Barnes & 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

All Movie Guide

Peter Hewitt (Tom and Huck) directed this $30-million family film, an adaptation of Mary Norton's classic children's novels about a miniature family of wee folk, four inches high, living beneath the floorboards of an English cottage. The Borrowers family, so labeled because they "borrow" from the house's kitchen, consist of Pod Clock (Jim Broadbent), mother Homily (Celia Imre), and children Arrietty (13-year-old Flora Newbigin) and Peagreen (Tom Felton). Their adventure begins when they're almost caught in the kitchen by the Lenders, the tenants of the house, so they run for cover. When lawyer-Realtor Ocious P. Potter (John Goodman) discovers the owner of the house has died, he makes plans to evict the Lenders and demolish the building -- a situation where one would want to "neither a Borrower nor a Lender be." Fortunately, young Pete Lender (Bradley Pierce) has become friends with Arrietty -- an alliance leading toward a method of thwarting Potter. Bhob Stewart

Product Details

• UPC: 025192266720
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Region Code: 0
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1), Theatre Wide-Screen (1.85.1)
• Presentation: Pan & Scan, Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby Digital Stereo, Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround
• Language: English, Français, Español
• Time: 1:26:00
• Sales Rank: 8,194

This DVD is also available as part of a box set:

• Peter Pan & Thunderbirds & The Borrowers

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