Miyazaki Madness, Part 12: "Arrietty the Borrower" is a quiet revelation

Don't sleep on this lovely bit of Ghibli magic

On Thursdays, I’m publishing reviews of classic movies, including pieces that have never appeared online before taken from my book 200 Reviews, available now in Paperback or on Kindle (which you should really consider buying, because it’s an awesome collection!). In this series, we are examining the filmography of my all-time favorite movie director - and newly minted two-time Oscar winner with his win for The Boy and the Heron - Hayao Miyazaki! We will be looking at all of his theatrical feature films along with the movies he wrote but did not direct, for a total of 15 weeks of Miyazaki Madness! The series continues today with Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s Arrietty the Borrower, written and storyboarded by Hayao Miyazaki. Enjoy…

Arrietty the Borrower

2010, Dir. Hiromasa Yonebayashi

Originally published February 18^th, 2012 for the Fade to Lack blog Online, and The Denver Post’s YourHub in Print

Arrietty the Borrower, released in the United States this year under the title The Secret World of Arrietty, is an unspeakably beautiful little film, one that connects with the heart and mind on every possible level. Having watched the films of Studio Ghibli since I was little, I should no longer be this astonished by the house that Miyazaki built, but I cannot help myself; they are the best at what they do, and each film they release is a revelation. 

Arrietty is based on Mary Norton’s classic novel The Borrowers, but writer Hayao Miyazaki and director Hiromasa Yonebayashi make the material their own, infusing it with unparalleled visual creativity, wonderfully endearing characters, and a poignant, underlying sense of melancholy that speaks to a special, intangible place in the hearts of every viewer. For children or for grown-ups, it is the best film playing in theatres this weekend, and I doubt it will be surpassed for some time.