Caution: This Might Contain Spoilers!
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This latest release from Studio Ghibli, is based off the novel The Borrowers by Mary Norton. This film follows Arrietty, a Borrower who lives with her parents, Homily and Pod, in a manor. They are left believing to be the only Borrowers left, and face a new challenge as a new 'bean' (human being) enteres the house. Arrietty accidentally meets the new 'bean', Shawn. This quickly leads her family into an unexpected adventure. This film was directed by Hiromasa Yonebayashi, who is a popular animator for Studio Ghibli. This his first real credited directoral debut in this field. His previous time was spent being an animator under the instruction of Hayao Miyazaki. It is a retelling of the novel by Norton, but I can't say how faithful it is to the novel. Now, this film has actually been around since 2010. It was first released in Japan, and was adapted for American/British audience's shortly after its release. (Not kidding, the billing list two different cast for America and Britain. Do we really have to variations of english?) This film isn't as good as their previous best films, but is better than the last film to be released. This film has the familiar artistic talents that come from Studio Ghibli. This film really transported audience's from the average world into Arrietty's. This film used sound and animation manipulation to achieve a slight 3D effect. Now, this is an Japanese animation style mixed with American cartoon animation. Since its mixed Japanese and American, the story itself is also mixed. It has those quick moments of the characters being here then there. It also gets moderately preachy as most Japanese animation does. It's also intended to be a film for children, and not so much for adults. The deepest moments of the story are kept light, but it also gives the film its heart. This also plays with the idea of the end, and change. I enjoyed the stories slow pace, because it allowed for character development and story development.
This film has a surprising American cast of voice actors. I was greatly surprised finding out who lent their voices, because of the talent in this film. Saoirse Ronan performed the voice of Arrietty. She was great voicing this character giving her heart and a child like feel. Now, for the surprises. Will Arnett voice the character Pod, and Amy Poehler voice the character Homily. Both are well comedians with extreme personalities. In this film they pulled back those personalities to create two unique characters. David Henrie did the voice for Shawn. This pulls him out of television and places him in front of film audiences. In these films it is common to see the familiar two older woman in various roles, but with the same personalities. Carol Burnett voice Hara, and Gracie Poletti voiced Aunt Jessica. They were great creating the two unique characters. I give this film 5 out of 5 stars! It is a great animated film that comes from Studio Ghibli. It has a surprising cast of voice actors (American version) that helped give the film heart. It is definitely a great film for children.
Answer to last blog: Actor Chris Pine, from This Means War, also starred in the film Just My Luck.
Que: What other film was released by Ghibli Studio's?
Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas
The Reluctant Dragon
Kiki's Delivery Service
The Road to El Dorado
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