Karigurashi no Arrietty (The Secret World of Arrietty)

While spending the summer at his aunt's house, the young but sickly Shou makes an amazing discovery: after following the house cat into the bushes, he gets a glimpse of a miniature girl about the size of his finger! Calling her kind "Borrowers," as they survive on tiny bits of human possessions, the girl introduces herself as Arrietty. As he discovers that she lives in the house basement with her parents, Pod and Homily, Shou becomes imaginably excited at the idea of such unique neighbors.

However, he fails to understand the adversities they face on a daily basis. In addition to keeping their existence hidden, they must also embark on perilous adventures into human territory, from the house to the outdoors, in order to make a living. Despite her parents' warnings, Arrietty befriends Shou, stirring up unexpected events that may change their lives forever.

Delighting the eye and conquering the heart, the breath-taking story of a friendship transcending the tensions between two different human kinds begins.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

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Background

Karigurashi no Arrietty is an adaptation of the 1952 novel The Borrowers by Mary Norton. It also marks the cinematic debut of Hiromasa Yonebayashi. The film score was composed by French recording artist and musician Cécile Corbel, the first time a non-Japanese composer has worked with Studio Ghibli.

Receiving highly positive reviews praising the animation and music, the film won the Animation of the Year award at the 34th Japan Academy Prize award ceremony and became the highest grossing Japanese film at the Japanese box office in 2010, grossing over $145 million worldwide.

More characters

Characters & Voice Actors

Arrietty

Main

Shida, Mirai
Japanese

Shou

Main

Kamiki, Ryunosuke
Japanese

Spiller

Supporting

Fujiwara, Tatsuya
Japanese

Homily

Supporting

Ootake, Shinobu
Japanese

Haru

Supporting

Kiki, Kirin
Japanese

Pod

Supporting

Miura, Tomokazu
Japanese

Sadako

Supporting

Takeshita, Keiko
Japanese

More staff

Staff

Suzuki, Toshio

Producer

Yonebayashi, Hiromasa

Director, Storyboard, Key Animation, In-Between Animation

Kimura, Eriko

Sound Director

Kasamatsu, Kouji

Sound Director

Edit

Opening Theme

"The Neglected Garden" by Cécile Corbel

Edit

Ending Theme

"Arrietty's song" by Cécile Corbel

Reviews

Dec 2, 2023

Halcyon13

Recommended

It's hard to shake the feeling that Karigurashi no Arrietty feels like the premise of a Western feature, probably a CG abomination if that were the case. The idea has already existed within many different renditions, each attempting a unique approach to the power dynamic of little people (Borrowers) living in a huge world, well larger than human perception at least. Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi's spin on the family genre has charm, but most importantly, he avoids the weight of sappiness. Uncontrolled sentimentality can easily spiral throughout a screenplay, and the guilt of needing to pity melodramatic situations negatively influences the viewer's impression when films themselves ...

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May 9, 2022

Nah_Avl

Mixed Feelings

Beautifully done in terms of art and music (just a bit forgettable), some characters are nice but most are kinda forgettable.

The biggest mistake of this Ghibli was its envy to be both light-hearted and complicated without proper execution.

First the story felt very long and even agonising at times and too fast/rushed in other (especially thhe end), the pacing felt off.

I'm always mesmerized and very much emotionnal when it comes to the world building and its structures in Ghibli : I loved their little house and the intricate pathways they use. Nevertheless : appart from that the rest is pretty bland, which is not necesserily bad ...

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Mar 1, 2024

OhsnapitsDavid

Not Recommended

Movie production is amazing, but its not enough to grant a passable reception when film also requires a good story + story telling. And yet, this movie exceeds at doing nothing special, even as an adaptation.

If you want a great fantasy story, look elsewhere. If you want an average story about fantasy, this is the plain film to watch. An 8 score is what this movie can receive as proof that if you take away the nice art, you are left with a boring story.

There were so many ways of making a fantasy story about small people interesting, but this isn't one of ...

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Recent Forum Discussion

Poll: Karigurashi no Arrietty Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) rctgamer3 - Mar 9, 2011	163 replies	by gannoncannon55 »» Mar 25, 8:02 PM
Update on Sho after the movie's end mangalicker94 - Dec 16, 2023	3 replies	by johneaston »» Dec 17, 2023 6:33 AM
Absolutely perfect for people starting watching anime with J-subs RudeRedis - Jul 8, 2023	2 replies	by HinataaRei »» Jul 13, 2023 11:41 AM
How is the dub? ovoon7 - Feb 17, 2012	22 replies	by caprisan »» Mar 6, 2021 4:01 PM
The Secret World of Arriety ..... Music Video? mylovelyfate - Mar 9, 2012	5 replies	by Umbrya »» Mar 9, 2012 3:42 PM

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