Review: The Secret World of Arrietty

Originally published on February 16, 2012.

The Secret World of Arrietty is the latest Studio Ghibli animated film that Walt Disney has dubbed into English and brought to America. This one is different from the usual Ghibli import, however, in that it was not directed by the master Hayao Miyazaki; he only co-wrote the screenplay, leaving helming honors to staff animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Also somewhat out of the ordinary for a Ghibli release, The Secret of Arrietty is not an original concept – it is based on the popular Mary Norton children’s novel The Borrowers, which was also adapted into a live-action film starring John Goodman back in 1997.

Miyazaki and co-writer Keiko Niwa make a few changes to the specifics of Norton’s novel, but for the most part stay true to it. Twelve-year-old Shawn (voice of David Henrie), sick with a heart condition, is sent to live at his great aunt’s home in the country so he can get some rest before surgery. There, he discovers the Clocks, a family of three-inch tall people who live under the floorboards and “borrow” small scraps of food and household goods to live off. Even though she is instructed by her parents (real-life husband and wife Will Arnett and Amy Poehler) to steer clear of all “human beans,” Arrietty Clock (Bridgit Mendler) can’t help but form a bond with Shawn. But not all humans are as non-threatening as the boy – the maid, Hara (Carol Burnett), realizes the Clocks’ presence and places a call to the exterminator.

Yonebayashi proves himself a more than capable director—if not as artistically daring as Miyazaki—but the Western source material makes The Secret World of Arrietty less distinguished than the usual Ghibli film. The studio’s works usually stand out because they use fantastical, “out there” ideas—the cat bus in My Neighbor Totoro, the spirit world in Spirited Away, etc.—in order to engage their characters’ emotions. While The Secret World of Arrietty may boast a premise that is as whimsical as those of its predecessors, it is more plot-centered than character-driven. That is to say, the film is a lot less concerned with discovering who Shawn and the Clocks are as people than it is with whether or not Haru will cause the Clocks to have to move or, worse, get exterminated. Ironically, it’s difficult to care about what happens with the plot when the characters are so one-dimensional.

Even though The Secret World of Arrietty may not match up to Ghibli’s usual standards, however, it’s still an enjoyable diversion for several reasons. First, the hand-drawn animation is as gorgeous as ever, once again proving the legitimacy of the medium, even in a computer-generated era. Its command of scale, with alternating shots from the Clocks’ and the humans’ perspectives, is particularly impressive. Second, in the Ghibli tradition, Yonebayashi gets the little things right – a cat that puffs up when it sees the Clocks, a clever action vignette in which Arrietty’s father teaches her how to borrow sugar, etc. And lastly, even though they are provided little to work with in the character department, the American voice actors do a spirited job with the dub. Families who have not experienced Ghibli’s past glories will likely be wholly satisfied with The Secret of Arrietty; hopefully, they will also be compelled to seek out the studio’s formative works.