Synopsis: Arrietty, a tiny but tenacious 14-year-old, lives with her parents in the recesses of a suburban garden home, unbeknownst to the homeowner and her housekeeper. Like all little people, Arrietty remains hidden from view, except during occasional covert ventures beyond the floorboards to "borrow" scrap supplies like sugar cubes from her human hosts. But when 12-year-old Shou, a human boy who comes to stay in the home, discovers his mysterious housemate one evening, a secret friendship blossoms. If discovered, their relationship could drive Arrietty's family from the home and straight into danger.

My Rating: 5 of 5 stars

Title: Karigurashi no Arrietti, The Secret World of Arrietty (English)

Episodes: Movie (1)

Genre(s): Fantasy

Air Date: July 17, 20110

Producers: Studio Ghibli, Walt Disney Studios (English)

A few weeks ago, my best friend visited for the weekend and brought a bunch of Ghibli movies with her that neither my boyfriend nor I had seen. So, we marathoned them for the weekend she was here. Before I start this review, I'd like to say that I will refer to the movie title as it's English name, and the characters by their Japanese names.

As always, Studio Ghibli lives up to their reputation with The Secret World of Arrietty. The detail of this movie is absolutely stunning, amazing, breathtaking...I can't even sum it up with words, that's how great it is. Every little detail is hand-drawn, and that has always amazed me when it comes to Studio Ghibli movies, even more so with this movie. The detail to specific elements of nature was so beautiful and magical, it felt as though you were in the world—in Arrietty's world. The raindrops, the leaves, the grass, the flowers all felt so real that it was almost as if you were Arrietty herself in a fantasy world. It was like being zapped with a shrink ray and becoming a Borrower. Appreciating the artwork and art style of Studio Ghibli movies is quite easy, even more so when you learn that everything is hand-drawn...but there's something more about this movie when you consider all that.

Like most Ghibli movies, this follows the story of the main character going on a sort of adventure, and through that adventure there is a lot of character self-discovery. There was a lot of creativity put into creating the world of Arrietty and the Borrowers, and that was something I loved so much about The Secret World of Arrietty. Things that are trivial to us, things we might throw out—those are things the Borrowers find most important, those are items they literally risk their lives to go out and get in order to sustain themselves. A needle to us is a sword to the tiny Borrowers, a sugar cube to us may only be useful in a cup of tea but it can last a Borrower a month or longer. A few days travelling trip for the Borrowers is literally a walk down the road for us. It's amazing how thought-out this world was and how much detail and thought was put into everything.

This movie, while very peaceful and a wonderful fantasy adventure with a well-thought out world and a unique idea, has moments that are both sad, fun, and will have you on the edge of your seat. Most of the characters are likable—I won't say anything more on that topic due to some spoilers I don't want to ruin—and it features a family that is easy to connect to and fall in love with, because despite their size and despite calling themselves "Borrowers" they're a perfect picture of normal and something you would see everyday, which is almost unimaginable when considering tiny people. The ending is a little bittersweet; there are things you want to happen, things that seem so perfect and even perfectly set up and things that should happen but in the end, inevitably, they don't. Considering everything, it's not much of a surprise. But it's still bittersweet in that you wish it would have turned out a certain way.

The story and the art are both beautiful. The soundtrack, too, is gorgeous. I loved the soundtrack so much I went and bought and downloaded it. It's epic and loud, it's soft and beautiful, it reminds me of Celtic music. It's a great companion to the movie.

I am so in love with The Secret World of Arrietty and I hope everyone gets to watch it someday, at some point in their life.