Kari-gurashi no Arietti [The Secret World of Arrietty] (Hiromasa Yonebayashi; 2010)

If you’re one of those people who avoid Studio Ghibli films not directed by their famous co-founder, Hayao Miyazaki, you’ve missed out on some of their best films (Grave of the Fireflies, Whisper of the Heart, Only Yesterday). Their 2010 effort, finally reaching North American theaters this past weekend, is The Secret World of Arrietty, scripted by Miyazaki and directed by veteran Ghibli animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi.

Like Miyazaki’s mid-period masterpieces My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service, Arrietty, based on Mary Norton’s classic children’s novel The Borrowers, is a slow paced film with little traditional conflict. Arrietty is a “borrower,” basically a miniature person who lives under the floorboards of a human family’s house and “borrows” small amounts of things they need (sugar, tissues, etc.). She lives with her parents below the floor of an older woman’s house. This woman’s ailing nephew Shaun is staying with her in the weeks leading up to an important surgery. He spots Arrietty on his first day there, which eventually forces her father to move the family out of the house. He’s seen what’s happened to other Borrowers when they’ve befriended humans, and it now seems like they’re the last of their kind.

Shaun turns out differently, though. He’s a solemn kid who has accepted his (seemingly) impending death, and he just wants to have a friend. Though there are some run-ins with a crazy housekeeper, Arrietty is mostly about this unlikely relationship and its shared silence and hope in the face of the inevitable end (in Shaun’s case, of his own life, and in Arrietty’s, her entire race).

The animation, as expected, is gorgeous. Yonebayashi provides many quietly inventive set-ups, most notably a beautiful shot of Arrietty being lifted to the top of an end table. He succeeds in creating a huge world in a film which never leaves the house or its immediate surroundings.

When Disney imports Ghibli’s films, they almost always provide a solid dub which even pleases a dub-averse viewer like myself. Aside from a somewhat lame Natasha Benningfield-esque song at the end of the credits, Disney’s version of Arrietty is respectful and never distracting. Even if you hate Disney’s dubs, the joy of seeing Ghibli films in the theater is rare.

People often talk about Pixar’s “perfect track record” (or at least they did until last year’s Cars 2—hey-oh!), but Ghibli is a more reliable source of genuine cinematic excellence. They have no fear of slowness and they have no need to please. They always leave the viewer in a simple state of awe.