Meet the Tiny People Who Live in Your Walls
When you were in third grade, there's a good chance that you read The Borrowers -- or, more likely, your teacher read it to you. It's the first in a series of adventure novels for kids about a species of pinky-sized humanoids who live in the walls. Ring any bells?
The Secret World of Arrietty is based on the first Borrowers novel, published in Britain in 1952. Studio Ghibli, the Japanese company responsible for what are undoubtedly the best contemporary children's films, made it into a movie back in 2010. They just now got around to dubbing it in English, its native language. A funny thing is that they used a different cast of voice actors for the American release than the British, though many people believe that we speak approximately the same language. Since the novel was English, it might have been nice to hear British voice actors, though I am the last person who would ever complain about hearing Amy Poehler's and Will Arnett's voices emanating from adorable teensy bodies. Bridgit Mendler, one of those omnipresent Disney kids, plays the title character.
Anyway, it doesn't actually matter who voiced the characters, because the point is that The Secret World Arrietty is the loveliest, most kind-hearted movie I've seen in years. As with all of Studio Ghibli's movies, the animation (hooray, no 3D!) is lush and vibrant. Because Ghibli is a company that respects its consumers, who happen to be children (kind of like Pixar did before being bought by The Evil Ones), they don't half-ass their products. It is sad that this is noteworthy, but such is the state of Hollywood. The animation alone is worth the price of admition -- it would mesmerize even with no sound.
But the story is almost as good -- gentle enough for even the youngest and most tender-hearted, but so well executed that even cynical grownups can get on board.
A boy named Shawn (David Henrie) goes to stay with his great aunt prior to having a dangerous operation. Upon his arrival, he sees the family cat pouncing on a tiny girl in the bushes. The girl is Arrietty (Mendler), who lives in the floorboards with her father Pod (Arnett) and mother Homily (Poehler). They survive by "borrowing" scraps of food and other items from the gigantic "Beans" (short for human being) with whom they secretly coexist. The Borrowers have a code: Take only what you need; if a Bean sees you, it's time to move!
Code aside, Arrietty makes friends with Shawn, even as her family is packing up and searching for a new place to live. Meanwhile, the mildly crazy maid (Carol Burnett) makes it her mission to capture the Borrowers in order to prove her sanity to the neighborhood. The story is compelling, but it isn't very exciting -- there isn't a real villain and what conflict there is comprises many small moments of anxiety, rather than an overarching sense of doom. What makes the story so successful, though, is the amazing shifts in point of view.
Because Arrietty is as much about giants as it is about tiny people.
The human kid, Shawn, sees the world through human eyes; to him, the Borrowers are miniscule. But Arrietty is also a kid, and to her, Shawn is enormous. She can hear the sound of each raindrop as it lands. The ticking of a clock reverberates through the entire house. To Shawn, the ticking is very quiet. This is one of the very few movies in which you are aware of that important and overlooked person, The Sound Editor.
The shifting perspectives are elegantly done, and provide a subtle lesson in empathy, compassion and respecting people who are (really, really) different than you. These are important lessons, sure, but most importantly, watching this movie has the same effect (for much less money) as spending a few hours at the spa.
Oh right -- this is a true "G" movie. There are no sexual innuendos, romantic overtures, smoking, drinking or pseudo swearing.
