A minuscule family of "Borrowers" live beneath the floorboards of a country home, where they take very basic and irrelevant scraps from the inhabitants by which they survive. Consisting of Arrietty and her two parents, their lives are changed forever when the young girl is discovered by a sickly young boy staying on the premises, and the cruel housekeeper catches wind of the discovery. "The Secret World of Arrietty" is a wonderful children's film from Studio Ghibli and director Hiromasa Yonebayashi. Written by legendeary animator Hayao Miyazaki from the beloved novel The Borrowers by Mary Norton, the film retains much of his style and sensibility and offers quite a delightful and engrossing tale. I did something I almost never do, and watched this not in the original language and I was glad to find that the English voice actors do justice to the material. The young Bridgit Mendler is a good match for Arrietty, Amy Poehler and Will Arnett serve well as her parents, and Carol Burnett is absolutely wonderful as the sadistic and half-crocked housekeeper. "The Secret World of Arrietty" successfully translates a cherished story and does so with grace, warmth, and art.
