The Borrowers – Peter Hewitt – 1997 – UK – Cert. U – 89m
****
A slimy lawyer sets about evicting the human occupants and the ‘little people’ from a property – opened in UK cinemas on Friday, December 5th 1997
Take Mary Norton’s Borrowers, tiny people who live under the floorboards and borrow household items only as and when they need them, throw in underrated British director Peter Hewitt (much beloved by critics for his wonderfully stupid Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey, 1991) and you have The Borrowers. Aimed equally unashamedly at both children and the American market, this deftly services both constituencies without alienating the rest of us – which is no mean feat.
The plot is a tried and true Hollywood formula – slimy lawyer wants to evict family who own house, so the occupants (and therefore the Borrowers too) must move on. The likeable John Goodman is on hand to play the lawyer (both he and the audience have a lot of fun here) aided by Mark Williams’ Exterminator Jeff, the pest control man Goodman hires to flush vermin (i.e. the little people) out from under the floorboards.
This all takes place in what appears from the outside an unnamed American city, with central skyscrapers, but with numerous locations (house interior, sewer pipes, milk bottling factory) looking suspiciously British. Goodman aside, the cast aren’t really American (Hugh Laurie’s European-style constable is more traditional British bobby than American cop) with the Borrowers themselves (a nuclear family helmed by Jim Broadbent and Celia Imre as the parents) distinctly British.
None of which is ever a problem, since the sheer pace of the piece and the awesome achievements of its spectacular special effects steal the show. The human / Borrower chase through a production line of milk bottles in the aforementioned factory is but one of the many pleasures on offer. If you can forgive the minor Americanisms, this is family film-making at its best, ably put together by a talented team who really appear to enjoy this milieu both in front of and behind the camera. In short, hugely entertaining!
The Borrowers opened in UK cinemas on Friday, December 5th 1997.
This review was originally published in What’s On in London.
Trailer (UK):
Trailer (US):