Based on English author Mary Norton's The Borrowers, Karigurashi no Arrietty is the brainchild of Japanese animation master Hayao Miyazaki. He decided 40 years ago he would one day make the story into a film.
The setting has moved from 1950s England to modern Japan, but the story is still about a family of tiny people living beneath a house. They try to stay hidden from human view while surviving by 'borrowing' things.
Their troubles start when Arrietty (voiced by Mirai Shida) accompanies her father on a 'borrowing' mission and is seen by a human boy called Sho (Ryunosuke Kamiki). It marks the start of a delicate relationship. Sho's behaviour alerts his suspicious housekeeper, who wants to get rid of the Borrowers.
Like all Ghibli movies, what is most captivating is the attention to visual details and realism. The effective use of sound - the crackling of the wooden floor, dripping water and human trampling - all help to convince the audience they are in a miniaturised world.
Despite an interesting opening, the film somehow lacks the sense of adventure you'd expect from a Ghibli production - Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle for example.
Yet if you love Ghibli's films mainly for the well-crafted visuals, this is definitely a joy.