The Secret World of Arrietty(借りぐらしのアリエッティ)

Village Voice by

It's pure magic.

Empire by Dan Jolin

A beautifully crafted, intimate adventure movie and - presented in hand-drawn 2D - one of the most visually arresting you'll enjoy all year.

Slant Magazine by Jesse Cataldo

Offers exactly what its title promises, unveiling this secret milieu through thoroughly meticulous animation.

Variety by Leslie Felperin

Although beautifully rendered throughout, with delicate, elegantly drawn watercolor-like illustrations, the picture may seem too plain and simple for the oversophisticated tastes of kids in Europe and North America, while Arrietty herself reps a slightly insipid heroine.

Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum

The lyrical animation, with its meditative attention to nature, bears the unique stamp of Japan's Studio Ghibli, cofounded by the great ­"Spirited Away" animator Hayao Miyazaki.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Phillips

Disney TV star Bridgit Mendler brings an effective if limited friendliness to Arrietty; Will Arnett and Amy Poehler are relatively restrained as her parents; Carol Burnett runs through a career's worth of vocal flourishes and aural panic attacks as the housekeeper.

Movieline by Michelle Orange

It's a matinee treat for the very little ones, after all.

The A.V. Club by Tasha Robinson

Even when making movies for small children, Studio Ghibli produces stories that are more emotionally sophisticated, and less philosophically polarized, than most adult fare.