The Borrower Arrietty - Movie Review

Previews
Trailer(Japanese)
Trailer(English)

Hayoa Miyazaki is not the director for this film, although he is the supervisor and writer for this movie. Instead, Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who has worked with Miyazaki in previous Ghibli films, is the first time director for this animated movie, Karigurashi no Arietti. But Ghibli has once again entertained me through their intriguing story of a fantasy-adventure world.

A 14 year old girl, Arrietty, a "little person" who lives with her mom and dad under the floorboards of an old house in western Tokyo. Her family tries to avoid being seen by humans, since they would not want think what the humans might do to them when they are discovered. Arrietty has come of age where, for the first time, she embarks on a borrowing mission with her father. They are known as the borrowers, they borrow items that they need for their daily lives. While on the borrowing mission, Arrietty gets spotted by a 12 year-old boy, Sho, who has come to live with his Great Aunt Sadako, waiting for his upcoming heart surgery. Sho becomes curious about Arrietty as he slowly befriends her. However, Sho's housekeeper, Haru, has discovered the hiding place of the borrowers and wants to capture them to prove there existence. This forces Arrietty's family to make a decision whether or not to move out of the house and find a new home.

Studio Ghibli, as usual, does an amazing job when it comes to the animated visuals. I mean, they know how to create amazing scenery and they put in so much details in every settings such as in the outdoor garden, interior of the house, and the home of the borrowers. And, has lots of vivid colors which makes every scene seems to come to life. But not only that the animation was good, but the music for this movie was great. Most of the songs were sung by Cecile Corbel, a Celtic singer who was a big fan of the Ghibli films. She first approached the studio by sending in a fan letter with a CD of her music. So, the studio approved her to collaborate with the movie's soundtrack. She performed the theme song called "Arrietty's Song" which was simple, beautiful, and I could just listen to it all day.

Although, the story was very simple and there wasn't anything complex about it compared to other Ghibli films. But by the end of the movie, it still left a heart warming feeling. Overall, I liked this movie. It still got its sense of adventure and curiosity. The characters were fascinating to watch from the beginning to end. I am always looking forward to Studio Ghibli's upcoming films.