Movie Review: The Borrowers (1997)

Genre: Comedy Year: 1997 Rated: PG My Opinion: View Poster IMDB Page Wikipedia Page

When I first picked this movie up, I didn't have very high hopes for it. I thought it would be mildly cute with mostly dull and stupid humor. But I was pleasantly surprised.

The movie is based on a series of books by the same name. It's about a family of Borrowers, little humanoid creatures who live within the walls of human houses and occasionally 'borrow' items for their livelihood, and the human family who owns the house. The human boy discovers the existence of the Borrowers while he and his parents are forced to move from the house, unbeknownst that their lawyer is a greedy man who wants them out so he could search the house for the deceased grandmother's hidden millions.

The special effects used in the movie are fantastic, seamless, and scaled perfectly. The humor is also executed effectively, even the one 'dog poop' scene was hilarious (and not even gross).

One interesting aspect of this movie is that even though this movie has the atmosphere of a modern-yet-retro America, there are a number of British actors staring in this film (accents and all). Some of them include Hugh Laurie (whom we all know from House) and even a very young Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy ring a bell?).

Overall, this a great family movie that both kids and adults will enjoy. I'm surprised this movie didn't do better that it did. If not for a family, watch it as a study of special effects and how they don't have to be overwhelming and overdone to be effective.

What do you think? What are some of your favorite movies that have great special effects? Comment below!

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