This is by far my favourite of the Studio Gibli films. Maybe it is the fact that is is based on a ‘Western’ book, but I found the film more down-to-earth and structured in a way that made it easier for me to follow than many of the others. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the art of the studio but I prefer films with less symbolism and more traditional craft of film-making. The basic idea sounds exciting, with a handful of little people living their life in the house of humans and living off borrowing stuff. Alas, this is where most of the innovation ends, and despite lots of of lovely pictures, sounds and faces, the film stays quite conservative and unspectacular and the story never lives up to the premise. All evolves around the friendship of two misfits, a girl and boy and if you think you know all about the film now, you are not far off.

Definitely one of the more accessible Anime-films I have seen but also a bit lackluster when it comes to innovation and plot.

Still, worth the time.