The Secret World of Arrietty (2012)

This is defintly one of my top favourite anime movies I have seen. I have watched both the Disney and the UK dub and I like both dubs but I think Sho/Shawn's voice actor was a miscast as the character because the character had a russian accent instead of an american thats why Tom Holland (Spider-Man Homecoming) did better but for the voice of Pod I prefer Will Arrenet (Lego Batman,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) but Mark Strong (Green Lantern) is okay as Pod. However for the voice of Arriety I think both voice actress were cute and pitch for the voice of the character. In both dubs the characters had an equal amount of miscasts. As for the story it was just beautiful how a relationship between a human and a borrower can form it is sad though that they had to movie because they were discovered and at the same time Sho was going through pain because of his heart operation. My overall view beautiful movie. Must watch you won't regret it.

The Secret World of Arrietty is an anime movie directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and dubbed by Walt Disney. A sickly teenage boy by the name of Shawn is sent to his mother's childhood home to be taken care of by his grandmother before he undergoes heart surgery. While staying, he encounters a tiny teenage girl named Arrietty while she is scavenging through the house. She is a member of a race of tiny humans known as the borrowers who aim not to be discovered by humans as they live in hiding, which Shawn is destined to keep Arrietty and her family from being discovered by the home's maid.Now this film is not directed by the legendary Hayao Miyazaki, he only planned and wrote the screenplay to the movie and even if he didn't direct the movie it's still pretty solid. What you will notice early on is that the movie has very limited dialogue, which help sets a calm tone. It feels quite refreshing to see that as it gives the audience quite a bit time to relax with the main characters, and that's exactly what the movie does. Whether it's Arrietty exploring the home or Shawn having to deal with his lifelong sickness, the movie ends up being an overall relaxing experience. Even the more intense moments still feel somewhat relaxing.Like the other Ghibli films, the movie is beautifully and smoothly animated. The backgrounds look like they came out of a painting, moreso than the other Ghibli movies I've seen. Either way, the movie gives us both the perspectives of the humans and the borrowers. When we see the perspective of the borrowers, the backgrounds are usually to scale to them and usually don't appear to be large in scale compared to the borrowers. This makes the adventures throughout the house feel very engaging as a result. There were a couple of times where the backgrounds did confuse me, but it wasn't a huge problem.The movie's main theme is being brave and gaining courage to face your fears. I found the execution to be well done, but I think it could've been done a little bit better. I think it mainly has to do with the short running time. I won't go into much detail regarding this since it does dive into spoiler territory.Overall, the movie's simple, well animated, engaging, heartfelt and relaxing. This movie is well worth your time regardless of whether you're a Ghibli fan or not.9/10

This is my first review for IMDb and I chose this animated movie because lately I've watched many animated movies with incredible life-like CGI, and this one took me back to my childhood anime cartoons. This movie was a heart warming and artistically marvellous film for both young and old. Who hasn't dreamt as a child of having little people as friends? This story maybe struck closer to home for me because like Shô, the young boy who came to the house where his mother grew up, I too had a heart condition that needed open heart surgery.This leads me to Ariette Clock and her family, who lived under an old house and borrowed what they needed from the humans who lived within it. The story and the details in the film are spectacular, and the direction and animators took the effort to create a backdrop of a world within a world, a house within a house. The little house where Ariette lived with her parents is full of detail. The little passage-ways and secret doors and openings to the big house were ingenious and the use of materials like fish-hooks, even large nails as a safe bridge of sorts, from the rats below were the kind of artistic details that made this film stand out for me. These are the kind of details that both adults and young one would appreciate.The pacing of the story is perfect - the director does not rush things, he allows us to get absorbed by the characters, and apart from Spiller, who, for me, could have been included more in the film. We are given the chance of getting to know the characters and to care for them. The details are just right - we are told how the Little People use the items they "borrow", but we are then left to see how they are used. The Little People are ingenious and industrious. We are given a glimpse of how dad knows electricity as he works in his workshop - not too much detail, just enough to show us that the guy could be an engineer. The parents are good parents for Ariette and while being understanding of her need for adventure and consequences of having met the boy in the house, he does not get angry and surprisingly, neither does her mother. On the other hand, it gives us an insight to their own little culture - they are semi-nomads - they will stay in one place unless they are seen by the humans, in which case, they either move or risk getting caught or worse! It is like they knew their place in this big world - unlike us humans, who change things and have destroyed whole environments and species - and interestingly, this is one of the themes that comes up between Ariette and Shô, when Shô talks about how the Little People may be a dying species and Ariette, while arguing that there are others out there (and maybe this is Spiller's role in the film - that they are not alone), it is Humans and in this case, the boy's actions that results in Ariette and her family's displacement. I liked the environmental theme - and it is placed in there in the right dose, within a conversation that makes very good parallels.The difference between the actions of the boy and those of Haru are very well placed - it is the difference between what a child could do and that of an adult - who wants to catch them (and do what?) – and his auntie… It is an interesting juxtaposition of different mentalities which makes the audience wonder, "which one would I be?" I suppose that the child in us would say, the auntie, but what would we do if we really found Little People in the house?The cat too is an interesting character - starting off as one of the scariest animals and danger for Ariette and how it takes Shô to Ariette so they can say good- bye.Finally, the way Ariette struggles with her sense of adventure, her budding friendship with the boy who she shouldn't befriend because of all the consequences that friendship could lead to and the knowledge of those consequences, which makes her decide not to keep it a secret from her father and later from her mother are important lessons for growing children, and yes, maybe even for adults too! If they left, she will not see her new friend any longer, a tragedy in itself. These emotions are brought to us very vividly and not through words but through Ariette's actions and expressions, which I really appreciated, because the director was mindful of his audience, even the older ones! For the younger ones in the audience, the father figure explains the consequences to Ariette's actions and what could happen to them very well, not by being angry with her but by telling her the stories of others who had also lived in the house in the past.The story finishes in a bitter-sweat tone - saying good-bye to Shô and the new adventure of finding a new home for themselves, with their experienced but wise young guide, Spiller, however daunting it might feel, gives us a sense of hope on both counts. We do realise that Spiller is wise after all because he realises that the young human is not a threat to Ariette and does not fire his arrow. Shô says that he will never forget Ariette and will be in his heart forever. When Spiller offered Ariette the berry and she accepts his facial expression was reminiscent of the anime cartoons I watched as a kid! Those little details leave us with a feeling of hope both for the family and also for the future survival of their species! This movie is a must see for both young and old!

Affectionately crafted, mesmerisingly told & gorgeously photographed, The Secret World of Arrietty (simply known as Arrietty) is quite possibly the best Studio Ghibli feature-length film that wasn't directed by Hayao Miyazaki. A masterwork of staggering beauty, it is undoubtedly one of the most enchanting works of animation to surface on the film canvas.Based on the children's book The Borrowers by Mary Norton, the story of Arrietty concerns its titular character & her family; a group of tiny people on the brink of extinction who live anonymously in human residents & have made their home by borrowing simple items from their households. But things are set in motion when Arrietty is discovered by a human boy.Co-written by Hayao Miyazaki & directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi in what is his directional debut, Arrietty exhibits an astonishing level of craftsmanship from the first frame to the last plus the fully-realised world of borrowers is brought to life with remarkable care, intimacy & attention to detail. All the characters here are well-defined & the voice cast is wisely chosen as well.The hand-drawn animation is brilliantly executed for Arrietty is one of Studio Ghibli's most colourful works & makes vibrant use of colour palette, resulting in every frame being finely balanced in both hues & textures. Editing is smartly carried out too for the story unfolds in an elegant, smooth manner & showcases an excellent sense of pacing throughout its 95 minutes of runtime.And last but not the least is the background score by Cécile Corbel that turned this already wonderful cinematic experience into an even more delightful, heartwarming & enriching one. Music has the ability to make or break a film for it is the soul of most narratives and in case of Arrietty, the flavours, heart, warmth & magic its storyline resonates all the time has a lot to do with this very aspect.On an overall scale, The Secret World of Arrietty is a spellbinding work of its genre that has a very sweet, tender & graceful quality about it and is a cinematic delight for viewers of all ages. Plus, for a first time director, it's an extremely impressive start & it's gonna be really interesting to see where he goes from here. Another fabulous piece of fantasy from Studio Ghibli that's enjoyable, entertaining, emotionally fulfilling & effortlessly relatable, Arrietty comes highly recommended.