The Borrowers

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source: The Borrowers

Having read all of the Borrowers books and just loved them, plus having seen all of the different film versions, I have to say that is my second to least favorite, the least of all going to the horrid anime version. This one really wasn't even trying to be like the books, and just frankly bored me, although Stephen Fry did try to deliver a good performance. Everybody else was just going through the motions and the screenplay was just awful. Watch the John Goodman version or the old Hallmark version with Edie Albert and Dame Judith Evans. They are both far better.

It started as a novel, for the older generation it became a television series, then there was the 1997 film with John Goodman, and I was surprised there would be a new television made all British film, but I was up for it. Basically the Clock family, father Pod (Christopher Eccleston), mother Homily (Sharon Horgan) and sixteen year old teenage daughter Arrietty (Aisling Loftus) are the four inch high people, The Borrowers, who live in secret under the floor boards of the human world, or rather "bean" (human "bean") world. To get by the family borrow the household items of the world above, e.g. sweets, lights, pennies, etc, but of course this is no easy task with the bean of the house, Granny Driver (Victoria Wood) trying to catch them. It is near Christmas, and one night Arrietty decides to explore the bean house, and that is when the young boy, James Millman (Charlie Hiscock) catches her, but he is amazed that people of her size exist, and they become good friends. When the Granny wants to try and catch them rather hastily though for "stealing" stuff, the Clock family are forced to go through the sewers and find a new place to live. With the help of other Borrower guide and biker Spiller (Misfits' Robert Sheehan) the family find the city of Borrowers, and this becomes their new home, and Arrietty confirms that they were never the only of their kind left in the world. In the human world, London University Professor Mildeye (Stephen Fry) is seen by others as a fantasist trying to prove his seemingly ridiculous theory that little people exist, but after befriending Granny and hearing of sightings he is determined to prove people he is right. So he sets some traps in the sewers where the Clock family were thought to be heading, and he manages to catch Pod and Homily and takes them back, and Spiller agrees to look after Arrietty and help her get her parents back. His desperation to show his "specimens" makes Professor Mildeye very mad and very bad, but his opportunity is snatched from him as the Clocks are reunited, they return to the Borrower world safe and sound, and in time to enjoy Christmas together. Also starring EastEnders' Shaun Dooley as Robert Millman, Anne Hirsch as Jenny, Warona Seane as Dean Karen Richards, Jane Hill as BBC News Presenter, Jonathan Blake as BBC Reporter and Catherine Burns as Radio Voice-over. Eccleston gives a good worried but also substantial father figure performance, and I have never seen Fry become such a nasty villain character, and so well, it is a marvellous modern retelling of the story, with really good special effects to inject you into the tiny people world, a fantastically fun family fantasy adventure. Very good!

Adapted from the 1952 book, this is the latest version of this classic. This was a BBC TV production, and as such is limited in its scale. The borrowers are secretive little tiny people that live under the floorboards. This one stars Christopher Eccleston, Robert Sheehan, Stephen Fry, among others. Aisling Loftus plays the lead Arrietty Clock. She's a sweet girl most notable for her big eyes. All the actors in the movie do a fine job. While the lower production value is understandable, it is still distracting. All in all, it's a nice little family movie.

Normally BBC are unbeatable in this type of presentation but sadly, although this second BBC production of The Borrowers was watchable and somewhat entertaining it was nowhere near as perfect as their first production in 1992. I must say that the first production was in fact a series as opposed to a 'one off'. Christopher Eccleston (Pod), Victoria Wood (Granny Driver), Sharon Horgan (Homily), Aisling Loftus (Arietty), Robert Sheehan (Spiller) and the inimitable Stephen Fry (Professor Mildeye) were certainly adequate in their respective roles but there just was not enough 'oomph' to the production. For those who have never seen The Borrowers or read Mary Norton's book or her sequels below is a brief synopsis of what The Borrowers are about. SPOILER BEGINS The Borrowers are tiny people who co-exist in the human world, mainly under floorboards of human homes and 'borrow' from the human occupants in order to survive. They borrow whatever they need but do not appear to ever intend giving what they borrow back. Their main fear is being discovered by human beings and they do everything in their power to avoid this. Professor Mildeye is convinced that these little people exist and all he wants is to capture one in order to prove it. The Borrowers is a cat and mouse game with the tiny people making sure that they are not discovered or captured by humans, but inevitably this does happen and they must rely on the help of a human boy to save them. SPOILER ENDS I do love The Borrowers and feel that it was written for everyone, whatever age they are. Even the 1997 film starring John Goodman and Jim Broadbent I feel was better than the BBcs latest version of The Borrowers. Sorry Auntie Beeb but that's the way I feel.