The Borrowers are little people who live under the floorboards of human bean's houses, or in old badger warrens. They survive by 'borrowing', their polite term for stealing anything they need in their miniscule world.
The worst sin a Borrower can commit - and their greatest fear - is to be seen by a human. For that, they are placed into exile - they must disappear forever, leaving the humans thinking they'd had one too many glasses of port the night before.
Pod (Ian Holm), his wife Homily (Penelope Wilton) and daughter Arietta (Rebecca Callard) are living happily below the floorboards, and Pod even has hopes of educating Arietta into becoming a first-class Borrower, just like him. But suddenly their world is turned upside-down. Arietta is SEEN. Not just seen, but seen by one of the most dangerous creatures in existence - a BOY!
This classic 1992 BBC children's television series still holds its appeal. It's full of charm as these little-people navigate their way through giant props such as wardrobe-sized matchboxes, leaves of grass as tall as trees and a fob-watch as large and as grand as a grandfather clock. And it even manages (as long as you remember this is made for children) to have quite a few moments of very real suspense and drama as the Pods set out on an epic journey.
And the special effects are beautifully contrived. The props, of giant needles, oversize dressers and wash basins, the enormous scale of just everything compared to the tiny Borrowers, is quite wondrous and perfect. There are visual delights in just about every frame.
To be honest, I don't think this is the sort of children's tale which adults can enjoy by themselves. It's not a Secret Garden, Anne of Green Gables or Pollyanna, which anyone can enjoy, regardless of their age.
But if you have young children and it's a wet and cold afternoon (or if, as it is right now where I'm writing, it's freezing cold and a two-inch layer of snow is starting to melt), then there are a lot worse things you could do than sit down and watch through the saga of The Borrowers with them. They'll love it, and you might be pleasantly surprised yourself.
This full-screen television film is presented in optimum image quality - you'll be content as long as you remember this was produced for television, not for widescreen cinema.
There is no sign of any image degradation or flaws; colours are quite bright, though both those and the image overall have a softer feel than we're used to. The overall effect is just fine, even if it falls just short of perfect resolution.
For a television series presented in basic Dolby Digital stereo, this is just fine, with crisp dialogue and good overall undistorted sound. Nothing special, and nothing special is needed.
