Arrietty
On the 16th of December 2009, Studio Ghibli announced the film Karigurashi no Arrietty for release in 2010. This announcement marked the feature directorial debut of animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi. He had previously worked on Howl's Moving Castle and Spirited Away before taking this new role. Hayao Miyazaki served as the production planner to supervise the project. Founders Isao Takahata and Miyazaki had considered adapting Mary Norton's novel for forty years prior to this decision. The screenplay was written by both Miyazaki and Keiko Niwa based on the 1952 book The Borrowers. Voice actors were approached starting in April 2010 to begin recording sessions. The film was animated by Studio Ghibli for several partners including Nippon Television Network and Dentsu.
Actress Mirai Shida provided the Japanese voice for Arrietty in April 2010. This role marked her first voice acting performance ever. Ryunosuke Kamiki voiced the human boy Sho and had previously appeared in other Ghibli films like Ponyo. Tomokazu Miura and Shinobu Otake played Arrietty's parents Pod and Homily respectively. For the United Kingdom release, Saoirse Ronan voiced Arrietty while Tom Holland played Sho. This British dub represented the cinematic debut of actor Tom Holland. Bridgit Mendler took over the role of Arrietty for the North American version released in February 2012. Will Arnett and Amy Poehler joined the American cast as supporting characters. David Henrie voiced a character named Shawn in the US adaptation. Carol Burnett and Geraldine McEwan also contributed voices to the English language versions.
French musician Cécile Corbel composed the score for the film after sending a promo album to Studio Ghibli. Producer Toshio Suzuki received the envelope with a handwritten note which caught his attention immediately. He listened to the album and was captivated by both her voice and the sound of her harp. Less than ten days later she received an email from the studio assigning her to write the title song. By 2009 she was asked to compose the entire musical score for the project. The recording combined Celtic folk music with medieval Turkish songs and Irish marches. A small orchestra recorded the tracks in France using bagpipes and bodhrán instruments. The soundtrack won Best Original Soundtrack Album at the 2011 Japan Gold Disc Awards. More than 200,000 copies of the album were sold in Japan alone. The main theme song appeared on iTunes starting the 19th of December 2009 before the official release date.
A boy named Sho spends a summer week at his mother's house with his great-aunt Sadako. He sees Arrietty hiding among plants when she attempts to borrow sugar from the kitchen. Her father Pod warns her that their existence must remain secret from humans. Sho places a sugar cube beside an air vent after seeing her drop it during a startled moment. Arrietty sneaks into his bedroom to leave a note without showing herself to him. A crow attacks Arrietty but Sho saves her from the bird's claws. Haru the housemaid discovers the Borrowers' hidden home and captures Homily. Sho locks himself in his room while Haru calls pest control officers to capture the others. Arrietty returns to Sho for help and they rescue Homily together. They remove all traces of the Borrowers' presence including putting the kitchen back inside the dollhouse. The Borrowers leave in a floating teapot with Spiller searching for a new home. Sho gives Arrietty a sugar cube as a final gift before they part ways forever.
Scholarly analysis emphasizes the film's focus on scale and spatial relationships between worlds. A study by Zeynep Fatma Niğdeli and Merve Karaoğlu Can identified human scale as the dominant theme throughout the narrative. Everyday objects like sewing materials and kitchen utensils accentuate the contrast in size between characters. Insects and the cat Niya mark the dangers faced by the Borrowers in their environment. Cultural studies scholar Robert Hyland situates the film within debates about globalization and cultural hybridity. Elements such as Aunt Sadako's Western-style kitchen evoke European consumer culture values. The housekeeper Haru refers to the Borrowers as kobito using Shinto folkloric terms absent from Norton's text. Visually Yonebayashi employs Impressionist-inspired techniques alongside hyperrealist detail in close-ups of plants. This blending creates tensions between local identity and global exchange within the story. The needle borrowed by Arrietty serves as both a tool and a defensive weapon against threats.
Arrietty earned 19 million dollars in North America and over 126 million dollars elsewhere for a worldwide total of 145 million dollars. It became the highest-grossing Japanese film at the box office for the year 2010. More than one million people attended screenings during its opening weekend in Japan. Distributor Toho announced that the film grossed approximately 3.5 billion yen by early August 2010. Over 3.7 million viewers watched the film before the end of summer. In France more than 100,000 people saw the movie during its debut week alone. The North American release opened on 1,522 screens which was a record for Studio Ghibli films. It earned 8.68 million dollars during the four-day President's Day weekend in the United States. Ticket sales totaled almost 740,000 in France between January and March 2011. South Korea and Hong Kong contributed significant earnings outside of Japan and North America regions.
The film holds an approval rating of 94 percent based on 150 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics consensus described it as visually lush with soulful depth and free of family-friendly clatter. Christoph Mark of The Daily Yomiuri called it likely a perennial favorite among children. He praised effects where drops of water loom large and drip like syrup through speakers. Mark Schilling of The Japan Times gave the film four out of five stars saying it speaks to imagination. Steve Rose of The Guardian described it as soul food of the animation world despite lacking epic scale. Deborah Young of The Hollywood Reporter said the relationship touches heartstrings with gentle yearning. David Gritten of The Telegraph stated that animation does not get better than Arrietty. Zac Bertschy of Anime News Network gave the North American version an overall grade of B. The film won Animation of the Year at the 34th Japan Academy Prize ceremony. It also received Best Animated Feature awards from multiple organizations including Chicago Film Critics Association.
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Common questions
When was the film Arrietty announced for release?
Studio Ghibli announced the film Karigurashi no Arrietty on the 16th of December 2009. The announcement marked the feature directorial debut of animator Hiromasa Yonebayashi.
Who voiced Arrietty in the North American version released in February 2012?
Bridgit Mendler took over the role of Arrietty for the North American version released in February 2012. Will Arnett and Amy Poehler joined the American cast as supporting characters while David Henrie voiced a character named Shawn.
How did Cécile Corbel get assigned to compose the score for Arrietty?
French musician Cécile Corbel sent a promo album to Studio Ghibli which producer Toshio Suzuki received with a handwritten note. Less than ten days later she received an email from the studio assigning her to write the title song before being asked to compose the entire musical score by 2009.
What is the plot summary of the story involving Sho and Arrietty?
A boy named Sho spends a summer week at his mother's house where he sees Arrietty hiding among plants when she attempts to borrow sugar from the kitchen. They rescue Homily together after Haru captures her and eventually remove all traces of the Borrowers' presence before they leave in a floating teapot.
How much money did Arrietty earn worldwide during its theatrical run?
Arrietty earned 145 million dollars worldwide including 19 million dollars in North America and over 126 million dollars elsewhere. It became the highest-grossing Japanese film at the box office for the year 2010.