Japanese trailers are here and here. UK trailer is here.

I'll also link the French trailer, because it has a high quality and does a good job of showcasing the film's aesthetics.

Rottentomatoes seems to imply that this film is very good, on par with Spirited Away. Apparently, the European "feel" to the film is done particularly well, from the official score by Cecile Corbel to Sho's gardens, which look rather English imo.

Another point of interest is that the English casts for this movie is going to be different, depending on where you live:

Hence, the Americans will get the Disney-sponsored casts, while the UK will receive the Optimum-chosen casts.

So far, the initial reaction from Japan and the UK has been very good, at least in terms of the critics' reception. The French have also reportedly loved the film. imo, I don't think it'll be as good as Totoro, Mononoke, or Porco Rosso, but it should be an improvement on Howl's Moving Castle and definitely an improvement from Earthsea.

FYI, Arrietty will be released in the United States on 17 February 2012.

What are your own thoughts and expectations?

 

IIRC, Arietty wasn't very well received among regular Japanese viewers when it came out last year. For one, the director, while very promising, just isn't as powerful as Hayao Miyazaki.

Earthsea was a fucking disgrace. Goro Miyazaki even had the gall to say that he "didn't really know what he was doing" during an interview for the new Ghibli movie that he directed (which is rumored to be loads better, esp. because his dad is fully on board) that came out last month.

So yeah. Arietty's artwork, directing, it's all top notch, even discounting the fact that it's the director's first feature film (he was previously assistant director to Hayao and worked on a number of Ghibli films). The company's obviously in good hands.

The only weak point, and the greatest factor that completely detracted from the entire experience, was the script. It's just... weak, I suppose. The payoff at the end's just lacking, when compared to all the rest.

But yeah. If you like anime, and especially if you're a Ghibli fan, you can't miss this, despite its few, albeit large weaknesses.

 

Is it just me or at 0:09 in the English Trailer, the house looks pretty much exactly like the one in Totoro? ^^

Either way, I loved reading The Borrowers as a kid and I love Ghibli stuff (Aside from Earthsea, that one was pretty damn bad). Got high hopes for this

 

Miyazaki has decades of experience while this new guy has only been working since the mid-90's.

Also, it is really hard to measure up to Miyazaki in general. Even though his most recent films have not been as good as some of his past ones, he is still one of the best in the business.

Can you blame him? Up until he was tapped for the project, Goro didn't have any experience working in anime. IIRC, he was the curator for the Ghibli museum.

I hope so. I've been concerned about Ghibli for a while since there did not seem to be any up and coming talent to replace Miyazaki or Takahata when the kick the bucket. They tried with Hosoda and failed, and then they tried with Goro and we got Earthsea.