The Borrowers
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Global Times, July 15, 2011
Studio Ghibli is the peak of Japanese animation. Trademarked by its unique aesthetic taste and drawing style, the studio is capable of turning the release of a new movie into a huge event among cartoon fans. So it's no surprise its latest animated movie The Borrowers racked up about $ 15 million in ticket sales and secured first place at the box office during the period it was on in Japan last year.
The Borrowers is largely faithful to the original novel written by English author Mary Norton, except that it's set in Japan. The 10-centimeter Arrietty is a 14-year-old "tiny person" who lives with her parents under the floorboards of an old house in Tokyo. Their peaceful and untroubled life is disrupted after Arrietty is seen by Sho, a sick but well-intentioned boy of her age. Living without parents and waiting for a heart surgery to come, the boy longs for friendship, and makes friends with Arrietty. The fledgling friendship is considered a taboo by her parents since they believe getting along with humans is likely to bring them catastrophe.
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Still of "the Borrowers" [Global Times] |
And they are right. The housekeeper Haru becomes aware of the existence of "tiny persons" in the house and decides to catch them alive. The "tiny person" family now is forced to choose between staying in their well-established home or leaving for the uncertainty of the great outdoors.
The Borrowers is the work of long-time animator and first-time director Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Despite the absence of Hayao Miyazaki in the director's chair who leads Studio Ghibli to the international prestige, the novice still remains all the features that characterize Hayao's breezy and innocent works. By merely looking at its impressionistic water color style and listening to part of its melodious yet sentimental original soundtrack, a viewer may easily speak out the name of Hayao Miyazaki.
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Still of "the Borrowers" [Global Times] |
Most of the movie is seen from Arrietty's perspective, and the world around her is amazing to behold. While you are enjoying this imaginative and beautiful story, you are also having a visual treat that has nothing to do with technology and CGI but angles of view. The only thing that leaves viewers wanting more is the gravity and complexity of the story, on which Hayao already sets many good examples in his previous works.
On my 1 to 10 movie scale, I give The Borrowers a 7.5.
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