The Cat Returns (2005)

 

 

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Let me start off this review by saying the movie itself is a five star treat. I rented, after being on a Miyazaki and Ghibli streak, wanting to see all this Japanese studio had to offer. This one blew me away. It made me renew my love for cats, and I know this is one that my best friend, a feline fanatic himself, will probably be proudly displaying next to his What's Michael? japanese comics. Something the collective asian conscience gives them an affinity for cats, and it helps this movie shine. Anyone who has kids or cat lovers will enjoy this tale, but some may be a little lost. There was a movie before this one called Whisper of The Heart, not translated into english, but it isn't the same storyline, just the same characters, so you wont be missing any info, just dealing with a huge plot. Its worth investing in though.

WARNING!: Long Plot Ahead! (You should probably just skip to the end and then watch the movie, but it's here for the confused)

School girl Haru has problems. She can't seem to get up on time, make it school, or keep it together in class. She has a crush on the coolest kid in class, but he just got a girlfriend. Her self esteem is way down. On her way home from school, her and her friend observe a cat with a gold chain carrying a package. They watch it look both ways, and cross the street. It's carrying a small package in its mouth, and trips in the street, dropping the little package. They gasp, and Haru rushes into the street. As a truck is about to squish the little cat, she scoops him up with her lacrosse stick (carried home from school) and sweeps him into a bush. Upon landing in the bush alongside, she breaks her stick. The cat gets up, and then stands on it's hindlegs. After brushing himself off, he bows and says 'Thank you for saving my life. I will repay you.' and skitters off. Haru thinks she's crazy. When she tells her mom she replies that she has said the same thing before, that she could talk to cats when she was little. She shrugs it off, and heads to bed. In the night, however, the King of Cats and a procession of cats (including the most hilarious black cats, who have a suit-and-tie pattern in their fur, and are the kings secret service) and walk up to her door. She has snuck down to see the commotion, and the steward for the king speaks. He tells her that the cat she saved was Prince of the Cat Kingdom, and they would repay her starting the next day, handing her a list of the gifts. She sleeps and wakes, thinking it's a dream. But, the scroll remains, and the things start happening from the scroll (a hilarious scene where her friend is at school, knee deep in lacrosse sticks had me laughing for about five minutes). Soon, she is overwhelmed by it all, and the last gift is revealed. She must marry the prince, and go to the cat kingdom to live in their palace! Distraught, she is told by a mysterious voice to find a big white cat, and he will lead her to the Cat Bureau. Once found, big cat Muta leads her to a tiny town, with a tiny cat. This is the cat pictured on the box. He introduces himself as Baron von Gikkingen, but The Baron works fine.(because his creator gave him a ridiculous name). A crow statue named Toto comes to life and Haru finds out that Baron and Toto were both given souls because their creators loved them so much, and started the Buearu with refugee Muta. With that, The Baron agrees to help Haru and visit the Cat Kingdom to talk sense into them. Just in time, because the cat vanguard arrives to take her away. The Bureau pursues, and Muta and Haru are whisked away, with The Baron and Toto in hot pursuit.

Whew.

Anyway, this movie is by director Hiroyuki Morita, his first head directing credit. Most other Ghibli movies had been done by Miyazaki or Takahata, with the major exceotion of 'Whisper of the Heart', a detailed picture about a young writer who meets the Baron and he inspires her. Miyazaki wrote it and boarded it, then passed it to Yoshifumi Kondo, who died tragically after the release. So, Miyazaki passed this project (the 'sequel') to Morita. Many on the review boards don't like his style. I think it's grand, a soft and more modern approach for the story of a soft and modern girl thrown into a fantasy world. It's still beautiful and has great art direction throughout. The cats are well done, making me marvel at how they captured so many nuances. In just an hour and almost a half, Morita tells his five hundred page storyboard, with 900 lines of dialouge. And it never gets boring, kids wont be dulled by the dialouge and they'll learn a lesson (it's not just about believing in yourself, it's about loving who you are)

The quality of the video is great, not the best of the disney transfers, but its soft lensed look adds instead of subtracts from the story, and the audio is amazing. The score is special, as it contains a complete orchestra, something that Ghibli hadn't done before. The theme song is also unique, as its theme was done by an artist Ayano Tsuji, with just her amazing vocals and a Ukelaili. All of the info on the audio and art can be seen on the Making of featurette.

Speaking of:

There is a Behind The Microphone featurette, covering the voice cast of the american dubbing. This features stars such as Cary Elwes as the Baron (from Princess Bride), Anne Hathaway as Haru (from the Princess Diaries), Peter Boyle as Muta (the dad from everybody loves raymond), Tim Curry as the King of Cats (from lots of movies) and Andy Richter as Natoru, secretary to the king (from... no one remembers his show). Next is an in depth Making Of featurette, that covers the original, the process of making the movie, scoring it and promoting it. Last, the second disc, which features a Complete Storyboard. It's just the audio from the movie set to these storyboards. It's a treat for art students and superfans, casual observers and families will pass this disc by.

Overall, a fantastic movie, with a great and deep plot, proving that Ghibli has a bright future even after Takahata and Miyazaki aren't directing their features. Compassionate, creative and cool, Cat lovers and families need this movie!

I am not doing this review based on the Disney release, but on the original Japanese release. This charming little story is a product of Hayao Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli, but it is directed by Miyazaki's associate, Hiroyuki Morita. It is actually a sequel to the excellent and equally charming Whisper of the Heart, another beautiful though very low-key Ghibli product. The strange thing is that Whisper of the Heart has never been released in the U.S.; releasing the sequel before the original is a bit odd.

That being said, a wealth of details about the films (and everything from Studio Ghibli) can be found on the tremendously informative nausicaa.net Web site. Since this film is being released with Nausicaa of the Valley of Wind and Porco Rosso on February 22, it can only be hoped that it will ride somewhat on the coattails of the two better-known Miyazaki works and will have decent sales. It's an excellent family film and is a refreshing change (like all of Ghibli's works) from giant robots, ninjas, vampires, brainless lowbrow comedy mixed with mindless violence, and the other junk that pervades way too much of contemporary anime releases.

The studio that released brilliant films such as Grave of the Fireflies (1988), Kiki's Delivery Service (1989), and Spirited Away (2001) brings the audience another fantasy tale. This script was passed over by the anime master Hiyao Miyazaki and the first time director Hiroyuki Morita got his chance to make a film. Morita proves that it is very difficult to follow in the footsteps of his mentor Hiyao Miyazaki with whom he worked when they made Kiki's Delivery Service. Nonetheless, Hiroyuki Morita gives his best effort, as he presents to the world his first feature, Cat Returns.

The young high school girl Haru struggles with her life, as she frequently oversleeps, her clumsiness surface due to stress, and she often arrives late to school. Her peers only notice her when she comes late, or something awkward happens to her. On top of this she seems to be a magnet for accidents, as balls hit her head and she is at the wrong place at the wrong time. This leads Haru to question why these bad events happen to her. Her best friend points out that it might be a bad omen, and her life might get much worse in the near future.

On the way home from school Haru notices a cat that is about to cross the road. What the cat does not see is that a truck is about to run him over, but fortunately to the cat's best interest Haru leaps across the street and saves the cat with her lacrosse stick. When they land the cat stands up on his two back paws and brushes off the dust. Haru cannot believe her eyes and when the cat begins to talk it is too much for her. The cat promises to return later to properly express his gratitude, which only leaves Haru in a stammering bewilderment.

During the night Haru receives a Royal visit from the Cat King of the Cat Kingdom who wants to personally display his appreciation of the brave rescue of his son. The Cat King on the other hand is a laidback furry thing that seems to enjoy his sleep more than anything, as he ushers out the words "Thanks a lot, babe." The cats hand over a parchment to her, which states what they promise to give her, as a gift of their deepest appreciation. These gifts, however, are more suitable for cats, as Haru is overwhelmed with cattail plants, catnip, and neatly packaged mice.

After a tough day Haru bumps into one of the Cat King's clerks to whom she vents her anger and expresses that she has no use for the gifts that were given to her, as she is not a cat. Embarrassed for the mistake the cat clerk seeks to rectify the error, as he hears about Haru's troubles. This leads the cat clerk to disclose that the Cat King has decided to make Haru his daughter-in-law.

Troubled by the Cat King's persistence she fears that she might not escape the planned marriage to the cat. When her anxiety is at its strongest, in regards to the cat marriage, she hears a voice out of thin air that tells her to go to the Cat Bureau for help. Haru follows the voice's suggestion, which leads her to meet Baron Humbert von Gikkingen, Muta, and Toto. Together with her new friends she is about to embark on an adventure to try to stop the arranged cat marriage, which does not come with little difficulty.

The use of humanoid felines brings a cheerful, yet bizarre atmosphere to the story. Creepiness of the film is further enhanced through the story, as the main characters enter the Cat Kingdom. The journey into the Cat Kingdom and the Cat Kings behavior brings notions of Alice in Wonderland, which also has an eerie mood through Alice's venture with the mysterious land that she entered. The Cat King's true nature appears later when the audience meets him for the second time, and he is not the same nice and laidback pussycat that he was the first time.

Cat Returns borrows some elements from other animated films such as Whisper of the Heart (1995), which introduced the Baron. The strong element of felines is also present in Kiki's Delivery Service, which seems to follow the director. These borrowed elements do not harm the cinematic experience. On contrary, it enhances the film, and its value. However, the character development is rather narrow and limited, unlike Spirited Away or Kiki's Delivery Service. This could possibly have something to do with the short running time of the film, which is no more than 75 minutes and within this narrow time frame much must be covered. In addition, the theme does not seem to be fully developed, as there seems to be some plot holes in the story. This means that Morita does not measure up with his mentors, but he shows a strong promise as a future anime artist. Nonetheless, Cat Returns offers a joyous cinematic experience that will most likely be mostly enjoyed by anime fans, children, and feline lovers.

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5.0 out of 5 stars great gift for anime lovers out there
This was a great gift for my daughter who loves anime. she has seen just about everything but this was new for her as an older show she had not seen and she loves it so much she... Read more

Published 11 days ago by Chanindra

5.0 out of 5 stars Sequel to Whispers of the Heart
There is alot of screaming and a little bit of whining with the main character however, this movie is very well put together and a wonderful story line. Read more

Published 15 days ago by Jack

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Movie!!
Although the movie was short (only an hour and fifteen minutes) it was really really good. I loved the pacing of the story. Read more

Published 20 days ago by Reggie

5.0 out of 5 stars Somthing have to Return
And that is the good Quality of Animated Moves. Whis this item you can have this. A story for the Old and Joung ho have never stopt Dreaming and ready for a Fantasy. Read more

Published 1 month ago by Wargas

5.0 out of 5 stars Cat Lovers Entertainment
The movie is enjoyable for all families! My sister (the grown-up) don't like family show but she is a cat person and this movie is accepable to her! Read more

Published 1 month ago by Misael De La Rosa

5.0 out of 5 stars typical Ghibli-excellent
interesting character developement for a Studio Ghibli film. Haru is courageous and compassionate but learns self confidence in this film and learns to trust her own judgement.

Published 6 months ago by Kurt B. Benson

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cat Returns
This movie is basically the follow up from "Whisper of the Heart", it still good even if you haven't seen the first of the set. I story young and old will appreciate and love. Read more

Published 10 months ago by Cayna

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cat Returns
This is great for the whole family. We want the next movie with this cat. We did not want it to end. We love it!!

Published 10 months ago by djc

1.0 out of 5 stars Ok, but glad I decided to rent it instead....
It was ok, but I've seen better from Studio Ghibli. I had this item in my cart for awhile and I came across it at Blockbuster one night and decided to give it a shot. Read more

Published 11 months ago by milkshake117

5.0 out of 5 stars The Cat Returns
This is a great film, perfect for lazy Sunday afternoons. I tend to feel that this film is aimed more toward a younger audience, although that didn't stop me enjoying it. Read more

Published 12 months ago by Spider Monkey

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