Borrowers

From AwardAnnals

Reviews

Amazon.com

The popular children’s books by Mary Norton have been filmed before, but never with as much imagination and ingenuity as you’ll find on display in this delightful fantasy film released to critical praise in 1998. The “Borrowers” of the title are a family of tiny people who live in the walls and under the floorboards in the homes of “normal-sized” humans; they earn their by “borrowing” the household items (string, food crumbs, buttons, etc.) needed to furnish their tiny hiding places and provide their meals. The little Clock family lives happily undisturbed in the home of an aged aunt, but when the aunt dies and her will is stolen by an unscrupulous lawyer (John Goodman), the Clocks face eviction and the frightening hazards of the outside world. Under the ingenious direction of Peter Hewitt, this simple, straightforward movie mixes comedy, adventure, and suspense with some of the cleverest special effects you’ve ever seen, taking full advantage of effects technologies to immerse you in the world of the tiny people. A climactic chase scene in a milk-bottling plant is a visual tour de force, and the movie’s smart and dazzling enough to entertain parents and children alike. After its modest success in theaters, The Borrowers stands a good chance of becoming a home-video favorite. —Jeff Shannon

Barnes and Noble

The canon of classic family films remains top-heavy with titles from the mid-Twentieth Century. Even Disney’s grip on cinema began to slip by the late ‘60s, after the release of Mary Poppins in 1964. So when a film comes along that merits consideration among the great family adventures of all time, one would expect it to make a bigger splash than The Borrowers did upon its release in 1997. But certainly success at the fickle box-office is not a prerequisite for greatness; and in it’s own charming way, this deft blend of modern-movie wizardry and old-fashioned storytelling is a film to be treasured. The Borrowers is based on Mary Norton’s classic collection of tales about a family of four-inch folk who live beneath the floorboards of a British cottage, where they occasionally loot the belongings of the house’s tenants, the Lenders. When an odious realtor (John Goodman) tries to evict the family and demolish the home, the Borrowers and Lenders join forces, ultimately leading to a face-off that is as satisfying to witness as it is skillfully executed. Although much of the action favors the conk-on-the-head style comedy popular in the ‘90s (as in the Home Alone series), the clever visuals—including large-scale sets and overblown props—keep the proceedings lively, as does Goodman’s turn as the greedy land-grabber. He’s perfectly despicable, and thoroughly delightful. Bruce Kluger