You may also know this movie as "Kari-gurashi no Arietti."
In this film adaption of the story "The Borrowers" Studio Ghibli brings to life Arrietty a young adventurous girl curiously pushing the limits her family has set to keep their existence hidden.
During the film I was amazed with the amount of detail gone into the design, bringing to life the characters and their environment. The setting of the film brings forth feelings of comfort and warmth, as it takes you to a place where the cottage is surrounded by an over grown garden of flowers and creeks. The animation itself evokes feelings of adventure and suspense as Arrietty explores the house in order to provide food for her family.
I cherish the work Miyazaki produces as he always keeps the art and animation traditional, amazing us with the skills and talent of true art. I'm happy that he has chosen to stay with the feel of traditional hand drawn 2D animation, instead of the common 3D CG animated movies. I find the traditional style is easier to relate to, and makes it feel real. It's similar to reading a book and imagining the story yourself.
Although the story is nothing compared to say 'Howl's Moving Castle', I recommend watching it even if its just for the animation and artwork. I must also recommend watching it in Japanese with subtitles (unless you can understand Japanese of course), to get the true feeling of the film.
