The Secret World of Arrietty

The Secret World of Arrietty is as animated feature about a group of tiny "borrowers" who live by taking bits of the items needed to survive, which is based off of a 1950s novel with the same premise.  It's brought to you by Studio Ghibli courtesy of Disney.  A great deal of people will be turned off when they realize the film is the product of Japanese artists, which will immediately allow them to write it off as typical anime.  There is no such thing as typical anime, and I encourage you to give the Secret World of Arrietty a shot.

For me, it is refreshing and elicits feelings of nostalgia to see hand drawn animation, which Arrietty utilizes.  While Studio Ghibli had utilized computers to embellish some of their films, the cells are primarily drawn by hand.  I have seen many beautiful Pixar films, but there is something about a masterpiece created mostly by hand that I find inherently beautiful.  The amount of artistry and commitment is astounding.

Animation style aside, the movie provides us with a wonderful story and rich characters.  Disney has largely abandoned traditional animation in favor of computer generated films.  There is nothing wrong with that, but Disney's films that were done in a traditional animation style that did poorly were the result of lackluster stories and storytelling.  Take Tangled for instance; it did well at the box office and was well received.  It would have been just as successful done in a classic animation style because the story and characters are engaging.  This is why Miyazaki's films are well loved.  Studio Ghibli is not afraid to make an animated film that both children and adults will enjoy without having adult jokes hidden throughout.  Instead, they provide characters you can related to and care about.  The Secret World of Arrietty continues this tradition.

The film isn't perfect, of course.  The voice acting is quite good, but it is disconcerting to hear Will Arnett voicing a character that isn't the comic relief.  He is largely known as a comedic actor, and it was unusual to hear him do otherwise.  I am happy to report that he did a fine job, regardless of what I expected.

While the film is further improved through the sound effects, the main song is just terrible.  The artist performs well, but the lyrics just seem silly.  The music that accompanies said lyrics doesn't feel right either.  The rest of the soundtrack is quite good though.

The Secret World of Arrietty is a successful film that is worth your time.  It reminds you how wonderful animation can be while telling an interesting story peppered with rich characters.  My favorite two Studio Ghibli films are still Princess Mononoke and How's Moving Castle, but I will eventually be buying the Secret World of Arrietty to add to my collection.  Give it a chance; you won't regret it.