Arrietty marks my first journey into the world of anime, and I’ll definitely be making a return trip. The film has already been released in Japan and the UK, to massive critical acclaim, and will be released in the US later this year. I had the great privilege of attending an advance screening of the American version and I immensely liked what I saw.
The Secret World of Arrietty (loosely based on “The Borrowers”) tells the story of a family of miniature people that lives under the floorboards of a residence. At night, the little people venture out into the dangerous world of human beings to “borrow” things that nobody will miss—a cube of sugar, a tissue, or a small strand of thread. Arrietty violates her parent’s wishes and befriends a young human boy, Sean, living in the house above. When the boy’s caretakers find out about the little people, they will stop at nothing to capture them.
There’s not a whole lot going on with this narrative, no shocking twists, no crazy subplots, but the story is charming and the ending managed to be different than I expected. The interactions between the characters is innocent and sweet and the film hearkens back to a more classic age of animation—an age with no pop-culture jokes, no crude comments, and no sexual references, just kindness and love.
Arrietty and Sean share some beautiful dialogues about the purpose of friendship, family and life. Their conversations are touching and emotional, tugging—though not manipulatively—upon the heartstrings. The rest of the supporting characters are, unfortunately, one-dimensional; more character development would have really improved the film. I was also irritated by the decision to redub the dialogue with American actors. Their voices didn’t fit the characters (with the exception of Arrietty) and they distracted from the story.
The animation is superb. Having never before seen a full-length anime feature, I had no idea what to expect. The vivid animation captured my imagination. The character detail was often minimalistic, but this only added to the vibrancy of the film. The rich colors of Arrietty’s world dazzled my eyes with stunning backgrounds and settings, evidencing meticulous attention to detail. The animators tell the story from the perspective of tiny Arrietty and there are some inventive visuals that reflect this—stamps being used as wall paintings, a pin as a sword, tissues as blankets. The animation is gorgeous and inventive and the film is worth seeing just to appreciate its artistry.
I was also blown away by the sound mixing. Recorded from the perspective of our miniature heroine, the sounds of the human world are magnified, making the giant universe seem menacing, daunting and unknown. The sound of each raindrop is amplified exponentially and ambient noise, such as the hum of a refrigerator, is magnified to near-deafening levels. It’s an experience worth hearing.
Also worth hearing is the perfectly fitting soundtrack. The delightful piano and harp-driven score is punctuated with riffs of acoustic guitar and airy strings. The score is also mixed with original songs written by Cécile Corbel, French-Breton singer and Celtic harpist. Her vocals fit seamlessly in with her soundtrack and add a fanciful, magical feel to the film.
The Secret World of Arrietty is a beautiful film. The storyline is shallow but it’s sweet and heartfelt. The film features some incredible animation, creative sound mixing and an outstanding soundtrack. Watching this movie is a real treat and one that shouldn’t be missed.
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