China, too.)
Yes, there is a wonderful section of the mall under Tokyo station that is just character goods stores, one of which is Ghibi items. Some wonderfully odd items there, such as figures for Howl’s Moving Castle, both walking and flying, and a Laputa robot head planter. Sigh, Disney has stopped them cold here in the U.S..
Did you go thru Narita? It is such a wonderful airport, with the internet lounge downstairs, and the amazing showers for rent, so hot and powerful. A beautiful thing before spending 8+ hours on a plane…..
“Yes, there is a wonderful section of the mall under Tokyo station that is just character goods stores, one of which is Ghibi items. Some wonderfully odd items there, such as figures for Howl’s Moving Castle, both walking and flying, and a Laputa robot head planter. ”
Wow….I don’t think I’d ever leave.
Yes, Japan is your best bet for an overseas vacation, if you can get the time, in my opinion. First world country but a complete change of pace. You will want to go for at least three weeks if not a month, for travel will take up more of your time then you are used to. Get a JR Rail Pass before you go (You cannot get one in Japan!). Check out TokyoRoomFinder.com to get a place to crash (You can get a room to yourself in Tokyo for under $500 for the month! Try to do that in New York….) And, of course, go see the Studio Ghibi Museum. Worth it just for the entrance ticket, which is made partly of the actual film from a Miyazaki movie! It is still mostly a cash based society though, so bring money, or go to the international cash machines in the Tokyo International Post Office, right outside of Tokyo Station. Good luck finding them anywhere else, it can be done, but it’s difficult, and they keep moving them around, so past experience is little guide. But the Post Office has never failed me, and they are open late.
Thanks for the advice! I can’t even get prices in Colorado for that.
Some of my online gaming friends were talking about a vacation to Japan. We’re still trying to figure that out. Barring that, I was thinking of finding a government contract job over there. I’m in the midst of a security clearance periodic investigation, so assuming that goes through, I was going to wait long enough to help get the upgrades to the system I’m currently working on in place, and then I was thinking of taking off. Also assuming I’m still single by then, and I haven’t decided to get that “great books education” finally (it’s still a toss up whether I want a CS or some other engineering degree, and then go for a liberal arts masters, or just do the full 4 year program….though the former is definitely cheaper no matter how I look at it).
I’m putting away money for either purpose regardless.
Well, the big savers are the railpass and Tokyoroomfinder. If you are going with a couple of friends, there are also listings for apartments. B-site Akihabara looks to be the best deal to me, but I haven’t stayed there. Food will also be cheaper then you have read about. Shakeys does a very good lunch buffet, all you can eat for about ten bucks. Many places to get snacks about the train stations. Avoid bars unless you are very sure about the prices. You might end up spending over a thousand(American, not Yen) if you hit the wrong bar. The best time to go is Spring or Autumn, the weather is very mild and you will be doing a lot of walking. Kyoto is beautiful, Nara is as well, and seeing the children get terrified by the deer is a lot of fun, and go tour the Castles, most of which have volunteer English speaking guides. Also, the Foreign Information office, right outside of Yurakucho station (one station down for Tokyo station on the Yamanote line, in a little skyscraper right outside the station, with a pink, green, and blue building guide in English in front of it, should be on the seventh or ninth floor) is very helpful, use them!
Now that I think of it, one more thing, for those going to Japan on a budget. Bring a cheap pillow or two. the cheaper the lodgings, the more likely you are to get a Japanese pillow for your room. Trying to rest your head on a tiny bead filled thing is not fun when dealing with Jet Lag. Just throw the pillow in your spare suitcase, and leave them behind when you are bringing back your new found treasures.
I want a cat bus and a Jiji!
I did try to find a Teto (the fox squirrel from Nausicaa), but was unable to
On the topic of anime plushes, I got so upset when I thought Kirara had died in Inuyasha, that my friends got me a stuffed Kirara.
I can get you a Catbus, I have two small ones left, but I am all out of Teto, which is a shame, Studio Ghibi does a wonderful plush of him. If all goes well, I will be heading back to Japan in October to restock……
Ah, I would love a cat-bus, the world’s best mode of transportation! My little ones adore Totoro. I think some of the other films may need to wait until they are older, though.
It was a while ago, and I haven’t heard any recent news on the issue, but yes.
This was taken from an interview Hayao Miyazaki did for a Japanese magazine:
“Suzuki-san (Toshio Suzuki, Studio Ghibli‘s CEO) is making a dissolution program for Ghibli. No joke, we talked about it the other day.” This dissolution program changes if Arrietty succeeds.”
“For example, Ghibli should be able to continue with about five staff members as a copyright management company even if we smash the studio. So, Ghibli can say ‘We stop film production. Goodbye’. I do not have to be there.”
Link: http://inkandpixelclub.com/2010/10/is-studio-ghibli-closing/
I think Robert Mitchell’s comment was right on the money. The only thing I would add is that combined with the economy, anime has seen rough waters due to piracy. Fansubbing/file sharing is rampant, not to mention fraudulent releases (Ghibli is a victim of this), coming from Asian pirates (such as the many “collectors” sets….there is NO legit Ghibli complete works release). I got into this debate with some friends over this, who hate, loathe and despise Disney releases. They would rather buy pirated sets, than legit releases from Disney (though, you can also buy legit Ghibli releases from amazon.co.jp (Google Chrome is your friend with its translate feature), thought that can get pricey). People don’t stop to think how it hurts your favorite anime studio, to download/purchase illegal copies. Eventually, your favorite studios will go away if it gets bad enough.
I always have my doubts about the piracy issue; it seems to me that piracy is more of a symptom of the sickness rather than a cause of it. As an example, one of the most pirated series in Japan is One Piece, which happens to be the most popular one as well, so even if ours wasn’t a Fallen World where piracy wouldn’t exist at all, I’d think Ghibli would still be in trouble. After all, if what Robert says is true and Ghibli has always been in trouble, then it could be that the problem’s within Ghibli.
Great movie, again! My two quibbles are the ending song (Seems to have been added so Disney could say they helped) and the fact that it’s always so hard for me to watch American films after seeing his. He does all of it well, even the simple art of pacing….
Your daughter is sixteen, dear.
Zing!
Incidentally, for all this talk of fathering a 16-year-old daughter, what of mothering one? That must have been painful, even for childbirth.
You have my sympathies.
She was fourteen, less one month, when we adopted her, dear.
I already saw the movie; I loved it (even though is a bit slow in places). I even bought the soundtrack, Cecile Corbet made a beautiful Celtic sounding soundtrack for the movie.
You can listen to some samples here: http://blog.animeinstrumentality.net/2012/01/the-borrower-arrietty-soundtrack-review/#more-2995
Now I want to watch Mononoke-hime again!!! He reminded me a bit of Son Goku too, especially when he pulled out the cricket leg.
Would it be appropriate for a five-year-old? We haven’t managed to spontaneously produce (Or adopt) a teenage daughter to take.
I think so. The most adult theme (divorcing parents) is in the background. Other then that, you should be fine unless you have ivy going up to the second+ story…..
There was nothing in the movie a five year old could not see. The scariest moment is when a crow flies in the window.