The Borrowers (1997 film)

The Borrowers is a 1997 British film based on the children's novel of the same name by author Mary Norton. In 1998 it was nominated for the title of Best British Film in the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards, but lost to Gary Oldman's Nil by Mouth. The film also picked up another two nominations and one win in awards.

Plot

The movie starts with young Pete Lender setting up traps around his house. His parents ask him to explain his actions, and he tells them that things in their house are being stolen. Indeed, once they are gone, a trio of tiny humans ("Borrowers," as they call themselves), Pod Clock, Arrietty Clock and Peagreen Clock make their way through the kitchen to "borrow" the radio's battery. Arrietty, while treating herself with some ice cream in the freezer, is accidentally shut inside just as the Lenders return. Pod manages to rescue Arrietty, but jams the ice cube tube in the process and is forced to leave one of his gadgets behind, which is found by Mr Lender. Meanwhile, the Lenders are facing their own problems: the will of Mrs Lender's aunt, Mrs Allabaster, is the only proof that the house is rightfully the Lenders, yet it is missing, and their lawyer, Ocious P. Potter cannot find it, and has already made plans to demolish their house in order to build condominiums on the land. They have until Saturday to move.

The Clocks get wind of this when Arrietty wanders off and is trapped by Peter, who is actually astonished to discover the Borrowers and offers his help in moving them to their new house. Pod reluctantly agrees, but during the journey, Arrietty and Peagreen fall out of the moving truck and make their way back to the old house, where they find the new house on a map. However, Potter turns up and finds the will hidden in a safe inside the wall (Mrs Allabaster had stated that she did not trust banks and preferred to keep the will in the house, something Potter conveniently omitted from his clients), but as he tries to burn it, Arrietty and Peagreen steal the will, determined to save the house. Potter, seeing the Clocks' underground home, calls the local exterminator, Jeff, but they manage to escape, with Jeff accidentally burning Potter's face and mustache off, with expanding foam, in the process. Potter and Jeff give chase by having Jeff's bloodhound, Mr Smelly (also the bloodhound likes to eat cheese which makes him sick to his belly and making him fart), sniff Peagreen's jacket and follow the scent to a milk factory. Along the way, they occasionally bump into a local policeman, Officer Steady, who questions their actions. Peagreen ends up trapped in an empty milk bottle and taken into the factory with Arrietty unable to save him, but another Borrower, Spud Spiller (an "Outie", for he lives outside), shows up and offers help. Together they manage to make their way through the factory and locate Peagreen and force their way past Potter, dousing him in a shower of liquid cheese in the process.

Meanwhile, Pod and his wife, Homily, discover that their children are missing, and with Peter's help, track them to the milk factory. Pod rescues Peagreen from drowning in a milk bottle just as Arrietty and Spiller reunite with them. Potter catches them, takes the will and ties them to the cheese machine, intending to drown them in the liquid cheese. Spiller cheeks Potter to the point that Potter dumps him in another machine, apparently killing him. Just before the cheese can hit, Peter arrives and turns the machine off. Peter and the Borrowers, this time with Jeff's help, follow Potter to City Hall to stop him arranging the demolition. He is briefly stalled thanks to the stubborn receptionist giving him maze-like directions to the demolition office in response to his rude behaviour. When he finally reaches the door, he finds himself trapped inside the storeroom instead, where the Clocks tie his hands to his face with Sellotape. In his rage, Potter almost sucks the Clocks into a vacuum cleaner when an army of Borrowers unexpectedly turns up to save the Clocks and tie Potter up with wire. As it turns out, Spiller survived the machine at the factory and summoned the army to aid the Clocks. Pod delivers a compelling speech to Potter on the Borrowers' behalf, and they disappear as soon as they hear the door open. Peter, Jeff and officer Steady enter, and Peter presents Steady with the will, proving Potter's deceit. Potter, however, has by now gone insane with anger and stress and cannot stop rambling about the Borrowers (actually what Pod told him about them). Potter is arrested while the Lenders move back into their house. Peter is now friends with the Clocks and regularly gives them food from a loose floorboard in his room.

A post-credits scene shows Potter trying to describe the Borrowers to Steady while being questioned at the police station. Steady and the others merely laugh their heads off at him and he is indicted. The film closes with Potter's mugshot being taken while the policemen laugh at him.

Reception

The film received generally positive reviews upon its release. The Guardian has described the film as "A spirited screen version of the Mary Norton stories about the tiny folk who live under the floorboards, and off human scraps. Jim Broadbent and Celia Imrie are a joy as the parents of little Arrietty..." ^[1] Roger Ebert in his review described the film, in the wake of numerous television adaptations, as a "big-screen, big-budget version with special effects so amusing it's like Toy Story has come to life...the charm comes in the way The Borrowers makes its world look like a timeless story book. If the action and the physical humor are designed to appeal to kids, the look of the film will impress adults who know what to look for."^[2]

Cast

• John Goodman - Ocious P. Potter
• Jim Broadbent - Pod Clock
• Mark Williams - Exterminator Jeff
• Celia Imrie - Homily Clock
• Flora Newbigin - Arrietty Clock
• Hugh Laurie - Officer Oliver Steady
• Ruby Wax - Town Hall Clerk
• Bradley Pierce - Pete Lender
• Tom Felton - Peagreen Clock
• Raymond Pickard - Spud Spiller
• Aden Gillett - Joe Lender
• Bob Goody - Minty Branch

References

External links

• The Borrowers at the Internet Movie Database
• The Borrowers at AllRovi