Review of The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) by Risky — 16 May 2012

The Secret World of Arrietty is a pretty and touching cinematic, which will leave you entertained in front of the screen for the whole runtime. Despite the fact that it's a good picture, it doesn't by far compete with the other Ghiblis.

The animation is good but not fantastic, the story is nice but not complex, and the characters are cute but not deep. I have not seen or read the original story but I really think the boy could've been more developed and combined with the theme of loss more.

Arrietty is a nice character but I think her behavior is quite unrealistic; someone adolescent like her ought to be eager to know more about the world. She seems to be amazed about the only stuff that's around her, despite her coming-of-age.

The lady taking care of the boy could've been more of an antagonist, as the movie lacks proper contrast with the goodwill of the boy. In the end The Secret World of Arrietty merely hints of what Ghibli characters, animation, artwork, wit and story can be and could've been, not what it is to this date.