Haru

Haru (known as Hara in the US English dub) is a maid who works for Sadako Maki and the main antagonist in The Secret World of Arrietty. She insists on catching the borrowers, and in the end, runs them out of their home. Haru was voiced by Kirin Kiki in the Japanese version, Geraldine McEwan in the English version and Carol Burnett in the Disney version.

Appearance
Haru wears a brown trousers and orange shirt with beige apron. She wears green glasses and has short, messy brown hair. Her skin is white and she's fairly plump.

The Secret World of Arrietty
Miss Hara is the paranoid housekeeper of the house Shawn and his aunt move to. She is suspicious of Arrietty and her race and despises them. Miss Hara is intent on showing proof that they exist and kidnaps Arrietty's mother Homily as evidence, trapping her in a glass jar. She tries to keep Shawn from helping the Borrowers by locking him in his room. Fortunately, Shawn escapes with Arrietty, who helps Homily escape just before Hara brings Squeaky Clean Pest Control to the house to capture the Borrowers. Hara is finally foiled and throws a fit when she realizes her proof has escaped, trying to tell the pest control company that she is not crazy.

Personality
In the beginning of the film, Miss Hara at first seems like a loving caring person. She takes in a young boy named Shawn who is battling a heart disease. Even getting somewhat concerned about Shawn when he's out in the rain, telling him to get inside or he'll catch a cold.

However, her true personality is shown as she gets more suspicious about the "little people" living inside of her home. Her paranoia grows and grows as strange things kept happening in her house, especially with Shawn wondering over the place she stays. However, when she eventually actually finds one of the "little people" who is Arrietty's mother, Homily, she kidnaps her. Hara's greed gets the best of her and even locks Shawn in his room so she wouldn't have her plan foiled, although this fails. It's not for certain what she wanted to do with Arrietty's family, but she calls the "Squeaky Clean Pest Control" so they could be contained.

Hara also reveals to be a bit dimwitted, most likely from her old age. Shawn's Aunt Jessica points out that she accidentally yet quite frequently parks her car in the middle of the driveway, despite many times Jessica had to tell her not to park it there.

Etymology

 * The name Haru is written in katakana (ハル), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (陽, 春 or 晴), it could possibly mean:**陽 - "light, sun, male".
 * 春 - "spring".
 * 晴 - "clear weather".

Haru (Arrietty)