THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY Review

Release Date: February 17, 2012
MPAA Rating: G
Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi
FilmPulse Score: 8.5/10

The story of The Borrowers is one that I remember fondly from my youth. The concept of being a small person living in a giant world is a familiar one to children, and has never been so artfully displayed than in this film. With animation that is painstakingly detailed, and a deep and thoughtful story, this has all the makings of an early Oscar contender.

The story of Arrietty revolves around the Clocks, a family of tiny people living within the bowels of a picturesque country home, which is also inhabited by a grumpy old woman named Hara.  When a sickly young boy comes to live at the house, he discovers the family, and befriends 14-year-old Arrietty. The tension heats up however, when Hara also uncovers the family and attempts to eradicate them.

The first things that needs to be said about this film is that the animation is incredible. I’m always partial to hand-drawn animation, and this was simply some of the best I’ve ever seen.  From the opening sequence, it’s immediately clear that your eyes are about to be in for a treat.  The detail given to the world of the Borrowers is nothing short of astounding, with brilliant color that leaps from the screen. If for no other reason, this film should be watched for this animation because it truly is superb.

Complimenting the look, the sound editing in Arrietty is also pitch perfect.  Being a film that pays such close attention to small details, it shouldn’t come to a surprise that every miniscule sound is carefully crafted to fit perfectly into each scene. We hear things as we would if we were their size.  The ticking of a clock sounds like a metronome keeping time through a megaphone, and each droplet of water has a distinct sound.

Generally speaking, the voice acting in the film was quite good as well, however there are three different versions, so the quality may vary.  There’s the original Japanese cast, then there’s the US version which stars Amy Poehler, Will Arnett, Carol Burnett, and Bridgit Mendler, and then there’s the UK version which stars Mark Strong, Olivia Colman, Geraldine McEwan, and Saoirse Ronan. I’m not entirely sure why they did that, but either way all the casts are strong and I’m sure each version succeeds in conveying the story similarly.

The Secret World of Arrietty contains everything you would want in and expertly made family film. The story has just enough adventure elements to keep it from becoming boring, but also contains some very heartfelt dialogue that give it just enough substance, so that both children and adults can take something away from it. Even we adults can feel very small at times, and we just need to remind ourselves that there’s beauty and adventure around every corner, we just need to pay attention to the details.