It doesn't need thunderous gimmicks or musical cues - or characters so outlandish that they're ready-made for collectibles bought at fast-food restaurants - to be a wonderful movie.
The artwork is gorgeous and meticulous, the story beautiful. Studio Ghibli creates yet another beauty. Viewers used to the whiz bang, frenetic pace of other animated features may find The Secret World of Arrietty slow-moving and lacking in special effects, but that's its strength. The Secret World of Arrietty is enduring, beautifully animated, beautifully voice acted, funny, heartwarming film ,and should be a model for other animated movies soon to come. Our kids can handle complicated material, as long as it's handled intelligently and with compassion. And yet the story unfurls with no heavy-handedness, just a realism that doesn't condescend to its young audience. This sumptuously animated and heartwarming story. But when brave and tiny Arrietty is out gathering supplies, she is discovered by Shawn, a human boy, and they begin to form a friendship that blossoms into an extraordinary adventure. In Ghibli movies, children and teens are allowed to be sad, despondent, worried, afraid, and burdened - it's not a sugar-coated world. In a secret world hidden beneath the floorboards, little people called Borrowers live out of sight of humans.
But even more substantial is how the movie straightforwardly presents the plight of a boy who's often left alone and is lonely, and of a girl who doesn't get to interact with others like herself. From the creators of Spirited Away and Ponyo, and Academy Award-nominated director Hiromasa Yonebayashi, comes a gorgeous and adventure-filled adaptation of. On the surface is the wonder of a teen discovering a miniature counterpart who lives in a world much like his own, only within the walls and under the floorboards of his house. From the legendary Studio Ghibli ('Spirited Away,' 'Ponyo') comes. As 'tiny people', the family must remain hidden from humans, 'borrowing' items from them such as postage stamps or herbs to cook with.
The beauty of Studio Ghibli movies is that they have such depth and heart, and this film is a perfect example. Residing quietly beneath the floorboards are little people who live undetected in a secret world to be discovered, where the smallest may stand tallest of all. For nearly fourteen years, Arrietty has lived with her parents under the floorboards of a house.