The Story
A 14 year old boy named Shaun goes over to live with his great aunt. Where a tiny group of people called "Borrowers" live under the floors. Although, the name "Borrowers" does sound misleading because there technically STEALING. But it doesn't teach about theft. They just take things that humans won't miss. Like sugar, tissues, soap, and other stuff that they need for survival. But when a young girl Arrietty is seen by the boy, there chances for survival are on thin ice.
Now the story is where most of the films flaws come from. The idea of tiny people living in the real world is nothing new. But unlike other films that have unoriginal ideas or stories, *cough* Avatar *cough* It does come with new things. Like the Borrowers lifestyle. You see how they would live with a doll like house, how they roam the house, and what small elements they would use like humans would use. Another flaw is that some answers, characters, and story elements are a bit underdeveloped. Like the issues of moving or being the last of your kind. But that didn't bother me that much. That and pacing of this film is slow, but not to a point where it's boring. I honestly think that could be a good thing. I think a break from loud, and intense films and just watching a nice quiet film would be nice for some people. Sure the story is a bit weak, but not as much as films like Avatar.
The Animation
Now this is one of the films strongest points. Not only does it feature the studio's signature features, but it also comes with new aspects. Like how most of the backgrounds have the look and feel of paintings. Another fun thing about the animation is the tools that the borrowers have. From using duck tape to climb walls, to using pins as swords. Not to mention the details of the house. If you look closely, you could see some neat things. Like stamps are framed like pictures, parts of doll houses are used as rooms or the kitchen, and roly poly's are played with like balls when rolled up. One more cool aspect are the animals in the borrower world. Insects like grass hoppers, ants, and others are pet size, while the house cat is seen as a dangerous creature. The animation can be considered another new thing that the film can offer to us.
The Characters
This is probably my favorite aspect of the movie. These characters are a lot of fun to watch. Arrietty is a pretty interesting character. She's very curious and daring, though open-minded and smart. When she makes a mistake, we REALLY feel for her and want her to fix them. Then there are the parents, Homily and Pod. Homily is the worrying mother, and actually, it does make sense for her to worry a lot. There race is possibly dangered and there are many dangers to being a borrower. Pod I found very interesting, because he never flips out when Arrietty does something wrong, he just stays calm and complements her to cheer her up. I found that to be kinda subtle. Plus, his voice and character design kinda reminded me of Clint Eastwood. Am I the only one who thought that? Then there's the boy Shaun. Who is a pretty tragic character. He has a heart problem that he had all of his life, and is possibly dying because of it. He's getting heart surgery, but he's not to sure of it. What's worse, is that his parents are too busy to see him or comfort him, which leads to being lonely. Sure it sounds like a stretch, but it does make sense why he wants to be friends with Arrietty. Then there are characters that are underdeveloped like Spiller. Who's very interesting, but only appears in two scenes. Then there's the caretaker/villain who I found to be pretty weak. She's basically a female Denzel Crocker, who wants to catch these borrowers to prove there existence, and that she's not crazy. The boy and the borrower family are the best characters, because you REALLY feel for them. You want this family to be safe, and you want to boy to survive. So this film did it's part with the characters, PERFECTLY. Well....for most of them at least. This film may have some vibes to Pocahontas and Avatar, but it has something that those 2 films lacked.....Interesting characters.
The Dub
Now typically Disney did the dub for the American release, and it's obvious that they would include there Disney Channel stars and singers. But honestly....it's done pretty well. I'd say it's Disney's best dub of a Studio Ghibli film since Howl's Moving Castle. I think Brigit Mendler made Arrietty a lot more entertaining, but did she REALLY need to sing that crappy song at the end? -_-; Will Arnett is surprising as the dad, because this is the same guy who works on SNL, and been in films like "The Brothers Solomon". Which makes the serious side of his acting very interesting. One thing I found amusing about the dub, is that it also includes Amy Poehler and Carol Burnett. Who also worked on another film about tiny people "Horton Hears a Who". Plus, there roles in this film are VERY identical to the roles in Horton. Amy Poehler plays the mom in both films, and Carol Burnett plays the villain in both films. Maybe that was some kind of shout out maybe? Then there's David Henrie as Shaun. Who was probably to weaker part of the dub. I'm not saying he was bad, in fact he did a descent job, but I felt that his voice sounded a bit to old for a 14 year old. Although I could be wrong. So yeah, the dub may have flaws, but thank GOD that it didn't have Miley Cyrus or one of the Jonas Brothers. (Shudders)
Conclusion
The Secret World of Arrietty is a great way to start out 2012 for animated films. Even if the story and pacing is a bit weak, it makes up for it with it's Charm, Creativity, Great Animation, and VERY interesting and likable characters. (Despite there underdevelopment) Is it as good as films like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, and Kiki's Delivery Service? No. But I found it way more entertaining then the studios previous film, Ponyo. Sure I may've over exaggerated a bit at first, but that was because it cheered me up after a long school week. I don't know about you guys, but I would like to see a sequel of this. I mean, there are more books in "The Borrowers" series, so I don't see why they couldn't make one. Maybe it could explore more of the themes and characters that were underdevelopment in this film. Like seeing more borrowers, and exploring the character Spiller. (I keep seeing pictures of him paired up with Arrietty....hhhhhhhmmmmm)
My Rating: 4 Stars out of 5.
