"The Secret World of Arrietty" Review: A great adventure and emotion in a small world

"The Secret World of Arrietty": Studio Ghibli's new appeal and worldview

■Overview of the work

The Secret World of Arrietty is an animated film produced by Studio Ghibli and released on July 17, 2010. It is based on the fantasy novel The Borrowers by Mary Norton, directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, and written by Hayao Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa. It was distributed by Toho, has an Eirin rating of 118674, and a total running time of 94 minutes. The film also attracted attention as the directorial debut of Hiromasa Yonebayashi, a new talent at Studio Ghibli.

■ Story

In a certain suburb, there was a vast old mansion with a ruined garden. Under the floorboards, Arrietty, a little girl who was about to turn 14, lived quietly with her father Pod and mother Homily. Without being noticed by the two old ladies who lived above the floorboards of the mansion, the mistress Sadako and her maid Haru, Arrietty's family lived by "borrowing" soap, cookies, sugar, electricity, gas, and other things necessary for their daily lives little by little.

One summer day, a 12-year-old boy named Sho comes to the mansion to recuperate. He must not be seen by humans. If he is seen, he must move out. This is the rule of the dwarves under the floorboards, but Arrietty is seen by Sho. "You're putting your family in danger," Arrietty rebels at her father. "I don't think all humans are that dangerous," she replies. With the help of her natural curiosity and reckless nature, Arrietty gradually grows closer to Sho. A major incident is looming over Arrietty's family. Which is the more extinct race, humans or dwarves? This is the question that this story asks.

■Explanation

Miyazaki Hayao had conceived of a project inspired by Mary Norton's fantasy novel The Borrowers about 40 years ago, but in 2008, he decided to revisit the project and turn it into a film. This was the directorial debut of Yonebayashi Hiromasa, and it was a work that saw the new talent of Studio Ghibli blossom. The story is based on the theme of the coexistence of humans and dwarves, but is set against the backdrop of problems in human society and environmental issues. Featuring beautiful visuals and delicate storytelling, it has gained support not only from Ghibli fans, but from a wide range of people as well.

■Cast

・Arrietty: Mirai Shida ・Sho: Ryunosuke Kamiki ・Homily: Shinobu Otake ・Sadako: Keiko Takeshita ・Spiller: Tatsuya Fujiwara ・Pod: Tomokazu Miura ・Haru: Kirin Kiki

■ Main staff

・Planning, scriptwriting: Hayao Miyazaki ・Producer: Toshio Suzuki ・Director: Hiromasa Yonebayashi ・Original story: Mary Norton "The Little People Under the Floor" Translated by Yoichi Hayashi ・Iwanami Children's Library Published and produced by Walt DeFaria. Screenplay by Keiko Niwa. Produced by Koji Hoshino. Music by Cécile Corbel. Animation Directors: Ai Kagawa, Akihiko Yamashita. Assistant Animation Directors: Katsutoshi Nakamura, Kazuyoshi Onoda, Masashi Yokota, Shunsuke Hirota, Atsushi Yamagata. Key Animation: Atsuko Tanaka, Kenichi Yamada, Hideaki Yoshio, Eiji Yamamori, Mariko Matsuo, Takeshi Inamura, Katsugo Furuya, Makiko Suzuki, Atsushi Tamura, Minoru Ohashi, Masako Sato, Fumie Konno, Shinichiro Yamada, Moyo Takahashi, Tomoko Miura, Asami Ishizumi, Makiko Niki, Shinji Otsuka, Hideki Hamasu, Katsuya Kondo, Miwa Sasaki, Yuko Azuma, Shigeo Akahori, Kiyotaka Oshiyama, Reiko Nozaki, Reiko Ueishi. Emi, Nakatake Manabu, Usami Koichi, Kawaguchi Takashi, Nishino Rie, Muroi Yasuo, Shimura Emiko, Ebata Ryoma, Nagura Satoshi, Kubo Masahiko, Masuyama Ryoji, Fujiwara Hiroki, Kato Keiko, Sato Yoshiharu・Video inspection: Fujii Kaori・Video inspection assistant: Suzuki Mariko・Video: Tateno Hitomi, Teshima Akiko, Omura Mayumi, Nakagome Rie, Saito Masaya, Alexandra Waerlauf, Higaki Megumi, Akita Masako, Atsuta Yukinaga, Arai Yojiro, Ando Masayo, Osaki Yui, Ota Emi, Okuda Akiyo, Ogura Yasumi, Kawahara Naoko, Koyasu Misa, Shima Sachiko, Sugiura Fumiaki, Takehana Kengo, Tamura Emi, Nagasawa Shoko, Nishida Tomoko, Noguchi Yoshie, Fujisawa Shi Ori, Y., Matsuura, A., Matsumura, A., Yagi, K., Wada, N., Matsumura, M., Nakano, Y., Huang, S., Oikawa, S., Azuma, S., Nishito, S., Makita, K., Toki, Y., Tomizawa, K., Yachi, H., Fujimori, M., Mano, S., Murata, M., Fukui, T., Tozu, Y., Kai, T., Ueda, K., Terada, M., Sakuramoto, A., Miyata, T., Matsushita, A., Nakano, E., Kari, Y., Tanida, K., Yamaura, Y., Nakazato, M., Kaneko, Y., Nakanishi, M., Koyama, M., Fukui, R., Otani, A., Eyama, R., Nishikawa, H., Terada, K., Ito, K., Tanabe, S., Iwakami, Y., Nishio, Y., Hatakeyama, S., and Kikuchi, K. Tomoe, Yasunatsumi, Mitsuhashi Taeko, Narita Takashi, Ohara Makoto, Matsumoto Megumi, Okita Hirofumi, Ishii Kunitoshi, Mitani Nobuyuki, Kojima Tomoyuki, Okoshi Takeshi, Mochizuki Yoriko, Arima Hiromi, Tokuda Daiki, Matsunaga Emi, Nonoshita Iori, Kurihara Miki, Futamatsu Mari, Oguchi Akane, Takino Mami, Kato Miho, Yamagishi Mai, Nakamura Yumiko, Azuma Ryota ・Illustration cooperation: Anime Toro Toro, Studio Takuranke, Nakamura Production, Studio Cockpit, Doga Kobo, Nippon Animation, Tatsunoko Production, Gainax, Gonzo, Asahi Production, Ozawa Design Works, Bones, STUDIO 4℃, Madhouse, Asiado Art Director: Takeshige Yoji, Yoshida Noboru Background: Tanaka Naoya, Kasugai Naomi, Ina Ryoko, Hirahara Sayaka, Fukudome Yoshikazu, Nakazato Masako, Yano Kikuyo, Omori Takashi, Takamatsu Yohei, Yoshino Mitsuo, Nishikawa Yoichi, Sato Shiho, Nakamura Satoko, Muta Izumi, Ishii Yumi, Nitta Yuka, Oga Kazuo, Ogura Hiromasa, Yoshioka Seiko, Watanabe Yoichi, Misato Iwata, Harmony: Noriko Takaya, Background cooperation: Ogura Studio, Artistic Planet, Color design: Naomi Mori, Color design assistants: Kazuko Karube, Yukie Tamura, Eiko Matsushima, Finishing inspection: Hiromi Takahashi, Hiroaki Ishii, Finishing: Junya Saito, Yuuki Kashima, Takeshi Nakamura, Yuko Watanabe, Yuki Komatsu, Kanako Takayanagi, Rie Kojo, T2 Studio (Kumi Nanjo, Akiko Shimizu, Natsumi Watanabe, Kasumi Wada, Yoshimi Shibata, Natsuko Ihara, Yukiko Kakita, Fumie Kawamata)
・Video production: Atsushi Okui ・Cinematography: Junji Yabuta, Atsushi Tamura, Hidenori Shibahara ・CG: Norihiko Miyoshi, Miki Umezawa, Yoichi Izutsui ・Special effects: Keiko Itokawa ・Programming: Masashi Inoue, Shun Iwasawa ・Cinematography cooperation: ASSE FINO Fabric (Atsuko Okui, Kanae Ouchi, Yoshiyuki Anzai, Tsubasa Takagi)
・Sound direction, sound editing: Hiroshi Kasamatsu ・Dubbing direction: Eriko Kimura ・Sound recording: Hajime Takagi ・Foley: Mika Yamaguchi ・Effects assistant: Yoshiki Matsunaga ・Effects recording: Digital Circus ・Dubbing studio: Tokyo Television Center, Shuji Suzuki ・Optical recording: NT audio
・Dolby Film Consultant: Tsutomu Kawahigashi, Mikio Mori ・dts Mastering: Koichi Udagawa, Atsushi Aikawa ・Casting Cooperation: Takashi Hayashi, Takuro Okada ・Sound Production Cooperation: dts Japan, Continental Far East, Tohokushinsha, Medialta Entertainment Works ・Music Production: Simon Caby ・Performance: Eric Zolgnotti, Gilles Donge, Luca Beneque, Laurent Muller, Cyril Bonneau, Régis Huybant, Jean-Bernard Mondrony, Cyril Morin, Pascal Boucaud ・Title: Marine Post ・Editing: Rie Matsuhara, Hiromi Sasaki, Keiko Kadokawa, Takeshi Seyama ・Production Manager: Hiroyuki Watanabe ・Production Desk: Tamaki Furushiro, Yoshikawa Toshio・Production Assistants: Yumiko Miyoshi, Tayu Sakamoto・Production Administration: Satomi Sasaki, Mion Shibuya・Production Management: Yuichiro Mochizuki, Gohei Ito・Assistant Director: Kenji Imura, Shintaro Nakazawa・Production Operations Manager: Shinsuke Nonaka・Production Operations: Shokichi Arai, Toshiyuki Kawabata, Daisuke Nishikata, Nozomi Ito, Toru Shinagawa, Minako Nagasawa・Music Copyright: Takashi Nagai・Producer's Office: Nobuko Shiraki, Chieko Tamura, Hiroyuki Ichikawa・Assistant Producer: Yoko Ihira・Public Relations: Junichi Nishioka, Setsuko Kurihara, Yumiko Nishimura , Akiko Komi, Chihiro Tsukue, Kazumi Kobayashi・Character product development: Tomoki Imai, Koichi Asano, Mika Yasuda, Naomi Atsuta・Publication: Ino Tain, Mutsumi Saito, Satoko Kitazawa, Kyoko Hirabayashi, Yuri Morita, Yuzuru Sato, Masumi Takakura・Events: Makoto Hashida, Chiyoshi Tanaka, Hiroshi Miyoshi, Ryoko Tsutsui, Kenzo Ochiai, Takayuki Aoki, Ayano Fujiwara・Administration: Miyuki Shimamiya・Administration: Hisayo Ito, Tamami Yamamoto, Hiroyuki Saito, Yukiko Miyasaka, Natsuki Ebisawa, Misa Kokubo, Miyuki Saito, Saori Uchida, Ryuhei Yamazaki, Norifumi Watanabe, Sueko Numazawa, Masako Fujita, Kiyoko Tsuge, Shunichi Iwasaki, Tsuneo Sawai・Financial Accounting: Noriyoshi Tamagawa・Financial Accounting: Takayasu Ito, Akio Ichimura, Hisanori Ugi, Junko Ito・System Management: Noriyuki Kitagawauchi, Yugo Hayashi, Shoji Makihara・Corporate Planning: Kazumi Inagi・Overseas Promotion: Steven Albert, Mikiko Takeda, Nao Amizaki, Evan Ma, Yasuaki Fujita, Noriko Tsuji, Satoko Takano・Auditor: Hirotaka Nakao・Cooperation: Ten Ki, M., Iijima, N., Isomae, F., Ohtake, K., Okada, T., Kasai, H., Kase, M., Kawase, D., Goto, S., Komatsu, S., Sata, M., Sato, T., Sato, T., Sato, J., Sato, Y., Sawanobori, M., Suzuki, Y., Sekine, S., Takasugi, S., Takano, S., Takahashi, K., Takahashi, R., Takeuchi, S., Tanaka, H., Tanaka, H., Tsuchitani, D., Tominaga, R., Nakano, Y., Hattori, J., Hayami, N., Hiraoka, E., Hirose, H., Fukuda, K., Beppu, A., Hoshi, T., Hosoda, N., Miyashita, H., Naoya Moriya, Masaki Morita, Maiko Yawata, Takeshi Yoshikawa, Kenichi Yoda, Hirohiko Yoda, Isao Washizu, Fumino Watanabe ・Special sponsors: MS&AD Holdings, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, Aioi Insurance, Nissay Dowa Insurance ・Special cooperation: Lawson, Yomiuri Shimbun ・Advertising producers: Miwako Ueda, Nobutaka Nishida, Toho Ad (Masaru Yabe, Anna Hatakeyama, Rieko Matsuki, Yuta Mizuki, Yukio Shinohara, Yukari Nishikawa, Atsuko Kinoshita, Michiyo Koyanagi), Mieko Hara, Hiroshi Yajima, Hiroyuki Orihara, Aya Maruyama, Hajime Murata, Aki Tsutakawa ・Trailer production: Keiichi Itagaki ・"The Secret World of Arrietty" Production Committee: Nippon Television Network Corporation (Saichiro Ujiie, Tomomasa Hosokawa, Hiroshi Miyazaki, Masasaku Oyama, Naoki Suganuma, Shinichiro Maeda, Kyohei Oyama, Naoto Hatakeyama, Mayumi Hirakata), Dentsu (Takashi Takashima, Yasushi Matsushita, Yoshio Takada, Atsushi Terada, Hiroshi Hattori, Toichiro Shiraishi, Arihito Namikawa), Hakuhodo DY Media Partners (Takashi Sato, Hisao Omori, Akio Kobayashi, Hiroshi Ozaki, Takuo Minegishi, Lynn Yamamoto) Iku, Madoka Hosoya, Rei Hayashi), Walt Disney Japan (Paul Candland, Takayuki Tsukagoshi, Maiko Hirano, Koji Kishimoto, Yuko Muranaka, Yukiro Yamashita), D-Rights (Daizo Suzuki, Toru Itabashi, Toru Takasaki, Kino Arai, Asako Hio), Toho (Hideyuki Takai, Satoshi Senda, Yoshinari Shimatani, Shigeto Arai, Minami Ichikawa, Shinpei Ise, Akihiro Yamauchi, Hikaru Onoda), The Wild Bunch (Brahim Sioua, Vincent Griment, Vincent Malaval)
・Production: Seiji Okuda, Ryoichi Fukuyama, Naoya Fujimaki ・Film & Digital Lab: IMAGICA
Timing: Hiroaki Hirabayashi, Yoshihiro Ueno Color Management: Wataru Matsumoto, Toshiki Yura Film Recording: Rei Kumakura Digital Cinema Mastering: Ken Okada Lab Coordinator: Yuriko Sato Lab Manager: Kazunori Nagasawa, Osamu Kuga Production: Studio Ghibli

■ Main Characters

Arrietty is a dwarf girl who lives with her father and mother under the floorboards of an old mansion. She is cheerful, energetic, and reckless.
A young boy from the Skytree. He comes to recuperate from an illness and finds Arrietty in the old mansion where his mother grew up.
Homily: Arrietty's mother. A slightly anxious mother who manages the household chores.
Sadako: Sho's grandmother's younger sister. The owner of the old mansion. She is gentle, but has a lot to say about Sho's mother.
Spiller: A dwarf boy who carries a bow and lives alone in the wild.
Pod Arrietty's father. He goes to the houses of humans who live on the floors to borrow things he needs in order to live.
- The maid at Haru Sadako's house. A curious old lady who has been living and working there for decades.

■ Theme songs and music

・TM1
・Arrietty's Song
Lyrics: Cécile Corbel Japanese translation: Yoko Ihei Music: Simon Cavey, Cécile Corbel Singer: Cécile Corbel

■ Evaluation and impressions

"The Secret World of Arrietty" was highly anticipated by many fans as it was the directorial debut of Studio Ghibli's new talent Hiromasa Yonebayashi. The story is based on the theme of the coexistence of humans and little people, but is set against the backdrop of social and environmental issues. Featuring beautiful images and delicate storytelling, it has gained support not only from Ghibli fans but also from a wide range of people.

The character of Arrietty is charming with her cheerful, energetic and reckless personality, which leaves a strong impression on the audience. Through her growth and interactions with humans, the film depicts the difficulty and importance of coexistence. The character of Sho is also portrayed as a boy recovering from an illness, and the world of the dwarves seen from his perspective feels realistic.

The music is also an important element that enhances the appeal of the work. Cécile Corbel's beautiful singing voice and Simon Cavey's composition add depth to the story. In particular, "Arrietty's Song" is loved by many fans for its beautiful melody that reflects Arrietty's feelings.

■ Recommendation points

"The Secret World of Arrietty" was highly anticipated by many fans as it was the directorial debut of Studio Ghibli's new talent Hiromasa Yonebayashi. The story is based on the theme of the coexistence of humans and little people, but is set against the backdrop of social and environmental issues. Featuring beautiful images and delicate storytelling, it has gained support not only from Ghibli fans but also from a wide range of people.

The character of Arrietty is charming with her cheerful, energetic and reckless personality, which leaves a strong impression on the audience. Through her growth and interactions with humans, the film depicts the difficulty and importance of coexistence. The character of Sho is also portrayed as a boy recovering from an illness, and the world of the dwarves seen from his perspective feels realistic.

The music is also an important element that enhances the appeal of the work. Cécile Corbel's beautiful singing voice and Simon Cavey's composition add depth to the story. In particular, "Arrietty's Song" is loved by many fans for its beautiful melody that reflects Arrietty's feelings.

■ Related works

Other works by Studio Ghibli include "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Spirited Away." These works are also loved by many fans for their beautiful images and deep stories. In addition, the original novel "The Borrowers" by Mary Norton is also supported by many readers as a fantasy novel.

Conclusion

"The Secret World of Arrietty" was highly anticipated by many fans as the first directorial work by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, a new talent at Studio Ghibli. The story is based on the theme of coexistence between humans and dwarfs, but is set against the backdrop of problems in human society and environmental issues. Featuring beautiful images and delicate storytelling, it has won support from a wide range of people, not just Ghibli fans. The character of Arrietty is charming with her cheerful, energetic, and reckless personality, which makes a strong impression on the audience. Through her growth and interactions with humans, the film depicts the difficulty and importance of coexistence. In addition, the character of Sho is portrayed as a boy recovering from an illness, and the world of dwarfs seen from his perspective feels realistic. Music is also an important element that enhances the appeal of the work. Cécile Corbel's beautiful singing voice and Simon Caby's composition add depth to the story. In particular, "Arrietty's Song" is loved by many fans for its beautiful melody that reflects Arrietty's feelings. Other works by Studio Ghibli include "My Neighbor Totoro" and "Spirited Away." These works are also loved by many fans for their beautiful images and deep stories. In addition, the original novel "The Borrowers" by Mary Norton is also supported by many readers as a fantasy novel.