A cozy, easygoing film about the tiny people who live in the walls, embarking upon overnight expeditions between floors while we sleep. Borrowing what crumbs and scraps they can, they go about their quaint, peaceful little lives, content to exist in silent parallel. Apart from the risk of being caught in the open by a hungry cat or bird, their greatest mutual fear is being noticed by the big folks. Keep your head down and the status quo might just support you forever.

With a lack of major stakes, just that eternal threat of discovery, we settle in for ninety minutes of serenely observing this happy little world. Which is exactly the type of work Studio Ghibli loves to produce. Even in their most dramatic, consequential pictures, the famed Japanese animation house will habitually obsess over the little, poetic details. It’s part of what I love about them, and in this context it’s enveloping. All the fun of a concept-first story like this one lies in the minutiae, in seeing everyday items repurposed to meet smaller needs. The little clip Arrietty uses to pull her hair back. The sewing needle she modifies into a rapier. Those micro delights, plus the sense of grand exploration in a fantastical setting, are Ghibli’s bread and butter, and here, we get all we could ever ask for.

_The Secret World of Arrietty_ might not be Ghibli’s most mesmerizingly beautiful film, nor their most emotionally engaging, but not everything needs to meet such lofty standards. What exists instead is an effortlessly simple, relaxing watch that doesn’t strive for more. Comfort food for the silver screen.