HandyHandel
Since: Oct, 2011
03/27/2012 00:00:00
Hayao Miyazaki didn't work on this film. It was a totally new director. Still, Ghibli is Ghibli, so it ends always ends up well done (most of the time).
Aspie
Since: Dec, 2009
03/29/2012 00:00:00
He did work on it, he just didn't direct. He was a script writer.
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Miyazaki knocks it out of the park again...but in a different way
I've always been a huge Hayao Miyazaki fan, so when I saw his name on this film, I instantly expected good things. I wasn't disappointed. This film displays what I can only describe as "quiet genius." As an earlier review notes, you won't get a lot of epic action scenes like in Miyazaki's other work, but I think that's okay for this film. The simple scene designs and the focus on interactions between characters left room for the imagination to fill in the blanks, which is a quality I've always liked in a film. I also liked the demonstrations of the different uses that the Borrowers found for everyday items that we take for granted. (I found the idea of earrings used as climbing gear especially clever.)
On top of all that, I also got a few great laughs out of this film. I cracked up at the scene with the crow in the window and the scene where Arriety tried to figure out how a bow-and-arrow worked. Haru's obsession with "the little people" was a little creepy, but still made me laugh, especially when she was frantically going through the house, trying to figure out where her captive Borrower was.
Overall, a heartwarming and entertaining film with something to offer both kids and adults.
My rating: 5/5