The 2010 Studio Ghibli movie, “The Secret World of Arrietty”, is probably the most modern version of the Borrowers that I know. My step daughter was home sick from school and this was the movie she ended up picking to start her sick day. I sat with her a bit and watched because I really do love this film. It’s shorter than I’d care for it to be, but a lot of the later Ghibli films did seem shorter for whatever reason.
I let my step daughter know that this movie was based off a book series that I read as a child. I was probably her age when I started to voraciously tear through the series. The Borrowers and the Borrowers: Afield, Afloat, Aloft, & Avenged. This nostalgia has me really wanting to find these books. I know that a Borrower’s movie was made in 1997 and John Goodman appeared in it. It wasn’t horrible, but it was most definitely one of those moments when I still feel like the book was better.
The reason I typically think the book is better? My mental version of characters is never quite the same as other people’s. There’s always such a limitation on things when you give it life beyond text. I’ll always, ALWAYS rant about this if the topic of book versus movie comes up. Studio Ghibli films are always amazing at bringing fantastical life to novels that Miyazaki converted. These films are marvelous, but even my favorite film “Howl’s Moving Castle” still doesn’t scratch the surface of everything from the novel. The “Howl” series by Diana Wynne Jones is incredible. I feel like I’ve probably said this before. It’s my favorite series and probably only second to my favorite book of all, “Neverwhere” by Neil Gaiman. One day I’ll have to do a post about that book.
Mary Norton is the genius who also wrote the “Bedknobs and Broomsticks” series. I only really knew the first one, but there apparently were sequels. The 1971 musical movie starring Angela Lansbury is another large portion of my childhood memory. I remember watching that one so many times on repeat that the beta tape we had it recorded on broke at one point. Does the mention of a beta tape give you an idea of what my age is?
I never read “The Littles” book series by John Peterson, which is very similar to “the Borrowers” series by Mary Norton. Except the Littles have tails in the novel, and in the cartoon series they have pointy ears and buck teeth. I remember watching the cartoon series when I was younger, which makes sense since the series was produced in 1983 and 1985. It’s apparently on Amazon Prime Television right now, so I might throw myself into some nostalgia land later.
What series is iconic from your childhood memory? Book or television series?
Once again, thanks, guys for reading! I’m trying to stay ahead of the curve and write posts daily, so that my buffer doesn’t run out.
Atelier Whootique 