Hiromasa Yonebayashi’s ‘Arrietty’ starring Saoirse Ronan is to be released on July 29th in the UK and Ireland. The film is an adaptation of Mary Norton’s ‘The Borrowers’ fantasy novels about little people who live under the floorboards. The movie is from the animators of Japan’s Studio Ghibli (Spirited Away).
Saoirse Ronan (Hanna) voices the lead role of Arrietty with Olivia Colman (Hot Fuzz) playing her mother Homily and Mark Strong (The Guard) as her father Pod, with Tom Holland (Billy Elliot the Musical) taking on the role of non Borrower boy Sho. Tiny 14 year old Arrietty lives under the floorboards of an old house with her father and mother. Their peaceful life is dramatically changed when the ever curious Arrietty accidentally allows herself to be seen by Sho, a sickly but well-intentioned 12 year old boy. The fledgling friendship between the two lonely children causes Haru the housekeeper to become aware of the borrowers’ existence and the family are forced to choose between staying in their well-established home or leaving for the uncertainty of the great outdoors.
It is being distributed by Optimum Releasing and will be released in the UK and Ireland on July 29th. Mary Norton’s classic children’s novels are also being remade for a live action BBC television feature titled ‘The Borrowers’ which stars Irish cast members Robert Sheehan (Misfits) and Sharon Horgan (Pulling). The BBC feature will air on BBC1 over Christmas.