"Is it a bird? Is it a Plane?" Neither of those you idiot! It's little people living like rats in the walls of our creepy house. Living as little people in the walls of a house is like a Ginger living on the streets of Harlem, it's downright dangerous and people get shanked like crazy! It's a hard knock life for a borrower, which is a little person who takes things from normal people that they won't need or miss. Arrietty is one of these borrowers who's a rookie when it comes to borrowing, and because of her clumsiness she's identified by a sickly boy named Shawn. Together these unlikely friends share an adventure that's larger than life, which if I was Shawn I'd play with Arrietty like she was my hamster, by putting her on a towel and flinging her into the air! it's a good thing I don't have pets.
The Good:
Anyone who knows me will know of my hate for the Anime genre. Whenever I think of the word "Anime", I think of several annoying 12-year old girls photo-bombing pictures with their peace signs, and spending the rest of their day catching Pokemon with those balls. Despite my unhappiness for the Genre, it is downright impossible for me to share that feeling with Studio Ghibli movies. Even though this film wasn't directed by the master Hayao Miyazaki himself, it's still a very beautiful movie that was handled carefully with regards to the story, and the brightly colored artwork. The feeling I get when watching a Ghibli movie is like the feeling I get when walking into a Chinese Buffet, because I take the food and inhale it like I'm Kirby, which not only makes my taste-buds happy, but my stomach is giddy to the utmost (unless my butt gets angry but that's a different story). Just like PIXAR, Ghibli has an impressive track record with making one great film after another, and one of the reasons they're so good is due to the strong Character development. The character development in Arrietty is so powerful, that by the end you think to yourself "Crap! When am I going to see these people again?! Come back!!!! I'll make some Top-Ramen!!" In "The Secret World of Arrietty", and every other studio Ghibli movie, what makes them stand out (for me at least) is the fact that they're not afraid to embrace the quiet moments. In each film there is always a moment where a character encounters a time of reflection that just sucks you in like a vacuum, and connects you even more to the character and the story. And avid Ghibli fans like those at PIXAR embrace those moments in their movies, an example would be the beginning of "UP", which is one of the most heartfelt moments in movie history. The Bad:
I don't know if I can say anything bad about this film, and if I was to say anything it would be that little people creep me out, except midgets, they're just awesome. The only way to bring up bad things about "Arrietty" would be to compare it to other Ghibli films, because as an animated film in general it's better than most out there. Much like the story-line in a Sofia Coppola film, Arrietty's story-line is EXTREMELY simple, because the events that take place are very A-B. What makes the movie exciting is the fact that their seen through the eyes of little people, so the danger level is brought up a notch. I can only imagine what it was like to be an Oompa Loompa in Willy Wonka's candy garden, sure it was exciting for everyone else, but for them I'm sure it was like the sugar rush from Hell!
The Ugly:
This is one of those Ideal family films that kids will enjoy because of the lovable characters and the story-line, and adults will like because of the artistic ability that went into it. The character development is strong, the music is wonderful, and because of that it's an all-around Joyful film to watch. Like I said before, this is one of those Chinese Buffets that's abundant in yummy/greasy... minus the food Poisoning!
5 out of 5
