I'M NOT CRAZY!!

Finally! The next Studio Ghibli film has been released to America in theaters! I just went to see it today with my friends from the Anime and Manga club and all of us enjoyed it.

The Secret World of Arrietty is based on a novel series by Mary Norton called The Borrowers. In these novels, it follows the adventures of a group of small people about 10 cm tall who live in the floorboards of a human household. They survive off of going in the house at night and taking small items like sugar cubes and cookies so they can eat. Y'know, things humans won't miss if they're gone. Borrowers aren't meant to be seen by "human beans" as it sparks their curiosity negatively.

We begin with a 12-year-old boy named Sho (Shawn in English dub) who goes to live in the house his mother grew up in while he awaits for a heart operation. He's been told stories of Borrowers who have been believed to be seen by his grandparents much to the extent where they built a dollhouse just for the Borrowers with working lights and a stove.

Meanwhile, 14-year-old Arrietty lives in the floors of this house with her father and mother, Pod and Homily. She gets to experience her first borrowing with her father, but it turns for what seems to be the worse when Sho sees them. Arrietty's parents are sent into a panic and suggest moving out, yet Sho doesn't want to hurt them. Sho and Arrietty become the most unlikely pair of friends even as Sho's caretaker Haru (Hara in English) becomes suspicious of Sho's actions and the stories of the Borrowers.

When we went to the theater, I saw a lot of families with their kids so this is a very kid friendly movie. Yet if you enjoy Miyazaki's masterpieces, add this to your "must watch" list. The characters are funny and amazing while the artwork is breathtakingly beautiful. Everything's drawn to scale from a Borrower's point of view down to the details of the insects; it is just amazing! The friendship of Sho and Arrietty and how it develops really touches you and teaches that no friendship is ever too small and I really appreciate that a movie like this is being released in theaters because it's not everyday you get an animated (anime so no one goes Nazi on me) film these days. Another masterpiece by the great Hayao Miyazaki himself.

Definitely a movie you have to see if you're not doing anything this weekend or to purchase as a DVD if you wish to see it in its original Japanese format.