The Borrowers

The marketing for this film highlighted the special effects and rightfully so. That is what stood out most about this film. "The Borrowers" is targeted at children and should entertain any young child quite effectively. Parents on the other hand will enjoy John Goodman's performance and the aforementioned effects.

The design is also noteworthy. In many films like this, you can tell the difference between the enlarged and normal props/sets. The filmmakers did a smart thing by creating a stylized world for the "Beans" to better match the tiny world of the Borrowers. Rather than try to replicate the real world in miniature form, the filmmakers created a fanciful reality so that the audience will believe the special effects. One impressive set was the freezer and I also like the costumes for the Borrowers. The sound of the ice above Pod and Arrietty's heads is well created by the way. Another impressive characteristic of the film is the amount of composting, especially in the climax. John Goodman's costume and performance at the start of the film deserves to be recognized. Mr. Potter is a perfect villain for this genre. His mustache & cigars among other wardrobe elements and Goodman's use of them create a bad guy that kids want to see humiliated. Goodman's best scene is when he is electrocuted. Jeff the exterminator is an interesting character. He should be a Borrower's worst nightmare but it turns out that he has respect for what he kills. The Borrowers impress him once he discovers that they are real and when Potter runs over Pete's bike, he cuts all ties with Potter and becomes an unexpected good guy. Officer Steady is also a fun character thanks to Hugh Laurie because while he seems to be oblivious to Potter's evil actions, he is actually investigating them. This explains why he showed up with the facial cream. Considering that this film has a few actors that would later appear in the "Harry Potter" franchise, Laurie's line, "Well, well Mr. Potter" is a little humorous. I really like Officer Steady's reaction while Potter rambles about the Borrowers and Pete pretends to not understand what he is saying. Finally, the secretary at City Hall as played by Ruby Wax is very funny. I love how she deals with Potter but then does a 180 when it comes to Pete. Goodman's line "Is there a faster way?" was perfectly delivered so as to set up the secretary's response.

Other cast members stood out but at the time I first saw this movie, I didn't take full notice of either Jim Broadbent or Tom Felton until later in their careers. Mark Williams and Hugh Laurie had just been on screen together in Disney's "101 Dalmatians" but I didn't even recognize them in "The Borrowers" and that shows how versatile they are, especially Laurie. Bradley Pierce looked a little familiar but I didn't know until I wrote this that he is the voice of Chip on "Beauty and the Beast" and played Peter on "Jumanji". Despite the fact that only a few years separate each film, Pierce had grown up enough that you don't really recognize him. He was also on "Rosanne" with John Goodman apparently.

This was a nice British film. The book "The Borrowers" has now been adapted twice for the big screen with "The Secret World of Arrietty". Both versions of the story work well independently from each. The special effects in "The Borrowers" were impressive for their time and thanks to the design of the film, they are still noteworthy today. The film however is mostly for little kids.

3 Stars