Review of The Secret World of Arrietty

Arriety was a delightful film with cute characters, incredible attention to detail, and an amazing amount of creativity. The world of a tiny family getting by through the stealing of minuscule items was absolutely fascinating, with even the most useless items in our lives being of utmost importance to the Borrowers' lives. It was a very pretty movie with realistic character motivations and beautiful art pieces. Story: 7/10. The story is the movie's weakest point, and that's saying a lot as the story was pretty good. The stakes were small just like the characters, with the climax of the film involving the rescue and escape ofthe tiny family. Plot points were added with purpose and the melancholic ending made sense.

Art: 9/10. The attention to detail in this movie was incredible. One thing of note that I pointed out to my partner while watching was the depiction of surface tension in the liquids the small family used in their everyday lives. The pouring of tea involved coaxing a couple of drops of liquid into a small cup - at that size water wouldn't pour as it does at our size, and the reflection of that was just one small part of all the different ways the studio showed the size differences gracefully. The scenery was gorgeous and the animation was top tier as always.

Sound: 8/10. The music in this movie was delightful, and the sound design and voice acting were really good as well. I can't say any songs stuck in my head as it's been a few days since my viewing, but I definitely enjoyed the more understated soundtrack. Ghibli almost never disappoints in this field, and this movie is no different.

Character: 8/10. The few characters in this movie were very charming (aside from the despicable villain of the movie, of course). Their actions made sense and nothing felt out of character. Arriety wants to explore the humans' world, while her family is skittish and wants to survive in a world where their species is dying out. The boy is fascinated by the little people and wants to help since he's struggling in his own way, and even the housekeeper has motivations, although hers are much less pure. The designs of the characters are lovely, though the boy's design is fairly typical and bland.

Overall: 8/10. A very lovely movie that I would watch again. The charm, attention to detail, and gorgeous detailing of the world of the Borrowers definitely warrant a watch. I would recommend this movie to anyone who wants to relax and enjoy a lovely movie filled with gorgeous detail and very little stakes to get invested in. Just be careful if you're scared of bugs!