The Borrowers

  • Review Date: July 28, 2003
  • PG
  • Genre: Comedy
  • 1998
 Review

Common Sense Media says

Charming adaptation with constant (but funny) perils.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that the little people in this movie have a lot to fear from the "Beans," or humans, who are out to exterminate them. The tricks and traps can be painful to watch. There are also some gross-out moments (like when a Borrower falls into a pile of dog poop, or when a villain is drenched in liquid cheese). But the clever gadgets and great escapes will prove entertaining to tweens and even adults.

  • Intended to entertain, not educate.
  • Positive messages of teamwork, family, hard work, and friendship.
  • Strong female role models dominate the Borrower culture, making decisions, taking physical risks, and speaking their minds.
  • Perilous and violent scenarios have tangible results. Traps, chemical burns, pokes in the flesh with prongs, chase scenes where little people are nearly smashed with hammers or drowned in milk. No one dies or is mortally wounded. The action is frenzied and continuous, but fun, too.

What's the story?

Based on Mary Norton's delightful book about the tiny people who live in houses and "borrow" foraged items (thus explaining why no one can ever find anything) THE BORROWERS follows the adventures of the Clock family, Pod, his wife Homily, and their children Arietty (played by the adorable newcomer Flora Newbigin), and Peagreen. They live in the home of the aptly named Lenders, until an unscrupulous lawyer named Ocious Potter (John Goodman) has them evicted so that he can tear down the house and build an apartment building. In 83 fast minutes the Clocks find a way to survive Potter and his exterminator, get separated and then reunited, meet up with long-lost friends, and, with the help of the Lenders' son, save the day for both families.


Is it any good?

 

The Borrowers is lots of fun and well worth watching. Mary Norton's beloved children's book is charmingly translated to the screen here. The art direction is sublime and the performances are utterly engaging. Children will want to watch the movie a second time just to identify all of the items used by the Borrowers for clothes, furnishings, and equipment.


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What families can talk about

  • Families can talk about what makes this film so fun, and compare it to Mary Norton's book. There's a lot of imagination here, and families can use this film as a jumping point to create their own imaginary stories set in worlds where anything is possible.

  • Why are so many books made into movies? Are stories usually more or less enjoyable on the screen? What makes a good book-to-screen adaptation?


This review was written by Nell Minow
Kid, 13 years old
September 28, 2009
 
The perfect movie
This is a great movie.I think you should watch it. It is about a family that is small and they go through a bunch of adventurer and they save there home wile they go through them to i think that if you like fun and adventure this is the perfect movie for you!

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Kid, 12 years old
February 20, 2011
 
Great for 7 and up
I loved it best movie. I watched this with my 7 year old sister and she was laughing so hard. It is funny, good message, and lots of action.

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Parent of 15 year old
April 9, 2008
 
funny
no

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Parent of 8 and 12 year old
June 26, 2010
 
different from the book, mostly good, but watch for lies.
The story is a little different from the book (of course!), but it had been a couple of years since we read the book. We all enjoyed it, and my budding engineer particularly enjoyed all the contraptions depicted. My kids enjoyed the "making of" section on the DVD from Netflix. There were a couple of times when non-villain characters lied: the Lender boy offers one lie after another to his parents to get them to stop the moving truck. They suspect him, but nothing comes of it. It's not even a story element, but the movie ends with, Arietty telling her mom that she's just "going out in the garden" (or something) with her new friend, while hiding walnut shells for a fast car(ish) ride behind their backs.

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Kid, 12 years old
September 20, 2009
 
Ever imagined tiny people as tall as a needle?
A Great film you won't miss out on!

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Parent
August 8, 2011
 
Excellent Family Movie Night Choice for 8+
The kids will love the creative and imaginative ways that the Borrowers make common, everyday items work for their tiny family.

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Teen, 15 years old
February 5, 2012
 
A nice Film
A pretty good movie. Kids will like the performance of Peegreen, who is a very young Tom Felton (AKA Draco Malfoy)

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This review was written by Nell Minow
Topics:magic and fantasy, adventures, book characters
Studio:USA Films
Director:Peter Hewitt
Cast:Jim Broadbent, John Goodman, Mark Williams
Genre:Comedy
Run time:89 minutes
Theatrical release date:February 13, 1998
DVD release date:November 5, 2002
MPAA rating:PG
MPAA explanation:mild peril and some crude humor

This review was written by Nell Minow
 

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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