Movie Review: The Secret World of Arrietty

A Movie Review By Joseph Hagen

BIG subject matters come to life in (physically) small characters in The Secret World of Arrietty from Japanese animation Studio Ghibli. Death, life, family and the quest to find purpose in life are a few of the issues wonderfully dealt with by Ghibli.

A visually stunning classically-animated film, The Secret World of Arrietty is absolutely charming from the first moment to the last. It’s lead character, Arrietty, is a four-inch-tall person who lives anonymously with her Mother and Father in another (full sized) family’s residence, surviving by “borrowing” items that will not be missed for their home. Strong, smart, pretty and determined with a longing for adventure, Arrietty is one of those incredibly likable characters that you cannot help but to fall in love.

In this film, there is no need for stupid talking animals, silly and irrelevant time-filling musical numbers and supposedly witty jokes specifically geared at “the parents.” The Secret World of Arrietty is a throwback film proving that quality film making with heart and THOUGHT is more than enough to entertain an audience of all ages. The animated versions of voice actors Bridgit Mendler, Amy Poehler and Will Arnett do not LOOK like Mendler, Poehler and Arnett. They look the way that the story requires them to look, not for the way marketing people want them to look to sell tickets.

Apart from some the occasional bizarre and silly music, a short lag in the middle and one scene with some clunky dialog regarding life and death, The Secret World of Arrietty should entertain audiences of all audiences.