Jerry Griswold's Review in L.A. Times, excerpt

'Arrietty,' 'The Borrowers' and the appeal of all things small

The childhood fascination with the littlest of things comes to life in the animated Japanese film 'Arrietty,' which takes on Mary Norton's classic book 'The Borrowers.'

Tiny but tenacious Arrietty (voice of Bridgit Mendler) comes face to whiskers with the menacing household cat but won't allow herself to be intimidated in Disney's release of the Studio Ghibli animated feature "The Secret World of Arrietty." (Disney, Disney / February 7, 2012)

By Jerry Griswold, Special to the Los Angeles Times

February 12, 2012

Kids — tykes, urchins, tots, moppets, bambinos, waifs, ragamuffins, cherubs and small fry — are fascinated by smallness. Consider their films: "Antz," "A Bug's Life," "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids," "Toy Story," "The Rescuers," "The Secret of NIMH," "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Stuart Little" and countless others. Indeed, a nod to the diminutive seems nearly obligatory if titles of children's stories are any measure: "Little Red Riding Hood," "Little Women," "Little House on the Prairie," "The Little Prince," "The Little Engine That Could," and so on. Now comes "The Secret World of Arrietty," a tale of the tiny.


Here's the link to the entire article:


http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-ca-tiny-people-20120212,0,4379468.story