The Borrowers

"Little People. Big Trouble. Lots of fun."

1997 1h 27m EN

😐

6.1

MID

🍅

73%

FRESH

⭐

5.9

IMDB

★6.1TMDB · 543🍅73%Rotten Tomatoes★5.9IMDB · 24,886

AdventureFantasyActionComedyFamily

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

The four-inch-tall Clock family secretly share a house with the normal-sized Lender family, "borrowing" such items as thread, safety pins, batteries and scraps of food. However, their peaceful co-existence is disturbed when evil lawyer Ocious P. Potter steals the will granting title to the house, which he plans to demolish in order to build apartments. The Lenders are forced to move, and the Clocks face the risk of being exposed to the normal-sized world.

“Little People. Big Trouble. Lots of fun.”

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Cast

John Goodman
Ocious P. Potter
Mark Williams
Exterminator Jeff
Jim Broadbent
Pod Clock
Celia Imrie
Homily Clock
Flora Newbigin
Arrietty Clock
Tom Felton
Peagreen Clock
Raymond Pickard
Spiller
Bradley Pierce
Pete Lender

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Hewitt
Writers: Gavin Scott, John Kamps
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

87 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 78% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

29 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Hewitt, shot by Trevor Brooker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Harry Gregson-Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor David Freeman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

John Goodman and Mark Williams and Jim Broadbent carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Hewitt directs. Trevor Brooker behind the camera. Harry Gregson-Williams scores. David Freeman cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

187 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
2Earned back only 78% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
329 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
4International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
5Directed by Peter Hewitt, shot by Trevor Brooker. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Harry Gregson-Williams. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor David Freeman shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8John Goodman and Mark Williams and Jim Broadbent carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Little People. Big Trouble. Lots of fun.".
10IMDB entry: tt0118755 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Released under 10 different titles around the world.