This movie is based on Mary Norton's celebrated 1952 novel "The Borrowers". Apparently it has been on the mind of Japan's Hayao Miyazaki, the great animator of the modern age, for more than 40 years. He did not direct this version himself, but having planned and written the screenplay and hand-picking director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Miyazaki and his elevating, protective spirit hover over this production like a most benevolent deity. And Miyazaki is a hero of mine. The world that he animates is lush with birds and bugs and plants and sounds. So the Borrowers go Japanese in this version of the story.
I loved this movie (with the exception of Arrietty's mother, who loses her individual appeal by he frequent shrieking, which is annoying and doesn't add to the overall story, or help us sympathize with their plight). The story is that Arrietty and her family are 'little people'--very little people, who would fit nicely in a doll house. They live under the floors and in the walls of people's houses, and 'borrow' what they need for their subsistence. They do not under any circumstances interact with humans. The house that Arrietty and her parents live under inhabited by Haru, a housekeeper who is not well dispossed to them (she has apparently been blames for some of the disappearances) and Shawn, who is a young boy anticipating an operation for his heart that he is unclear about his chances of surviving. The Borrowers are the closest thing he has to a friend, and while he makes a few missteps, he is on their side. This is in the arena of 'Kiki's Delivery Service' in terms of quality, and I found it peaceful and enjoyable.
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