![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Review: Arrietty (借りぐらしのアリエッティ) (2010)
A very cute movie :3 It was pretty short but I think it did what it set out to do, tell a cute story but express an important but subtle message through it. And of course, deliver some gorgeous visuals.
Spoilers.
Story
This was the story of Arrietty, a little girl (seriously little). She is from a species of little people who call themselves "Borrowers" because they borrow knickknacks here and there from humans, things they wouldn't miss. She meets a human boy called Sho, but in doing so, her family must move because the fate of their people is that they must live alongside people but not together. But despite that, Arrietty and Sho can still be friends.
Production
As usual, the animation was beautiful. I think it especially came through in this movie becaues of the importance of scale. The animators had to show that Arrietty and her family were small, so not only did the human-sized items have to be drawn to scale, but the lighting on them too. There was a lot of "layering" to show that things were far away for Arrietty (though they might not have been for humans). I also absolutely loved that the liquids for the little people were a bit more globular. When yo have small quantities of water, they're more like droplets than fluids and I really appreciated that tough to show that these are indeed small people.
Of course we had the usual level of detail that we get from Studio Ghibli films, such as showing the movement of hair with the wind (with Arrietty's puffy ponytail), or droplets of water in the rain. I also liked that the movie added small imperfections to certain scenes, such as Sho and Arrietty tripping when scaling the roof etc.
I was watching an English dub of the movie, so I think the voices and music was a bit different, but I liked the vibe that it gave the movie.
Characters
Arrietty
Arrietty was our main character, an adventurous little girl who like many girls, liked to explore and go out into the world. She was seen by Sho, who came in peace, but the nature of her people was that they were not to be seen by or interacted with by humans.
Arrietty was very family oriented, which made sense as the Borrowers lived rather isolated lives.
Arrietty felt very bad for uprooting her family, because she interacted with Sho too much and aroused the suspicions of other dangerous humans.
By the end of the movie, I think while she understood that Sho did want to help her, it was just not a way of life for her and her family to be living "with" humans. Instead, she thanked Sho and gave him a piece of her, her adorable hairclip.
Sho
Sho was a sickly boy who moved to the country home where it was calmer and the air was clearer. He had a heart condition and would be having an operation soon.
Sho was fascinated by the little people and he wanted to help and protect them. However, through his interactions with the little people, he unwittingly aroused Haru's suspicions, which brought danger to Arrietty and her family. He did eventually help the little people escape Haru's suspicion, but it was technically sort of his arrival that prompted the upheaval of their home.
Nevertheless, I don't think the little people saw Sho as a bad person, or even the humans as bad people. I think they just naturally saw humans as "predators," in the same way that a human may not have anything against a tiger, but it would still be dangerous to live with one.
Sho said that Arrietty gave him the courage to go through with his operation, and to believe that he could make it. I think that was sincere. Even in the face of danger, Arrietty's family had the courage to gather everything and start anew.
Pod
Pod was Arrietty's dad, a stoic, stern, and cutthroat man, but still very loving. He had strict rules about borrowing and he stuck to them because it was how he survived.
When Arrietty was noticed by Sho, Pod advised Arrietty that she didn't always have to run away, that sometimes these interactions weren't all that scary. But he still stood by the fact that being noticed and Looked At by humans was dangerous, and that was why he was so intent on the family moving once the humans knew too much about them.
Pod had befriended another Borrower by the name of Spiller who eventually helped him and his family travel along the river to look for a new home.
Homily
Homily was the mother of the family. A very sweet lady who was very prone to excitement and fear. Pod was very aware of his wife's excitability and that's why he had Arrietty hide the fact that they'd been spotted by Sho from them.
Homily was very saddened by the prospect of having to leave the home because as we can see from the movie, they'd made it so homey and beautiful. I can see why Homily would be so reluctant to leave it.
Homily had a great big scare when she was discovered by Haru and trapped in the storeroom. Sho helped Arrietty to save her. Understandably, Homily was afraid of Sho too, but I think she sort of let it go when she saw how trustin Arrietty was of Sho.
Homily was not often the one going away to borrow, so she was tired on the trip to the river, but on their trip, we see her looking at the posters of the ocean she'd packed. I think though she was sad to leave her old home, she was also looking forward to starting a new one with her loved ones.
Spiller
Spiller was a Borrower that Pod had befriended when he sprained his leg. Spiller lived a life that was less reliant on humans. We saw that he carried a bow for hunting, and a gliding contraption as well. He probably didn't live in a "home" in the same way that Arrietty's family did, surrounded by sentimental things. But he respected Arrietty and her family's want for a home and helped them find their new one.
When Spiller saw Arrietty speaking with Sho, he was ready to attack Sho, thinking that he was going to hurt Arrietty, but he saw that Arrietty was speaking happily with him, and so he let off. So I think he too understood that not all humans were bad, but they always carried a risk.
Aunt Sadako
Aunt Sadako was Sho's maternal aunt, and the owner of the house. Though Sho had heard about little people from his mother (Sadako's sister), Sadako expanded on that for him, telling him that his grandfather had known about the little people too, and had a full scale house built as a gift for them.
At the end, I wondered if Sadako had thought the little people were just a fairy tale, but it seemed that she believed in them just as Sho did, even noticing that someone had been making tea in the little kitchen.
However, I think Sadako respected that the little people were not to be bothered, only noticed.
Haru
Haru was the housekeeper. It isn't clear what she wanted from the little people, but I think it was perhaps something like wanting to catch them and play with them like pets or things. She told the exterminators that she didn't want them killed, only trapped, so that was my guess.
She was the villain, and I think also a representation of humanity in the environmentalist theme throughout the story.
Niya
Niya was the family cat. At first, Niya was aggressive towards Arrietty, probably seeing her as a pest. It was only when Sho told Niya to be nice that Niya let off. And when Niya saw that the little people were going away, she led Sho to them so that he could say farewell one last time.
Themes
This movie had a very strong environmentalist theme. The last Studio Ghibli movie I watched was Princess Mononoke, and while that movie did also have an environmentalist theme, it was not as obvious and up-front as it was in this movie. It was particularly obvious when Sho was speaking to Arrietty about how her people were probably dying out. He said it in a way that was insensitive and hurt her feelings, but it was likely because he himself was desensitized to death, having accepted that it would happen to himself sooner or later.
This movie centered on the co-existence of species in this world. The little people relied on the humans, but they did so in a way that would not get them noticed. They would borrow things that would not be missed, like a missing pin or one single block of sugar. And that was enough for them.
They did not want to live "with" humans but they relied on their existence, if that makes sense. Sort of like how some animals eat the carrion of other predators.
As I mentioned above, the Borrowers did not want to interact with humans. This movie showed an example of why interacting with humans would be dangerous for them.
Haru wanted to remove the Borrowers from their habitat and play with them, when they were not pets to be played with but people with their own lives.
However, their interactions with Sho weren't all that great either. Though Sho came in peace, he did hold a position of power over the Borrowers that wasn't comfortable. It was a very delicate and difficult relationship that would get uncomfortable real fast.
In the same vein, this movie was trying to tell us that we coexist in this world with many other species, and that we should learn to leave them alone so that they can continue to live. Sho even mentioned that so many species had died out, and the Borrowers would be the next, if they weren't able to find a way to live. In the movie, the Borrowers even struggled to find each other, also probably because they lived so far apart. So the message is to let other species live the way they need to live, and as long as we don't encroach terribly, we can all coexist on this world.
Overall
Nice movie. I can see why it's so charming. Arrietty and her family are very charming, but apart from that, this movie also carried a very serious message.
Spoilers.
Story
This was the story of Arrietty, a little girl (seriously little). She is from a species of little people who call themselves "Borrowers" because they borrow knickknacks here and there from humans, things they wouldn't miss. She meets a human boy called Sho, but in doing so, her family must move because the fate of their people is that they must live alongside people but not together. But despite that, Arrietty and Sho can still be friends.
Production
As usual, the animation was beautiful. I think it especially came through in this movie becaues of the importance of scale. The animators had to show that Arrietty and her family were small, so not only did the human-sized items have to be drawn to scale, but the lighting on them too. There was a lot of "layering" to show that things were far away for Arrietty (though they might not have been for humans). I also absolutely loved that the liquids for the little people were a bit more globular. When yo have small quantities of water, they're more like droplets than fluids and I really appreciated that tough to show that these are indeed small people.
Of course we had the usual level of detail that we get from Studio Ghibli films, such as showing the movement of hair with the wind (with Arrietty's puffy ponytail), or droplets of water in the rain. I also liked that the movie added small imperfections to certain scenes, such as Sho and Arrietty tripping when scaling the roof etc.
I was watching an English dub of the movie, so I think the voices and music was a bit different, but I liked the vibe that it gave the movie.
Characters
Arrietty
Arrietty was our main character, an adventurous little girl who like many girls, liked to explore and go out into the world. She was seen by Sho, who came in peace, but the nature of her people was that they were not to be seen by or interacted with by humans.
Arrietty was very family oriented, which made sense as the Borrowers lived rather isolated lives.
Arrietty felt very bad for uprooting her family, because she interacted with Sho too much and aroused the suspicions of other dangerous humans.
By the end of the movie, I think while she understood that Sho did want to help her, it was just not a way of life for her and her family to be living "with" humans. Instead, she thanked Sho and gave him a piece of her, her adorable hairclip.
Sho
Sho was a sickly boy who moved to the country home where it was calmer and the air was clearer. He had a heart condition and would be having an operation soon.
Sho was fascinated by the little people and he wanted to help and protect them. However, through his interactions with the little people, he unwittingly aroused Haru's suspicions, which brought danger to Arrietty and her family. He did eventually help the little people escape Haru's suspicion, but it was technically sort of his arrival that prompted the upheaval of their home.
Nevertheless, I don't think the little people saw Sho as a bad person, or even the humans as bad people. I think they just naturally saw humans as "predators," in the same way that a human may not have anything against a tiger, but it would still be dangerous to live with one.
Sho said that Arrietty gave him the courage to go through with his operation, and to believe that he could make it. I think that was sincere. Even in the face of danger, Arrietty's family had the courage to gather everything and start anew.
Pod
Pod was Arrietty's dad, a stoic, stern, and cutthroat man, but still very loving. He had strict rules about borrowing and he stuck to them because it was how he survived.
When Arrietty was noticed by Sho, Pod advised Arrietty that she didn't always have to run away, that sometimes these interactions weren't all that scary. But he still stood by the fact that being noticed and Looked At by humans was dangerous, and that was why he was so intent on the family moving once the humans knew too much about them.
Pod had befriended another Borrower by the name of Spiller who eventually helped him and his family travel along the river to look for a new home.
Homily
Homily was the mother of the family. A very sweet lady who was very prone to excitement and fear. Pod was very aware of his wife's excitability and that's why he had Arrietty hide the fact that they'd been spotted by Sho from them.
Homily was very saddened by the prospect of having to leave the home because as we can see from the movie, they'd made it so homey and beautiful. I can see why Homily would be so reluctant to leave it.
Homily had a great big scare when she was discovered by Haru and trapped in the storeroom. Sho helped Arrietty to save her. Understandably, Homily was afraid of Sho too, but I think she sort of let it go when she saw how trustin Arrietty was of Sho.
Homily was not often the one going away to borrow, so she was tired on the trip to the river, but on their trip, we see her looking at the posters of the ocean she'd packed. I think though she was sad to leave her old home, she was also looking forward to starting a new one with her loved ones.
Spiller
Spiller was a Borrower that Pod had befriended when he sprained his leg. Spiller lived a life that was less reliant on humans. We saw that he carried a bow for hunting, and a gliding contraption as well. He probably didn't live in a "home" in the same way that Arrietty's family did, surrounded by sentimental things. But he respected Arrietty and her family's want for a home and helped them find their new one.
When Spiller saw Arrietty speaking with Sho, he was ready to attack Sho, thinking that he was going to hurt Arrietty, but he saw that Arrietty was speaking happily with him, and so he let off. So I think he too understood that not all humans were bad, but they always carried a risk.
Aunt Sadako
Aunt Sadako was Sho's maternal aunt, and the owner of the house. Though Sho had heard about little people from his mother (Sadako's sister), Sadako expanded on that for him, telling him that his grandfather had known about the little people too, and had a full scale house built as a gift for them.
At the end, I wondered if Sadako had thought the little people were just a fairy tale, but it seemed that she believed in them just as Sho did, even noticing that someone had been making tea in the little kitchen.
However, I think Sadako respected that the little people were not to be bothered, only noticed.
Haru
Haru was the housekeeper. It isn't clear what she wanted from the little people, but I think it was perhaps something like wanting to catch them and play with them like pets or things. She told the exterminators that she didn't want them killed, only trapped, so that was my guess.
She was the villain, and I think also a representation of humanity in the environmentalist theme throughout the story.
Niya
Niya was the family cat. At first, Niya was aggressive towards Arrietty, probably seeing her as a pest. It was only when Sho told Niya to be nice that Niya let off. And when Niya saw that the little people were going away, she led Sho to them so that he could say farewell one last time.
Themes
This movie had a very strong environmentalist theme. The last Studio Ghibli movie I watched was Princess Mononoke, and while that movie did also have an environmentalist theme, it was not as obvious and up-front as it was in this movie. It was particularly obvious when Sho was speaking to Arrietty about how her people were probably dying out. He said it in a way that was insensitive and hurt her feelings, but it was likely because he himself was desensitized to death, having accepted that it would happen to himself sooner or later.
This movie centered on the co-existence of species in this world. The little people relied on the humans, but they did so in a way that would not get them noticed. They would borrow things that would not be missed, like a missing pin or one single block of sugar. And that was enough for them.
They did not want to live "with" humans but they relied on their existence, if that makes sense. Sort of like how some animals eat the carrion of other predators.
As I mentioned above, the Borrowers did not want to interact with humans. This movie showed an example of why interacting with humans would be dangerous for them.
Haru wanted to remove the Borrowers from their habitat and play with them, when they were not pets to be played with but people with their own lives.
However, their interactions with Sho weren't all that great either. Though Sho came in peace, he did hold a position of power over the Borrowers that wasn't comfortable. It was a very delicate and difficult relationship that would get uncomfortable real fast.
In the same vein, this movie was trying to tell us that we coexist in this world with many other species, and that we should learn to leave them alone so that they can continue to live. Sho even mentioned that so many species had died out, and the Borrowers would be the next, if they weren't able to find a way to live. In the movie, the Borrowers even struggled to find each other, also probably because they lived so far apart. So the message is to let other species live the way they need to live, and as long as we don't encroach terribly, we can all coexist on this world.
Overall
Nice movie. I can see why it's so charming. Arrietty and her family are very charming, but apart from that, this movie also carried a very serious message.