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The Cat Returns Actors: Chizuru Ikewaki, Yoshihiko Hakamada Director: Hiroyuki Morita Number of Items: 2 Format: Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen Audience Rating: G (General Audience) Running Time: 75 minutes Studio: Buena Vista Home Vid Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2005-02-22 Buy from Amazon |
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From Amazon.com The Cat Returns (2002) brings back Muta, the cranky fat cat, and Baron von Gikkingen, the elegant statue, from the feature Whisper of the Heart (1995). On her way home from school, Haru, a confused 17-year-old, prevents an elegant gray cat from being hit by a truck. She's inadvertently saved the life of Lune, Prince of the Cat Kingdom, and his royal father decides to thank her. He fills her locker with gift-wrapped mice and decides she should come to his kingdom and marry Lune. Haru seeks help from the Cat Bureau, and eventually returns to relatively normal life, with the assistance of Muta and the Baron. The Cat Returns recalls Whisper of the Heart and Takashi Nakamura's Catnapped, but it offers neither the wistful charm of the former nor the bold visual imagination of the latter. Hayao Miyazaki has been seeking young directors for Studio Ghibli for several years. After preparing the script and storyboards for Whisper, he turned the film over to Yoshifumi Kondo, who died tragically shortly after the film's release. The Cat Returns was directed by Hiroyuki Morita, who shows promise, but lacks Kondo's elegant sensibility. The DVD extras include a fulsome making-of documentary, Morita's voluminous storyboards, and mini-interviews with the vocal cast that includes Tim Curry, Cary Elwes, Peter Boyle, and Elliott Gould. (Rated G: minor scary imagery and cartoon violence) --Charles Solomon From Description From the creators of the Academy Award(R) winning SPIRITED AWAY (Best Animated Feature Film, 2002) comes the visually stunning THE CAT RETURNS, a spectacular animated journey to a world of magic and adventure. Haru, a schoolgirl bored by her ordinary routine, saves the life of an unusual cat, and suddenly her world is transformed beyond anything she ever imagined. The Cat King rewards her good deed with a flurry of presents, including a very shocking proposal of marriage to his son! Haru embarks on an unexpected journey to the Kingdom of Cats where her eyes are opened to a whole other world and her destiny is uncertain. To change her fate, she'll need to learn to believe in herself and appreciate her everyday life. Featuring the sensational voice talents of Anne Hathaway, Cary Elwes, Tim Curry, and Elliot Gould, THE CAT RETURNS is a magical animated adventure that will delight and inspire everyone. |
 "Goofy, clumsy, careles, and absolutely wonderful."We've all felt like Haru at one point or the other, and I totally related to her while watching the film. A coming-of-age style story with a fantasy twist, 'The Cat Returns' is a delightful movie I watch at least monthly. While not a Myazaki as many expect, it is charming and elegant, with memorable characters you instantly feel something for and a journey I wish I could take. Hiroyuki Morita has a bright future and I hope to see more of him in the future! "A fun, beautifully animated time for all"As a fan of Hayao Miyazaki, I was surprised to find that this companion to his Whispers of the Heart did not have the character designs that are so recognizably in his style. However, the animation was incredible (as always from Studio Ghibli) and it was easy to tell from how the characters moved that it was his style of animation. Hiroyuki Morita has done a very nice job as his successor. Compared to Whispers of the Heart, this movie was much more of a children's piece; a lot of kids might be bored by parts of Whispers of the Heart, which focused more on a girl growing up than the fantastical adventures of the Baron, who appears in both movies. It was a lot of fun, though, and I really enjoyed it. The only problem I had with it was that the subtitles sometimes didn't reflect what was being said in the actual Japanese track. I haven't listened to the dub, but since the voice actors are fairly well-known, I imagine it's pretty good. Cary Elwes would certainly make a good Baron.  "great"This is such a great movie. So different than what I expected, and my kids, ages 7 and 4 - were equally impressed. So clever, such compassion, so creative! Great film. Watch it with the whole family - grandma too - all will love it. "Fun Family Film"If you enjoy the films of Hiroyuki Morita, you will appreciate this clever tale. This movie is sort of a sequel. It's too bad that the 1st movie, Whisper of the Heart, wasn't released for American audiences beforehand. "Take me to Cat Kingdom!"How can I explain the special place that Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli movies have in my heart? The Cat Returns is no exception. Although not directed by Miyazaki, it retains the heart of what makes every Studio Ghibli movie great. This project was actually created in order to raise up the next generation of Ghibli directors. And I say that if this is the first work of Hiroyuki Morita, I can't wait to see how his later works look like. The story is less epic in scale than Spirited Away although both feature female girls being transported to a strange place. Here, Haru, our high school girl protagonist, is spirited away to Cat Kingdom in order to be married to the cat prince whom she saves at the beginning of the film. I think the greatest compliment for the movie is that it's a lot of fun. It's a light-hearted romp in which you continually see marvelous things. You never know what to expect and it's always creative from riding on a carpet of cats to seeing cats walks on their hind legs and talk. It's a sense of amazement on a lighter scale, that makes you go "what the?" but in a good way. I first felt that the movie might have been too light, but repeated viewings actually enhance the movie's likeability. A lot of the movie's charm has to do with the characters involved. There's Haru, an extremely likeable and regular girl, whose outbursts can be funny. There's also the dapper Baron in his suit, tophat and cane along with his pals, the abrasive and tough Muta, and their friend who's a crow. And there's the greasy Cat King and his obsequious servants. All in all, it creates a world you'd like to visit. Although there is conflict in the movie, there is no sense of real threat, but it works that way. It's one lively exciting adventure from the chase scenes, the waltz, the beautiful walk down spiraling birds--a most whimsical tail (*wink*). But what grounds the movie also is that at heart, it's the story of growing up. What Haru experiences changes her, makes her grow and expand, allows her find confidence, courage, and find herself. The English Dub version is really good. They really kept to the spirit of the characters. Haru is voiced by Anne Hathaway (of The Princess Diaries fame) who captures the essence of a young girl perfectly. And the Baron is voiced by Cary Elwes (Princess Bride) who is able to get the aristocratic tone of the Baron across. |
