Wonderful in any language is the latest bit of glory from Studio Ghibli, home to the great animated works of Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki, who adapted the fantastic series "The Borrowers," under the direction of Hiromasa Yonebayashi. THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY is a beautifully realized story of a family of extremely small people who live under a home in the countryside. The little people (known as Borrowers) don't exactly steal from the family that lives in the house above; they just take what won't be missed. The family is made up of a father (voiced in English by Will Arnett), mother (Amy Poehler) and spirited daughter Arrietty (Bridget Mendler), who is just beginning to go out on her own borrowing expeditions.
At one point, Arrietty is spotted by a sickly boy named Shawn (David Henrie) who has just arrived at the house for rest and relaxation before heart surgery. Eventually, the two became friends as he is able to confirm stories he heard as a boy about little people living among us. Unfortunately, the homes' housekeeper Hara (perfectly voiced by Carol Burnett, with just the right amount of crazy) wants to capture the "little thieves" and have them removed from the house.
In true Studio Ghibli fashion, the attention to detail in THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY is extraordinary and stunning, as the animators allow us to consider how tiny people would perceive bugs, rain, household pets, blades of grass, leaves and dozens of other elements we never consider. The borrowed items that make up their fully stocked home will make you smile at their resourcefulness. I was particular fond of the character named Spiller (Moises Arias), a wild child who protects the family and is called upon to guide them to a new home once their presence is dangerously close to being confirmed by the humans.
But at its core, ARRIETTY is a coming-of-age story of both the title character and Shawn, who develop a friendship that under normal circumstances might have become something more serious. There's no attempt at a conventional love story here (that would be weird and probably painful), but there is something sweet and borderline romantic going on that became the emotional center of the film. Ghibli never fails to draw me in completely, and absent of any supernatural or mystical undertones (fairly standard in the studio's works), ARRIETTY relies on its human qualities to keep it emotionally relevant and powerful.
I'm not sure if this film is being screened theatrically in the U.S. in its native Japanese, but I'd love to see it that way some day (the UK version of the film has some impressive big names doing voice work as well; please include all versions on the DVD, Disney folks). But however you see it, the magic and heart are undeniable. I actually saw this twice before writing this review, just because I loved it so much. I miss the years when Ghibli doesn't put something out in the U.S., and this year just got a whole lot better as of this week because of a little girl who uses a small chip clip to hold her hair back. THE SECRET WORLD OF ARRIETTY really is one of the best things to be released so far this year; support this form of artistry or die trying.
