Since I just finished watching this movie, I decided I'd give my thoughts on it. Note that my thoughts are based on the English subtitle track that came on the Blu-ray release. I cannot understand enough Japanese to watch it raw. If I spoil anything, it'll be in tags.
First of all, it should be obvious, but this isn't a Hayao Miyazaki film. From everywhere I've heard, people are expecting this movie to be some kind of masterpiece, but it isn't. This is director Yonebayashi's first time directing a film under Studio Ghibli, and so I think people need to give this film a bit of lee-way. Not to say that you should like it more because the man directing it is inexperienced, but realize that Yonebayashi seems to have a lot of potential at Ghibli. I only see good things coming from him, so don't go saying this film is bad so he doesn't get another chance. Miyazaki also had time to grow as a film director, something Yonebayashi hasn't had.
Onto the movie, I thought that it was fairly good save for a few flaws. The character Arrietty is absolutely adorable and is very likable. She's spunky and full of life, but also lonely because she and her family are supposedly the only of their kind left. Sho on the other hand is sick and he doesn't have a family either. I like the dynamic that went on between them. Sho just wants a friend and so he looks to Arrietty for that, whereas Arrietty is just curious about the humans and isn't really looking for friends. They play a similar role to Haku and Chihiro from Spirited Away, and that's probably what I like the most about this film.
The one thing I didn't like was the pacing. Although this film has amazing scope, it felt like it took too long to get to the point. I feel like that if the plot was fleshed out it could have made for a much more engaging film, but it sadly falls flat here. What we got was good, but it could have been better.
Overall, I'd say it's a fairly good movie, and if you're a fan of Miyazaki/Ghibli, I recommend you watch it since it's very enjoyable to watch. It might not be the best Ghibli film, but it certainly isn't the worst. That would be Tales from Earthsea.
I may post more in depth thoughts later. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.
