There is something inherently comforting about the "small world" trope. Maybe it’s the way a thimble becomes a bathtub or how a simple straight pin turns into a deadly rapier. When people look for films like The Borrowers, they aren't just looking for kids' movies; they are chasing a very specific aesthetic—miniaturization, resourcefulness, and the secret lives happening right under our floorboards.
I remember the first time I saw the 1997 version with John Goodman. It wasn't just the slapstick. It was the production design. The way the Clock family used stamps as wallpaper and buttons as dinner plates felt... right. It tapped into a childhood instinct to peer into the grass and hope to see a civilization.
But where do you go after you’ve exhausted the 90s classic and the BBC miniseries?
The Ghibli Factor: Why Arrietty is the Gold Standard
If you want the absolute peak of this sub-genre, you have to look at Studio Ghibli. The Secret World of Arrietty (2010) is technically an adaptation of Mary Norton’s original book, but it feels entirely different from the live-action versions.
✨ Don't miss: Dragon Ball Daima Where to Watch: How to Stream Goku's New Adventure Right Now
Ghibli understands texture.
In this film, the "Borrowing" isn't just a plot point. It’s a survivalist art form. You see the physical weight of a single teardrop-sized drop of water. You hear the deafening roar of a kitchen fan that, to us, is just background noise. Director Hiromasa Yonebayashi focused on the sound of being small. The resonance of footsteps on floorboards sounds like distant thunder.
Most people don't realize that the North American dub features a young Bridgit Mendler and Will Arnett, while the UK version has Saoirse Ronan. Both are great, but the visuals do the heavy lifting. It’s a quiet, melancholic film. Unlike the 1997 movie, which leans heavily into Home Alone style hijinks, Arrietty focuses on the danger of being seen. It captures the "Borrower" philosophy: to be seen is to die, or at least, to be forced to move.
Epic Scale and Tiny Heroes: Epic and Arthur and the Invisibles
Sometimes the "small" genre goes full action-adventure.
Take Epic (2013). It didn't set the world on fire at the box office, but it’s a fascinating look at the "hidden world" trope. Instead of living in houses, these tiny beings—the Leafmen—live in the forest. The scale is handled through "biological" physics. Because they are so small and move so fast, humans appear to them as slow-moving, bumbling giants called "Stompers."
It’s a clever narrative trick. It explains why we never see them. We literally aren't fast enough to process their existence.
Then there’s Luc Besson’s Arthur and the Invisibles. It’s a weird one. Honestly, the blend of live-action and early 2000s CGI hasn't aged perfectly, but the world-building is pure imagination. It leans into the "treasure hunt" aspect that often draws people to films like The Borrowers. Using a telescope to shrink down? It’s a bit kitschy, sure. But for a kid, the idea that your backyard is a sprawling kingdom of Minimoys is peak wish fulfillment.
The Darker Side of Being Small
Not every "tiny person" movie is whimsical.
If you want something that feels a bit more grounded (and frankly, a bit more stressful), Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is the obvious touchstone. But look closer at the 1989 practical effects. They hold up better than most CGI today. The "creature feature" element of a common ant or a lawn sprinkler becomes a life-threatening set piece.
It shares the "Borrowers" DNA because it’s about repurposing the mundane. A Lego brick is a house. An oatmeal creme pie is a feast.
There is also the 1957 classic The Incredible Shrinking Man. It’s much more existential. While The Borrowers is about a family unit, this is about a man losing his identity as he loses his stature. The final scene in the basement, where he fights a spider with a needle, is essentially the blueprint for every "small person" action scene that followed for the next seventy years. It’s less about "cute" scavenging and more about the terrifying reality of a world that is no longer built for you.
Why We Are Obsessed With Scavenging Narratives
Why do we keep coming back to these stories?
Expert film historians often point to the post-war era when Mary Norton wrote the books. It was a time of "making do and mending." The Borrowers are the ultimate recyclers. In a modern context, this resonates with our current obsession with tiny houses and minimalist living. There is a deep satisfaction in seeing a spool of thread turned into a ladder.
It’s about agency.
Modern Variations and "Small" Horror
- Downsizing (2017) tried to take this concept into the realm of social satire. It didn't quite land for everyone because it abandoned the "adventure" for a plot about climate change and wealth inequality. But the first act? The actual process of shrinking? That captures the "Borrower" itch perfectly.
- Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2021) is the spiritual successor to the Borrowers' soul. It’s a mockumentary about a tiny shell. It’s funny, it’s heartbreaking, and it treats the "smallness" with incredible tactical realism. Marcel uses a tennis ball to get around. He uses honey on his feet to walk on walls.
The Practical Physics of a Tiny World
When you’re watching films like The Borrowers, you're looking for internal logic.
✨ Don't miss: Why the Wizard of Oz Golden Book is Still the Best Way to Meet Dorothy
If a movie treats a tiny person like a regular human just "scaled down," it usually fails. The good ones understand surface tension. They understand wind resistance. In The Ant Bully, the way the ants move and interact with food feels heavy.
If you’re looking for that specific feeling of "hidden folks," you might also enjoy:
- A Whisker Away (not about tiny people, but about a hidden world within our own).
- The Tale of Despereaux (a mouse in a world of humans, dealing with the same scale issues).
- Gnomeo & Juliet (the "secret life of inanimate objects" often hits the same notes).
Actionable Tips for Your Next "Tiny" Movie Night
If you want to recreate that Borrowers feeling, don't just pick any animated movie. Look for these three specific markers:
Focus on "MacGyvering"
The best films in this niche show characters using human trash in creative ways. If the characters have their own custom-made tiny technology that looks like human tech (just small), it loses the charm. You want to see the paperclip hook.
Sound Design is Key
Put on a good pair of headphones. Films like Arrietty or Marcel the Shell use binaural-style recording or heavy foley work to make the world feel massive. The "thump" of a human heart or the "click" of a light switch should sound like an explosion.
The "In-Between" Spaces
The Borrowers don't live in the middle of the room. They live in the walls, under the floorboards, and inside the clocks. Look for films that explore the architecture of the "unseen."
✨ Don't miss: Why Demon Slayer Season 4 Is More Than Just a Training Arc
Where to go from here
Start with The Secret World of Arrietty if you want beauty. Go to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids if you want nostalgia and practical effects. If you want something that feels modern and genuinely moving, watch Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.
The genre isn't just about being small; it's about the perspective shift. It’s a reminder that even in a world that feels too big to manage, you can still carve out a home if you’re resourceful enough.
Check your local streaming listings for the 1997 The Borrowers—it often hops between platforms like Max and Prime. For Arrietty, it’s almost always on Max (in the US) or Netflix (internationally) due to the Ghibli licensing deals. If you’re a physical media nerd, the Blu-ray of Arrietty includes some incredible storyboards that show how they calculated the scale of everyday objects compared to the characters.
The next time you lose a button or a safety pin, don't just assume it fell behind the dresser. Maybe it’s just being used as a shield somewhere under your feet.