This past weekend we headed to Seattle for a much-needed family day.  The first stop was to go see a pre-screening of The Secret World of Arrietty, the new movie based off of one of my favorite childhood stories, The Borrowers.  If you aren’t familiar with the story, it’s about a family of “little people” who secretly live under the floor boards of an old garden home and only come out to “borrow” what they need to survive.

If you read here frequently, you know how much I love things that are the wrong size, so tiny people living in the floorboards and repurposing everyday items into usable miniatures is just about as cool as it gets.  I will admit I wasn’t super excited when I found out that the movie was drawn in Japanese style animation, but I loved The Borrowers story so much that I couldn’t resist seeing the movie. And, surprisingly, I found I really loved the movie and enjoyed the animation throughout the film. 

Here’s a blurb about the film: Arrietty (Bridgit Mendler), a tiny, but tenacious 14-year-old, lives with her parents (Will Arnett and Amy Poehler) in the recesses of a suburban garden home, unbeknownst to the homeowner and her housekeeper (Carol Burnett). Like all little people, Arrietty (AIR-ee-ett-ee) remains hidden from view, except during occasional covert ventures beyond the floorboards to “borrow” scrap supplies like sugar cubes from her human hosts. But when 12-year-old Shawn (David Henrie), a human boy who comes to stay in the home, discovers his mysterious housemate one evening, a secret friendship blossoms. If discovered, their relationship could drive Arrietty’s family from the home and straight into danger.