Secret House of Arrietty

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Plot: Arrietty is three inches tall, and she lives with her family under the floorboards of a house in Japan. A teen boy, Shawn, comes to visit to rest before heart surgery, but he spots Arrietty in the garden, and they become friends, kind of.

Review: The great parts of Secret House are the childish purity and the colorful nature scenes. It has a sincerity and purity that you never find in the movies, even kid's movies.

An example is the lyric to "Arrietty's Song," which is more sincere and happier than any American pop song, with floating butterflies, picking flowers, summer rain, and a dreamed-of boyfriend. American music does not do sincerity: not since the Hippy's of the '60s.

Unfortunately there are slow parts inside the house after the novelty of the little people wears off. There are also parts that are a little creepy like the father's odd stoicism and the cat. I know films need dramatic tension, but creepy is not an effect I want to feel.

Arrietty is classically animated, and that creates the opportunity for the purity of color and artistic scenes. A good story does not need great animation, but sometimes the animation is noticeable.

The music is a highlight. Some songs are on iTunes including some from the Japanese soundtrack.

The end is not typical Hollywood style, and I hope I am not grading it down since it has a realistic ending.

Be sure to stay for the animated credits which are as cool as the rest of the movie.

Directed by: Hiromasa Yonebayahi, based on the book by Mary Norton. Written by famous Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki

Rating:   2.5 stars: Worth seeing.

More: The cool parts are very cool.  Perhaps the film is targeted to kids a little too much.

Even more: My daughter is a Studio Ghibli fan, and so I feel bad giving a middling review to Arrietty, but I call them like I see them.