Customer Reviews

Borrowers

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I just had the opportunity to see the film The Borrowers starring John Goodman as the evil Mr. Potter. Overall the movie is fun and entertaining and it has been so long since I read the books that I can't be sure the weak points originate in the movie (although I believe they do).

The movie is based upon a series of books by Mary Norton about a race of small people who live in the cracks and walls of the world and are known for borrowing things from humans (or beings). The story centers around one borrower family who are the last of their kind in an old house. Their existence is threatened when the evil Mr. Potter sees to kicking out the being inhabitants in order to knock the house down. There then follows a series of adventures as borrowers and beings alike try to save the house from destruction.

The weak points in the movie concern anachronisms. For the most part the movie is set decades ago as in the books. But annoying anachronisms pop up such as a cellular phone and an in-door ice maker. Considering the vintage of the vehicles on the street these items really stand out. But despite the anachronisms the movie remains entertaining with some very good performances from Goodman and the rest of the cast.

The only way to enjoy this film is if you haven't read the wonderful books by Mary Norton. The characters share the size, but few of the memorable traits of Pod, Homily, and Arrietty, the wonderful family that lives under the kitchen. This adaptation is more of a cross between MOUSE HUNT, HONEY I SHRUNK THE KIDS, and HOME ALONE than anything in THE BORROWERS books. I was very disappointed, and could not get involved in the story. For little kids only, although you should really read them the books and skip the film.

This movie is a great one for everyone to watch together, as it can interest anyone, from very young kids to adults.

The miniaturization effects didn't seem particularly advanced - I wasn't wowed by any technical advances I saw. But I would say that they were very imaginably used, making for some cute scenes that were refreshing. They were also carefully done, minimizing the "fakey" feel and letting you concentrate on the story.

The DVD version has a cool "making of The Borrowers" featurette that shows how the special effects were done, which is fun to watch after you've seen the movie.

I had read The Borrowers in a magazine installment with my Great Grandmother. Then, I could hardly wait for the next month's magazine installment to arrive. I then reread the books with my daughter [who is now 32 years old] when she was about 12 years old. We wanted to share this DVD of The Borrowers with her son, my 4 year old grandson. That is why I purchased this item. We FORCED ourselves to watch almost half of the DVD, and then we all said, "Yes, let's shut it off." And we haven't watched any more of it. This new version is very contrived, with not much connection to the original story! I would like to perhaps buy a copy of the old original version sometime, but this version has soured me for a while on The Borrowers.

I have been fortunate to see all three adaptations of THE BORROWERS on video back to back. A pleasant experience I must say with each film having slightly different plot developments to keep me interested. The Eddie Albert TV version of the early 70's (four stars) had charm due to its modest budget (and uneven acting), and had it's stage-like dramatic moments. Today's children might squirm, but back then kids could really sit still for a good story. The Turner-BBC miniseries THE BORROWERS and BBC follow-up RETURN OF THE BORROWERS (both five stars) will always be the definitive and most believable work due to a stellar cast (including Sir Ian Holm as Pod Clock), faithful story-line (in what appeared to be on location to a tee), perfect camera work, no CDI effects, and about 7 hours or so to tell the entire epic saga with more adventures than a dozen movies rolled in together. The latest version (three and a half stars)...is too heavily influenced by "Home Alone" antics, "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" peril, and "Toy Story" marketing (great films, but who wants to be reminded of other films?), and relies too much on computer effects over solid direction (the actors are great but are given very little room to act), has its moments (namely in set design, special effects, and aforementioned variations of other movies) but ultimately does not live up to the potential reached in earlier versions. Eye candy is just that. Mary Norton's novel (she also wrote 'Bedknobs and Broomsticks'), is full proof and adaptation safe so it is not a bad film at all, just that this film is best served as a tasty dessert to the other more-filling versions which offer great character devlopment, and teaches children and adults a thing or two about morality and mortality. The latest film just tries to WOW us. A true fan, of course, must have each course of this magical series of films. So seek them all and enjoy. Buy them, rent them, or better yet, borrow them as quickly as you can.

If you've read the books, as I did (have you read them recently?) this film will disappoint you. It starts out all right, filmed in an amber glow, in a house full of mid-century appliances and kitch, and great sets of life on a miniature scale lived between the walls and out of sight. Then, just as you are settling in, Hollywood rips out the rug, throws out the book, and reverts to a standard action plot: Big bad guy steals the house and the good (little) people have to make it right! Hoo Ya!

Not really.

Even the heroic music, pounding its way through the action, driving the viewer forward lest he fall asleep or try to hold an independent thought, fails the film. In the end, almost all the movie is out in the big world, with tired old stunts and Hollywood acting as if more will make it better.

It doesn't.

Of course, there are always the books. Read the books.

The special effects were excellent. They capture the imagination. Very memorable characters in this movie. It's a movie in which adults and kids alike, cheer at the end. Very nice to have only one four-letter word in the entire movie.

The movie is very loosely based upon a book by Mary Norton about the Clock family, small people (about six inches tall) who live underneath the floorboards of a house, surviving by borrowing things from humans "beans". When they are discovered, they are forced to move.

I was very disappointed with this movie. The only way to enjoy this film is if you haven't read the books. The acting was good, if over the top, but that was the kind of acting needed in a film like this, which seemed to be a combination of "Home Alone" and "Mouse Hunt". But the direction was very odd. The movie seemed to be set in the 1950's, yet characters in the movie used a remote for the (black and white) TV and a cellular phone. The costuming was also odd. Yes, they had to make do with what they could "borrow" to make clothes, but their outfits, and the really odd hairdos, made them look like creatures from another planet. Also, have the cast was British and half was American, which added to the confusion about what world the movie was set in.

On the other hand, the special effects were quite good. The best part of the DVD is the sequence that shows how the special effects were done. It was very interesting, but it used too many clips from the movie and not enough clips of how they did the special affects. There are also interviews with the cast, with the exception of John Goodman.

Little kids will like this movie, but adults should stay away.

I read the book "The Borrowers" as a young girl and was delighted to find this movie. But this movie scared me big time, it freeked me out even more than the Harry Potter movies! it was scarier and creapier.It is not a bit like the wonderful book by Mary Norton,(with the exeption of the title and the Borrower's names)and was also a BIG disapintment. The charitors are lame, and so is the storyline. The book was funny and great, and even appriate for 2 year olds, But this movie is nothing but SAD,SCARY, AND DISAPINTING, not appopiate for children.

A GREAT film for anyone. They are tiny and a boy rescues them. But when they fall out of the removal van, they go back to where they used to live and they get caught but the man who is there is dying to kill them. But all they do is borrow not steel, really they are friendly people but he the horrible man dosen't realise that. The boy is the only one out of his family that knows about them, he keeps it a secret he makes an excuse to get out of the van, but they just carry on driving. When he finally reaches his new house, he rides back to his old house to try and find them. The two kids and their 2 parents are split up from each other. He drives them to the old house as fast as possible to find their lost 2 kids. But they are only tiny people so they have to be very careful. And the adventure carries on great film.