When I found out there was an anime of Arietty a spin off of The Borrowers, I decided to go back and watch this movie beforehand remembering that I enjoyed it quite a bit as a kid.
I never read the novel The Borrowers but I do remember seeing a British TV miniseries more faithful to the novel years ago and also liking that. I have a feeling that is less childish and more faithful to the novel than this adaptation but this is the one I am reviewing so I am listing pros and cons:
Pros:
1. John Goodman does a pretty good job playing the villain and does so with some laughs and genuinely intimidating moments.
2. Jim Broadbent is good as the dad Borrower.
3. The set design is actually very clever and impressive.
4. Some of the writing is clever as are The Borrowers themselves. It's nice the screenplay treats it's protagonists with intelligence.
CONS:
1. To me this movie is like a mix between Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Home Alone, two of my favorite childhood movies. That may not have necessarily been a bad thing if they hadn't kept making more entries in those franchises and beating more dead horses but unfortunately they did and if you have seen any or all of those other movies you will probably roll your eyes at the familiar formula here. I don't believe the novel was that type of slapstick comedy as evidenced here but of course after the huge success of Home Alone there were so many imitators and studios kept trying to rip off that formula. So the unoriginality is a bit exhausting at times.
2. This movie had a a bit too much crude humor and moments that could have been more clever are substituted with fart jokes or John Goodman getting something stuck on his butt or whatever else alike. Both Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis declined to direct because of the crude humor which should say something.
Still as another Home Alone/Honey I Shrunk the Kids knock off it's still pretty entertaining.
If you want to show your kids something different than the typical movies from your adolescence they will probably enjoy this for what it is.
For adults you have seen this stuff all before in other movies, so it likely won't connect with you the same even if you liked it as a kid, but it was made for kids and despite its flaws it's an overall satisfactory entertainment for children.
I would probably want to watch the aforementioned miniseries again for a better Borrowers adaptation but on the whole there is some stuff to admire here nonetheless and there are certainly worse and far more stupid children's films out there.
Recommended as an overall fun watch for families with younger kids.
I never read the novel The Borrowers but I do remember seeing a British TV miniseries more faithful to the novel years ago and also liking that. I have a feeling that is less childish and more faithful to the novel than this adaptation but this is the one I am reviewing so I am listing pros and cons:
Pros:
1. John Goodman does a pretty good job playing the villain and does so with some laughs and genuinely intimidating moments.
2. Jim Broadbent is good as the dad Borrower.
3. The set design is actually very clever and impressive.
4. Some of the writing is clever as are The Borrowers themselves. It's nice the screenplay treats it's protagonists with intelligence.
CONS:
1. To me this movie is like a mix between Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Home Alone, two of my favorite childhood movies. That may not have necessarily been a bad thing if they hadn't kept making more entries in those franchises and beating more dead horses but unfortunately they did and if you have seen any or all of those other movies you will probably roll your eyes at the familiar formula here. I don't believe the novel was that type of slapstick comedy as evidenced here but of course after the huge success of Home Alone there were so many imitators and studios kept trying to rip off that formula. So the unoriginality is a bit exhausting at times.
2. This movie had a a bit too much crude humor and moments that could have been more clever are substituted with fart jokes or John Goodman getting something stuck on his butt or whatever else alike. Both Steven Spielberg and Robert Zemeckis declined to direct because of the crude humor which should say something.
Still as another Home Alone/Honey I Shrunk the Kids knock off it's still pretty entertaining.
If you want to show your kids something different than the typical movies from your adolescence they will probably enjoy this for what it is.
For adults you have seen this stuff all before in other movies, so it likely won't connect with you the same even if you liked it as a kid, but it was made for kids and despite its flaws it's an overall satisfactory entertainment for children.
I would probably want to watch the aforementioned miniseries again for a better Borrowers adaptation but on the whole there is some stuff to admire here nonetheless and there are certainly worse and far more stupid children's films out there.
Recommended as an overall fun watch for families with younger kids.