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2010-07-18

Karigurashi no Arrietty (The Borrowers) - The Full Trailer



Here is the complete, two-minute trailer for Karigurashi no Arrietty.  The movie is about to be unleashed upon Japan, and I'm very hopeful that it is successful.  This looks wonderful.  It also looks confident, assured - at least the shots from the trailer suggest as much.

I think Yonebayashi may emerge as a stronger director than either Goro Miyazaki or Hiroyuki Morita.  I can't see if a unique style or vision has yet emerged, or if this will be a safe, by-the-numbers Studio Ghibli affair.  But I can see a skill in these shots, the use of sweeping panoramas and compositions.  That one shot of Arrietty riding up an elevator was especially impressive to me.  If nothing else, this demonstrates a control and confidence that that Morita and the younger Miyazaki, sadly, lacked.

Of course, a movie trailer's job is to get people to go see the movie, and clever editing can repair almost anything.  But I came away feeling very hopeful for Arrietty.  I felt that Father Miyazaki was right.  They had found their homegrown director at last.

As always, I'd expect to see this movie at the Venice Film Festival in September, with rollouts to the West sometime next year.  This does present a paradox, however.  The Borrowers is a popular work of English literature, but the Ghibli movie essentially transports it to modern Japan.  How much of a challenge would that prove for translators?  And how will the book's fans respond?  And just what is Ghibli's obsession with British fantasy literature, anyway?

9 comments:

returnofthesmith said...

This trailer looks like it's presented in the CinemaScope aspect ratio of 2.31:1. Would I be correct in saying that that would be a first for Ghibli?

beyond said...

Arrietty's screen size is Vista.
Run-time is 94 min.
http://www.toho.co.jp/lineup/arrietty/

Tofu said...

When I read the book it was really boring... ... ... I bet the movie will be more awesome then the book. =_=

Anonymous said...

I agree. This work feels very strong...I think VERY close to H. Miyazaki. The imagery reminds me both of Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. I really hope it comes to the US next year. It looks incredable!!!!!!1

Anonymous said...

Having seen the movie on opening day, it was fantastic. There's quite a bit of that magic Miyazaki film, especially early on, but Yonebashi's own style shines through with an elegant and bittersweet feeling unlike other Ghibli films. Very, very good.

PEWPEWLAZOR said...

Oooh, I really loved the books! I've been rereading them ever since hearing about the movie. Though I would prefer it if they kept the original setting, after seeing the trailer, I don't doubt that the film'll still do the books justice -- it looks great!

Michael Jones said...

I saw the movie last week and though I couldn't understand much of the dialogue, it was SO easy to follow thanks to the outstanding visuals. It is so easy to just get caught up in the story.

Valerie Hernandez said...

This movie looks really good. I agree with DarkLocke, it does have a feel of both those movies, and their house (or where ever the girl is fixing her hair) looks like Howl's Moving Castle. Do you know when the English subs of this movie will be out?

Daniel Thomas MacInnes said...

Great comments from everyone! Thanks for all the insights. I'm sure Arrietty will do very well in Japan, and I'm certainly looking forward to seeing it released here. Of course, I have no idea if or when it will be released here, so perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself.

I do expect to find Arrietty at the Venice Film Festival in September. Perhaps word of Disney's plans will be revealed at that time? We'll find out the hard way, kids.

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