PLOT
The story takes place in 2010 in Koganei, western Tokyo and like the novel revolves around a group of "tiny people" who are 10 cm tall that live under the floorboards of a typical human household.
A boy named Sho arrives at the house his mother lived in as a child, to live with his great aunt Sadako. When Sho leaves the car, he sees a cat trying to attack something in the bushes. But the cat leaves after being attacked by a crow. Sho goes to see what the cat was trying to attack, to see a Borrower named Arrietty. That night Arrietty's father Pod takes Arrietty above the floorboards to show her how he gets sugar. Pod shows Arrietty the kitchen, behind the walls, and a dollhouse. Before Arrietty and Pod can leave, Arrietty notices that Sho is awake, and drops the sugar cube that they got. Sho tells them to not be afraid of him.
The next day, Sho leaves the dropped sugar cube beside an underground air vent where he first saw Arrietty, but Arrietty's mother Homily warns them not to take it, because their existence must be kept secret from humans. Nonetheless, Arrietty sneaks out to visit Sho in his bedroom, and the two become friends. On her return, Arrietty is intercepted by her father. Pod and Homily realise they've been discovered, and decide that the family must move out of house.
Sho learns from Sadako that his ancestors have seen Borrowers in this house, and that they had the dollhouse made especially for the Borrowers, with working electric lights and ovens. However, the Borrowers had not been seen since, hence the dollhouse stayed in Sho's room. Sho uncovers the floorboards above the Borrower household, uproots their kitchen and replaces it with the kitchen from the dollhouse.
Pod returns injured from a borrowing mission, helped by Spiller, a Borrower boy he met on the way. Spiller suggests some places that the Borrowers can move to, and, after he recovers, Pod goes to check them out. Arrietty goes to say goodbye to Sho. Sho says that the Borrowers are becoming extinct, which hurts Arrietty. He apologises and says that he's had a heart condition since birth, and will have an operation in a few days. The operation does not have a good chance of success.
Meanwhile Haru, Sadako's maid, notices the floorboards have been disturbed. While Sadako is out, Haru locks Sho in his room, unearths the Borrowers' house and puts Homily in a jar in the kitchen. Haru calls a pest removal company to smoke out the Borrowers and bring them to her alive.
When Arrietty returns to find Homily missing and their house disturbed, she goes to Sho for help. Arrietty helps Sho break out of his locked room, Sho then carries Arrietty to the kitchen and distracts Haru while Arrietty rescues Homily. Sadako returns soon after the pest removal company comes, and tells them to leave. Haru tries to prove to Sadako that the Borrowers really exist, but Homily has escaped, and there is nothing below the floorboards: the Borrowers have already set off on their move, and Sho has destroyed the remains.
The Borrowers stop for dinner during their move, and Sho's cat spots Arrietty. The cat brings Sho to Arrietty. He gives her a sugar cube as a parting gift, and tells her that the Borrowers' fight for survival has given him hope to live through the operation, which will happen in two days' time. In return, Arrietty gives Sho her hairclip. The Borrowers then go into a teapot, which Spiller steers down a river.
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