The Cat Returns

2 reviews - 8.0 total score (Explanation of the rating system)
avg. score: (4.0)

2. Bugmaster

This is a delightful children's movie by Hiroyuki Morita, one of Miyazaki's proteges at Studio Ghibli. The plot of the movie is fairly simple. Haru, a Japanese high school student rescues a cat, who turns out to be the Prince of Cats. In gratitude, the King of Cats invites Haru to the Land of Cats... but such offers come with strings attached, of course. After many adventures, Haru manages to return to her old life, not a lot older but a lot wiser.

The joy of this movie is not in the plot, but in the characters, and the little touches. Most characters are a bit cartoonish -- but then, that's the point. Haru in particular is well animated; for example, the look on her face when the Cat Prince thanks her is priceless. The cats are also interesting - antropomorphic (cats walking on hind legs look quite strange) one minute, graceful animals the next. Of course, the Cat King has a crack squad of secret-service cats (identified by their black-and-white fur, which looks like they are wearing business suits), who see to it that things don't get out of line, and a squad of camouflage-colored elite cat soldiers... All these characters are very charming, and feel alive on the screen.

The movie also features Musa and Baron, the characters (well, a character and a prop) from Whisper of the Heart, another Studio Ghibli movie. However, The Cat Returns is by no means a sequel -- the overlap between the movies is quite small. Also, I should mention that the art in The Cat Returns is not as good as the art in Whisper of the Heart. Still, this is a Studio Ghibli movie - which means that the art is still quite good, even if it is only average by Studio Ghibli standards.

All in all, I highly recommend this movie. I don't think any movie in recent history made me laugh quite as hard, or brightened up my weekend as much as The Cat Returns did.

1. Leliel

Fans of Mimi wo Sumaseba are already familiar with the Baron, the closest thing to a leading male role in Neko no Ongaeshi, but they have yet to realize any depth of his character. This 75-minute half-movie does an excellent job of rounding him out a bit more, but is left with little time to do anything else effectively. The story is a simple one: Yoshioka Haru, a young Tokyo girl living with her mother, saves a cat's life, and in repayment is granted an adventure to the otherworldly kingdom of cats. There is nothing groundbreaking about the characters or story, but the visuals are up to par for Ghibli; likewise soundtrack is serviceable and voice acting above average. A catchy ending theme song, Tsuji Ayano's "Kaze ni Naru", rounds things out and leaves things on a toe-tappingly positive note. Having seen Ghost in the Shell and Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi in theaters, I was not expecting a lot of surprises watching Neko no Ongaeshi in theatrical sound, but the skydiving scene in particular made fantastic use of the big surround system. There should be more to this movie than there is, as the true nature of the 'other place' is barely touched upon. Taking it as a simple swashbuckling comedy, it fares perfectly well. Recommended viewing.