Line #6 Anime/Arrietty


1	%%
2	%% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=16764990580.70560900
3	%% Previous thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1623854158040301400
4	%% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread.
5	%%
6	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/arrietty.png]]
7	[[caption-width-right:350:[[{{Tagline}} Discover a secret world within our own.]]]]
8	%%
9	->''"Sometimes you have to fight for the things that are worth fighting for."''
10	-->-- '''Arrietty.'''
11
12	''Arrietty'' (借りぐらしのアリエッティ -- ''Kari-gurashi no Arietti'' -- ''The Borrower Arrietty'') is a 2010 Creator/StudioGhibli film directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi and written by Creator/HayaoMiyazaki, in what marks the former's directorial debut. It's based on Mary Norton's book series ''Literature/TheBorrowers'', with elements of Creator/HansChristianAndersen's ''Literature/{{Thumbelina}}'' thrown in for flavor.
13
14	Arrietty is a young member of a race known as the Borrowers. As one might suspect from that name, they make their living stealing items (borrowing, in their parlance) from the giant (to them) humans. Their primary rule is to avoid ever being seen by these [[HumansAreCthulhu terrifying creatures]]. However, Arrietty meets a human boy who seems to be gentle and kind. Nonetheless, she is forbidden from seeing him.
15
16	The film hit UK and Australian cinemas in June and September 2011 respectively under the shortened title ''Arrietty''. Disney released their own dub in the United States as ''The Secret World of Arrietty'' in February 2012.
17
18	----
19	!!Provides examples of:
20
21	* AdaptationalHeroism: Niya the cat is at least partly a CanonForeigner (there ''was'' a cat in the book, but it only appeared briefly), but the trope still counts with her as the book treats all cats as horrible threats that would kill and eat a Borrower given half a chance. Here, after being restrained by Sho for a while, Niya goes from trying to hunt Arietty as a small animal to seemingly regarding her as a tiny human and eventually even slow-blinks at her.
22	* AdaptationalNiceGuy: The Clocks are sweeter and more loving, less inclined to bicker with each other than in the book.
23	* AlternativeForeignThemeSong: The North American dub adds "Summertime" by Bridgit Mendler after a shortened English version of "Arrietty's Song".
24	* AnimationBump: Apparent with the close-ups and SceneryPorn sweeping shots, especially with the flora and fauna, which move rather realistically with the wind.
25	* AudibleSharpness: Arrietty's pin/sword.
26	* AuthorAppeal: Flight is downplayed compared to most Ghibli movies, but Spiller does depart after his introduction by climbing up a wall and using his cape to paraglide away.
27	* BadassAdorable: Arrietty. Spiller when he's trying to show off for Arrietty
28	* BadassCape: Spiller has a fur cape that doubles nicely as a hang glider.
29	* BalconyEscape: Sho escapes from his locked room by using the window to enter the next room.
30	* BeautyEqualsGoodness: All of the good characters are drawn to be normal and decent-looking. Haru, on the other hand, looks rather toad-like half of the time. Especially apparent considering that Haru herself looks rather normal at first, and only starts looking like a toad after she demonstrates evil tendencies.
31	* BigCreepyCrawlies: Any bugs when drawn in comparison to the borrowers. Ants are the size of rats to them, and crickets are as big as dogs.
32	* BigFancyHouse: The dollhouse is a miniature version.
33	%% * BitchInSheepsClothing: Three guesses who.
34	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Arrietty and her family ultimately move away from the house, the Borrowers never ended up using the doll house like Sho's great-grandfather hoped, and Sho soon faces his operation. However, Arrietty and Sho tenderly part ways, exchanging tokens to each other, and Spiller seems to be taking the Clocks to other Borrowers. Sho never sees them again, but he's shaken his hopelessness about his operation and doesn't feel as doomed.]]
35	* BlandNameProduct: We briefly see a bottle of "Ivori Soap". The opening shot of a cityscape has a sign for “Benny’s” restaurant.
36	%%* BoyMeetsGirl
37	* CatsAreMean: Played straight at first--Sho's cat Niya is a mean predatory thing. [[spoiler: Ultimately subverted when he makes his peace with the Borrowers, fetches Sho for Arrietty, and parts friends with her.]]
38	* ChekhovsGun:
39	** The pin, which ends up being used [[spoiler:by Arrietty to free her mother from a jar]].
40	** [[spoiler:The dollhouse, though not in the most obvious way. The Clocks never move into it, but when Sho replaces their kitchen with the one from the dollhouse, his actions scare the family into moving out.]]
41	* ConvenientCranny: Early on, Arrietty escapes Niya by slipping through the metal grid of the basement window which Niya cannot fit through.
42	* CreepyCockroach: Looms over Arrietty, who fends it off.
43	* CreepyCrows: A crow attempts to catch Arrietty, only to crash and get stuck in a window screen.
44	* CulturalTranslation: The books are set in Edwardian England; the anime version takes place in 2010 in Western Tokyo's neighborhood of Koganei (which is also where Studio Ghibli happens to be located). Unlike many Ghibli films in the past, some names were changed in the dub as well as flipping some scenes to make it seem like it's set in America, although the backgrounds make it clear where it is actually set.
45	* CuteButCacophonic: Homily, Arrietty's mom. She constantly tends to go into a huge screaming fit when upset or frightened, so you'd better not be wearing headphones or have your volume up too high when it looks like she's about to freak out.
46	* DarkAndTroubledPast: Though his life prior to ''The Secret World of Arrietty'' has yet be given too much detail, what we ''do'' know implies Sho's childhood was ''not'' a happy one. He was born with a palpitation and it can be assumed that his parents got so fed up with his condition that they decided to divorce and [[WhenYouComingHomeDad drown themselves in their work]], all the while [[ParentalAbandonment distancing themselves away from Sho as far as possible]]. For this, he has to live with his caring aunt and her paranoid housekeeper while preparing for a surgical operation that may or may not cost him his life.
47	* DisproportionateRetribution: Haru sees the Borrowers as nothing more than thieves [[LawfulEvil and will do anything]] [[HeroAntagonist to protect her employer's home.]]
48	* DistractedByTheLuxury: Homily has a weakness for nice things. When Sho gives the Clocks the dollhouse kitchen, her terror subsides to marvel at the beautiful stove and utensils.
49	* DramaQueen: Homily is prone to hysterics when under stress, and her first instinct at any sign of trouble is to dramatically announce that they're all doomed.
50	* DramaticWind: Comes up when Arrietty allows Sho to have a closer look at her at the meadow.
51	* DubNameChange: Sho to Shawn, Sadako to Jessica, Haru to Hara, and Niya to Nina (though it's still "Niya" in the closed captions) in the Disney dub.
52	* DyingRace: The Borrowers, [[AmbiguousSituation possibly]]. Borrowers live so far away from each other (in comparison to their size) that they have very little contact, so they can't be sure how many other Borrowers still exist in the world.
53	* ExpressiveHair: A Ghibli staple.
54	* FacialMarkings: Spiller.
55	* {{Fainting}}: A monster faint, of sorts, when Homily sees Shawn put the doll house kitchen in their home.
56	* ForbiddenFriendship[=/=]OddFriendship: Between Arrietty and Sho.
57	* ForegoneConclusion: [[spoiler:Sho survives his operation in the dub, since in the introduction you realize the story is told in past tense]]
58	* FriendToBugs: It depends on the bugs, but the Borrowers don't seem to mind harmless bugs like crickets. Arrietty seems fond of the crickets and pillbugs that share the space under the floors with her family and sees ants, which are enormous to her, as not threatening or gross at all. Averted by Spiller, who hunts crickets as food.
59	* {{Gaslighting}}: Sho pulls a minor case of this on Haru, moving the dollhouse kitchen back to the dollhouse when she's not looking to convince her that she's imagining the Borrowers. He also appears in front of her after she locks him in his room, visibly startling her.
60	* GentleGiant: Sho would be this from Arrietty's point of view.
61	* GoodParents: Pod is a stern yet fair version. Homily may be a bit more easily hysterical and anxious when it comes to the safety of her family, but she cares very much for Arrietty and wants the best for her daughter.
62	* HappilyMarried: Pod and Homily.
63	* HateSink: Haru. She disparages the doll house that Sho's great grandfather intended for the Borrowers, locks Sho in his room, captures Homily and sees the Borrowers as nothing more than absolute thieves. Her overall plot is to either exterminate the Borrowers with the help of Squeaky Clean Services or reveal their existence to the world.
64	* HealthyCountryAir: Sho was sent to the rural setting of the story due to needing an operation on his heart. The trope ultimately proves to be true given that the setting allows him to meet the titular character as well as abandon his YouCantFightFate attitude concerning life.
65	* HomemadeInventions: The Clocks' home, as well as the passages inside of the walls, is full of rope and pulley systems and homemade appliances so they can make use of siphoned gas and electricity. Pod carries the bulb of a nightlight that he uses on nighttime Borrowing excursions and in one scene is shown soldering something electronic.
66	* {{Housewife}}: Homily is the only non-action one in the family, preferring to stay at home.
67	* HugeGuyTinyGirl: Sho and Arrietty are an extreme version. He's an average-sized human and she's a mythical being who can fit inside a dollhouse.
68	* HumansAreCthulhu: Although Sho and his aunt respect the Borrowers, it's made clear that even well-intentioned meddling can cause destruction and panic among the small people. Several scenes show humans through Borrower's eyes as vast creatures who usually don't fit in a single frame, and when their faces are shown it's in extreme closeup. Arrietty riding on Sho's shoulder is rocked back and forth with his footsteps and feels the wind of his movement.
69	* ImportantHairAccessory: Arrietty and her little clothespin hairclip. [[spoiler:She gives it to Sho/Shawn in the end.]]
70	* INeverSaidItWasPoison: Downplayed. When the escaped Sho meets [[spoiler: Haru in the kitchen, she almost gives her scheme away]] as she shouts surprised: "But the lock..." His reaction: "Lock?"
71	* InnocentlyInsensitive: Sho, upon meeting Arrietty on the lawn and them having their first real conversation together. He muses on the fact that the Borrowers might be a DyingRace, which understandably upsets Arrietty mightily. It's somewhat compensated for when he admits that he himself may be about to die due to a chronic heart condition for which he is about to have surgery, explaining why he seems so openly fatalistic.
72	* ItWasHereISwear: Haru tries to show Sadako/Jessica the Borrowers' home.
73	* KindheartedCatLover: Sho's kindness toward Niya is Arrietty's first real indication of his kindliness.
74	* LargeHam: Haru, at least when she starts hunting the Borrowers. Being dubbed by Creator/CarolBurnett certainly helps.
75	* LastOfHisKind: Arrietty's mother references this, fearing that she and her family were the last Borrowers. [[spoiler:Later proven not to be the case.]]
76	* LettingHerHairDown: Arrietty only let her hair down in the privacy of her own home. [[spoiler:When she gives her hairclip to Shawn at the end, it is the only time he sees her with her hair down.]]
77	* {{Lilliputians}}: The Borrowers.
78	* MasculineGirlFeminineBoy: Arrietty and Sho. She's athletic and bold while he's frail and cautious.
79	* MementoMacGuffin: [[spoiler: Before they go their separate ways in the ending, Arrietty gives Sho her clothespin hairclip.]]
80	* MouseWorld: The house, and (in an implied way) everywhere else the Borrowers once dwelt. Spiller on the other hand seems to live far from Beans, in the wild. He knows other Borrowers but where ''they'' live isn't shown.
81	* NamedByTheAdaptation: Sho; the human boy who befriends Arrietty was simply 'the Boy' in the book.
82	* NiceJobBreakingItHero: [[spoiler:Sho's effort to do Arrietty and her family a kind turn by giving them the dollhouse kitchen not only traumatizes Homily and forces the family to move: it also leads to Haru discovering their home and capturing Homily. Though Homily, as predicted, ''really'' likes that kitchen and is heartbroken to part from it.]]
83	* NobleSavage: Spiller certainly looks the part. He's not [[WildChild utterly feral]], but he lives [[MountainMan alone in the wilderness]].
84	* NonActionGuy: Sho, due to his heart condition. Even running for a short distance wore him out.
85	* NosyNeighbor: Haru.
86	* OhCrap: Arriety and her parents can only watch on in shock the moment [[spoiler:Haru discovers their home]].
87	* OneHeadTaller: Pod and Homily.
88	* OppositesAttract: Pod is a calm adventurer and Homily is a neurotic homemaker.
89	* OutdoorsyGal: Arrietty is eager for adventure.
90	* ParentalAbandonment: Sho's parents are divorced; he rarely sees his father and his mother is [[MarriedToTheJob often working]].
91	* ParentsInDistress: Arrietty and Sho team up to rescue Arrietty's mother Homily from Haru.
92	* PluckyGirl: Arrietty, of course, yet another Ghibli staple.
93	* PragmaticAdaptation: Sticks far closer to the original book than either of the [[Film/TheBorrowers1997 two]] [[Film/TheBorrowers2011 live-action]] adaptations, but there are a lot of changes to both make the story more accessible and visually interesting. Aside from the shift in setting (Edwardian England to modern-day Western Tokyo), the most noticeable ones are the addition of Spiller (who didn't show up until the second book about the Borrowers) and Nya the cat (who wasn't in the book at all, but seems partially based on the cat brought by the exterminator), and the fact Arrietty in the anime has a lot more freedom, being allowed to roam the huge crawl space under the house and sometimes venturing into the garden (even if her mother preferred she didn't go outside), whereas in the book she was kept confined to her home.
94	* TheQuietOne: [[RewatchBonus On second viewing,]] you'll realize that ''all'' the male characters are quiet types.
95	* RiddleForTheAges / LeftHanging: Sho either survives his operation or does not and the Borrowers either reach their new home or end up not getting there. It's purposefully up to interpretation. While the Japanese dub refuses to clarify the characters' ultimate fates, Sho's closing line in the English dub gives the characters a HappyEnding.
96	* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: The pillbugs that Arrietty encounters early in the film. From her perspective they are similar in size to what a small lapdog would be for an average human, and completely harmless. Arrietty even pets one, then bounces it in her hands a couple of times when it rolls up into a ball before letting it go.
97	* ScavengedPunk: This being a version of ''Literature/TheBorrowers'', it goes without saying. This being Creator/StudioGhibli, ScavengedPunk looks more beautiful than ever before.
98	* SceneryPorn: It's Studio Ghibli. Were you expecting anything else? A special shout out goes to the scene where she climbs up to the second floor and looks out over the garden.
99	* SewingNeedleSword: Arrietty finds a pin on her first "borrowing" and keeps it for self-defense.
100	* ShipTease: There are a few hints of attraction between Spiller and Arrietty, particularly at the end where he awkwardly holds out a berry to her without looking and then smiles and becomes cheerful when she takes it.
101	* ShoutOut:
102	** Spiller's costume and facial markings are very reminiscent of San's wardrobe and make-up from ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'', and his bow has the same coloration as Ashitaka's did in the same movie.
103	** In the photo of Sho's mother and aunt as children, they look similar to Satsuki and Mei from ''Anime/MyNeighborTotoro''. In addition, their mother resembles the mother of Satsuki and Mei.
104	** The title character is a young woman in her early teens belonging to a mythical race. She wears a mono-colored one-piece dress, has dark(-ish) colored hair, has a bow-like hair ornament, and she befriends a cat. [[Anime/KikisDeliveryService Sound familiar?]]
105	** The main characters are tiny and live in an old house in an idyllic part of the country. Two of them trespass into an old woman's kitchen to gather condiments: one is small but bold, the other is larger and much more cautious. The old woman tries to exterminate them; their home is destroyed and the family has to make a dangerous journey downriver. The tiny/bold character meets a sympathetic young man and they form a brunette/redhead pair in one of the most (if not ''the'' most) gorgeous movies the film company has produced. [[WesternAnimation/{{Ratatouille}} That movie]] had FoodPorn in place of SceneryPorn. It's probably just a coincidence; then again the two companies are friends.
106	** A rude, spotted fat cat who fights with a crow? [[Anime/TheCatReturns That's new.]]
107	** Spiller's teapot/boat has the same design as [[Anime/SpiritedAway Kamaji's]].
108	** An [[Anime/PomPoko untransformed raccoon dog]] appears.
109	** The plot kicks off with a small but intelligent creature hiding from an aggressive cat inside of a bush in front of a rustic house, then explores the lives of more of these creatures as they make their way by taking supplies, gas, and electricity from the people who live there, and are ultimately forced to relocate their family home. Are we talking about this film, or ''WesternAnimation/TheSecretOfNIMH''?
110	* ShownTheirWork:
111	** The way the liquids behave on small-scale. They all have surface tension, so water beads from their teapot in droplets, and melted cheese forms big round balls, among other things.
112	** The flora and fauna are animated in a rather realistic manner, right down to the dew that forms on top of them.
113	** [[spoiler: Niya's slow blink towards Arrietty is used by real cats as a gesture of affection.]]
114	** Sho's movements display a sense of enormous ponderous mass when shown from the borrowers' perspective. It's most apparent when Arrietty is riding on his shoulder.
115	** The crow attack, executed with the sort of intelligence that corvids actually possess. The crow spots Arrietty, caws, and looks away, so Arrietty turns away as well, to talk to Sho. Several ''minutes'' later, the "harmless" crow suddenly attacks ''from her blind side''. Only the cawing of another crow gives the attack away at the last second.
116	* SleepMask: Arrietty's mother wears one in bed.
117	* SoapOperaDisease: Sho has an unspecified congenital heart problem, and his operation is due soon.
118	* StaringDownCthulhu: [[spoiler:Arrietty, at the end, stares down Niya the cat. Niya blinks and shows her affection to the little being she used to chase.]]
119	* TheStoic: Pod. Sho/Shawn may also count to a lesser extent, since he never really shows any extreme emotions (in spite of being about to undergo very risky surgery).
120	* SurprisinglyFunctionalToys: Justified because the borrower-sized dollhouse was made specifically for borrowers to inhabit.
121	* TextileWorkIsFeminine: Arrietty and her mother sew together at one point.
122	* TimmyInAWell: [[spoiler:Sho's/Shawn's cat leads him to Arrietty's departing family.]]
123	* TomboyAndGirlyGirl: Arrietty and Homily are a mother-daughter example. Arrietty likes to go exploring while Homily would prefer to stay indoors.
124	* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: The U.S. trailer reveals [[spoiler:the Clocks in the teapot on the river, Arrietty befriending the cat, Arrietty and Sho/Shawn saying goodbye, and Arrietty rescuing Homily.]]
125	* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Sho! He catches a glimpse of Arrietty trying to steal a single sheet of tissue paper and tries to talk to her. Pod is inclined to let that slide rather than immediately move the family somewhere else, but the ill and lonely human boy tries leaving Arrietty notes and a sugar cube, which makes her family nervous. It's worse when Sho finds where they live, tears off the ceiling, and replaces their kitchen wall with the kitchen module from the doll house. This terrifies the Borrowers and convinces them that they have to leave; worse, Haru sees the mess he's made and finds the Clocks' home herself.
126	* VillainousBreakdown: [[spoiler:Haru, when she finds that all the evidence of the Borrowers has disappeared.]]
127	* WhamLine: When Shawn and Arrietty first have a conversation: "I'm sorry for upsetting you. [[spoiler:I'm actually the one who's going to die."]]
128	* YouDirtyRat: Arrietty and Pod see a couple rats in the spaces between the walls. Arrietty brandishes her pin like a sword, saying she's not afraid, but Pod warns her that they're pretty dangerous. Seems to be roughly parallel to the relationship between humans and wolves.
129

Context Anime / Arrietty