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Catnapped! The Movie (Geneon Signature Series) Director: Takashi Nakamura Number of Items: 1 Format: Animated, Color Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: Geneon Entertainment Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2004-01-06 Buy from Amazon

From Amazon.com Toriyasu is a lazy, ordinary 10-year-old boy, who wearily endures the outbursts of his boisterous younger sister, Meeko. When his dog Papadoll turns up missing, Meeko is sure the pet has been abducted by aliens. Her suspicions prove correct, as the children find themselves being not kidnapped but "escorted" by three talking cats to Banipal Witt, a feline world that exists in another dimension. Papadoll was brought there by the nasty Princess Buburina: exposure to its magical sun has turned the hapless pooch into a bizarre, destructive monster. (Banipal Witt's sun also turns Toriyasu and Meeko into kittens.) Saving the cat kingdom, Papadoll, and themselves pits the children and their allies against Buburina and her henchcats in a wild air battle. Anime fans will be surprised to learn that this gentle, brightly colored fantasy was written and directed by Takashi Nakamura, the animation director of Akira, with a screenplay by Chiaki Konaka (Lain). Art director Shinji Kumara makes Banipal Witt a dazzling fantasyland of brilliant colors, balloons, and cat-shaped buildings that combines elements of Yellow Submarine, Ub Iwerks's Pincushion Man, and an amusement park. Although the animation is limited, few big-budget American features can match Catnapped! for sheer visual imagination. (Ages 5 and older) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews: Total numer of reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 "Amazing, so happy to have finally found it again!" I saw this at an Anime festival in 1996 and never knew the name. It has been stuck in my head and I've asked every single friend from Japan if they knew what it was and if they knew the name. Everyone seemed to recognize the theme, but no one knew what it was called in English. The bright amazing colors, fun yet psychadelic story, lovely yet simple animation style. It obviously impressed me enough to have looked for it the past 9 years, so I would highly recommend this to any Anime fan who appreciates more than just the traditional graphic style of most Anime films. And it's definitely great for kids! "what is the difference?" I have the regular DVD version of Catnapped. My kids (especially my 7 yr old daughter) love to watch it. You can't go wrong purchasing this for adult or child viewing...it's really that good. I just need to know what the Geneon version offers that is not on the regular version? Is there a commentary track? What exactly is different? "Best movie from Japan" One of my favorite anime films. Very imaginative and appealing. Good for younger audiences and the young at heart. "Colorful Feline Family Adventure" Take a couple of Japanese children, mix in a lot of cats, add a little YELLOW SUBMARINE style, wrap it together with a race against the clock, and you get one of the more original animated films to come along in years. CATNAPPED! was originally released theatrically in Japan in 1995 as TOTSUZEN! NEKO NO KUNI BANIPAL WITT. The story begins in Japan, with Toriyasu, a young disgruntled boy whose dog has mysteriously disappeared, and his little spunky sister Meeko. One day, on the way to school Meeko catches a glimpse of a cat dressed in a coat slipping through the shadows. All this eventually leads a very reluctant Toriyasu and an enthusiastic Meeko journeying with three strange cats in their craft to the magical world of Banipal Witt. There they discover their dog Papadoll has somehow turned into a huge flying monster under the control of the bratty evil sorceress Buburina. With Chu Chu's help, Toriyasu's task is to help turn Papadoll back to normal and bring his dog and his sister home before the sun rises again in Banipal Witt. If they don't make it, Papdoll will stay a monster forever! The backgrounds and architecture seems straight out of a children's dream with a strange hybrid of toys, balloons, trains and more. It does a great job of explaining all the characters' motivations throughout the film, and it is great to see the development Toriyasu undergoes from his start as a mean, downtrodden kid. The audience is led to cheer on and care for the heroes, but even the antagonists are not completely evil and you can feel a bit for them too. There is enough action to keep you involved throughout the film, starting from the initial warping to Banipal Witt until the ending climax. CATNAPPED! is a fun and wild ride for both the young and the young at heart. "Crazy & Original" After neglecting his dog Papadoll, Toriyasu loses him and doesn't know where to find him. Will Papadoll even want to come back to Toriyasu, after he neglected him before? Catnapped (1995) is zany and crazy; the backgrounds are very colorful, but strange. The scenery is gorgeous and it really reminds me of Little Nemo. Both boys and girls would like it. I got interested in it when I found out it was directed by the same director as Akira, Takashi Nakamura. What I like most is the really good-looking character animations; they're wonderful. They are beautiful anthropomorphs. They're cute, but not babyish. The music is good. The animated frame rate is as good as you can get for an anime, it never seems stiff. As a university student, the overall tone is a little childish, but it is really hilarious and entertaining, so that makes up for it. Monster Papadoll is hysterical; he's cute but freaky. It's light-hearted and there is action, but not violence. If you are looking for a movie that's dark or scary, this will not do. The DVD is bilingual and it includes character information. By the way, it's normal for kid shows in Japan to have swears, so note there are some swears in the subtitled format. Catnapped is an unexpected anime and it's very creative and original. I'm glad I own it.