"The Borrowers" - Give Credit to the Little People by Homer Yen (c) 1998
Did you ever misplace a comb, only never to find it again? Did you ever wonder why you keep losing your keys? Why is there always one sock missing when you take your laundry out of the dryer? Maybe it's because you're not the only tenants living in your house. If you look under the floorboards or behind the cracks of the walls, you may indeed learn that you have housemates called "The Borrowers".
Borrowers are little people standing no more than several inches high. Because they scurry around like mice, are extremely intelligent, and have never been seen, they are something of a myth. When the 'Beings' of the house are away, they come out to pilfer batteries, food, and other supplies. Credit cards are used as doors, dental floss is used for rope and thimbles are used as pots.
The central story focuses on the family of the house, named the Lenders. Supposedly, the house belongs to them, which was stipulated in a will, but the scheming lawyer, played by John Goodman complete with oily hair and villainy mustache, claims that a will was never made, and by default, the house belongs to him. He plans to level the house and then to turn it into a deluxe condominium complex. Of course, this would not only force the Lenders to move out but would also force the Borrowers to leave as well. Ah...but there's no surprise that there is indeed a will and when the Borrower children take back the will, the ogrish Goodman comes after them with an exterminator.
But there is more to this movie than just an entertaining story and watching the little people achieve escapes that would impress any magician. The humor is physical and very funny at times thanks to Goodman's abilities. He gets a face full of insecticide, electrocuted and tremendously tormented. Meanwhile, the visual aspect of the film is a joy. With a fairy-tale look right out of Mary Poppins or Wallace and Gromit videos, the movie achieves a whimsical adventure that allows you to sit back and enjoy the ride. A climatic scene takes place in a milk bottling plant. Watch as the littlest one gets trapped inside a bottle filled with milk as everyone tries to save him as the evil lawyer closes in on them.
This 83 minute offering makes a terrific matinee and a great antidote if you're suffering the blues. Of course, be mindful that this is a film based on a children's story, so if you don't go at night, prepare for an audience full of kids. Clever, cute, inventive, and fantastical, this movie will bring out the inner child in all of us.
Grade: B
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