Review of The Secret World of Arrietty

Watched the English dub. Story: 7/10 The story is about as simplistic as it needs to be, and it even subverted my expectations. Judging by the American poster, I thought Shou, the boy, would be the main character, but I was pleasantly surprised. I don't know why the title having Arrietty's name in it didn't tip me off, but that's in the past. Art: 9/10 What should I say, but that it's a Studio Ghibli film. The animation style is the same as all those years ago, and yet they've made wonderful improvements to make it even more beautiful (especially with lighting).Sound: 8/10

I have yet to listen to the soundtrack, but from what I could gather from the music I heard while watching, it's very nice. Melodic, and fits well with the sort of curious tone of the movie.

Character: 7/10

As soon as I saw and heard Arrietty, she became my favourite of the characters right away. Her family have nice, distinct personalities that both clash and mesh well. The character I was most disappointed with was that of Shou. He seemed a bit too quick to accepty the existance of little people, and he kind of felt flat. His condition adds a little more to him, but not much, sadly.

Enjoyment: 8/10

I would have liked this a lot as a kid, and the kid in me today was enticed by the premise of a kid discovering the existence of little people in his mother's old house. It delivered a surprisingly laid back, low stakes story, and even though it's not what I expected, maybe that's what it needed.

Overall: 8/10

It's a very cozy story with excellent animation, and I definitely would have liked to see this movie as a kid, because it brings with it a sense of wonder of an unknown world.