The Borrowers

The Borrowers is the kind of charming family adventure film Hollywood should be able to make in its sleep, if only it would bother. This British production brings to life Mary Norton's children's novels about 4-inch-tall beings called Borrowers who share our homes, making their living off the things we always seem to be misplacing--a loose button for a plate here, a sock for a bed there. The story finds a Borrower family facing homelessness when a nasty real estate developer (a delightfully despicable John Goodman) schemes to nab the home of their human hosts, the Lenders. The quest of the Borrowers to thwart those schemes anchors an energetic story which employs special effects with an unobtrusive whimsy. Director Peter Hewitt has fashioned a warm, visually enthralling world; this is fantasy escapism which doesn't make you feel stupid for escaping. Recommended. (S. Renshaw)