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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 |
 "Cat proves magic of Studio Ghibli"The Cat Returns / ***½ (G) A film review by Andrew D. Wells Featuring the voice talents: (English/Japanese) Haru: Anne Hathaway/ Chizuru Ikewaki The Baron: Carey Elwes/ Yoshihiku Hakamada The Cat King: Tim Curry/ Tetsuro Tamba Muta: Peter Boyle/ Tetsu Watanabe Prince Lune: Andrew Bevis/ Takayuki Yamada Yuki: Judy Greer/ Aki Maeda Walt Disney and Studio Ghibli present a film directed by Hiroyuki Morita. Adapted to English by Cindy Davis Hewitt and Donald H. Hewitt. Adapted from the Manga by Aoi Hiiragi. Running time: 75 min. Rated G. Disney has a lot to thank Pixar guru John Lassiter for, not only did Pixar extend its relationship with the once king of the animation universe by delaying the release of its final Disney CGI collaboration Cars until the profitable summer market in 2006 rather than rushing it out for the holiday season in 2005, but Lassiter was also the primary architect of the U.S. distributing deal Disney forged with Japan's premiere animation studio, Academy Award winning anime director Hayao Miyazaki's own Studio Ghibli. In the deal Disney obtained the U.S. distribution rights to all of Miyazaki's masterful films (save My Neighbor Totoro which was snatched up by Fox long before the current popular anime video movement in America) as well as the rights to the great studio's other properties; the first of which, Horiyuki Morita's 2002 film The Cat Returns, makes its DVD debut this month. Like the majority of Miyazaki's work, Morita's The Cat Returns does not play in the sword and sorcery/ sci-fi action of most anime popular in the U.S. video market, but tells an endearing and thoughtful coming of age story of a teenaged girl named Haru who is introduced to a hidden magical world due to an act of kindness she shows toward a cat. Haru is a typical teenager who is having trouble coming to terms with the mounting responsibilities leading up to adulthood. She thinks everything in her life is against her. Such occurrences as missing her breakfast because she can't help hitting the snooze button on her alarm clock or the boy in which she is interested talking to another girl are life tragedies. Then, on the way home from school, she witnesses a cat crossing a busy stretch of road carrying a package wrapped with a ribbon. A truck speeds toward the unaware animal, undoubtedly about to end the creature's life, when Haru throws herself across the road, scooping up the endangered cat with her lacrosse stick. The stick breaks as the two crash into the shrubbery of the dividing median, another devastating blow to the teen's psyche. Then, to Haru's amazement, the cat stands upright on his hind legs like a human, brushes himself off, thanks her for her good deed with eloquent speech, places his package back in his mouth, and plods off around the corner back on all fours. This incident is merely the catalyst to a series of events that will teach Haru about real problems and how to deal with them with maturity, how even people of authority often lack maturity, and will introduce her to an entire universe that exists just beneath the attention span of human existence. Haru soon finds herself the object of the cat world's attention, as they shower her with gifts for the good deed she has done, for the cat she saved is the prince of their world. But while the cattails in her yard and catnip in her clothes may seem splendid to the cats, Haru finds these newfound attentions more of a burden than a boon. Soon she is visited by the Cat King himself to thank her for saving his son's life. The Cat King is an utterly unique character, sitting on his carriage as if he never bothers to move himself, with eyes that liken him to the bug-eyed character actor Marty Feldman, who enriched so many Mel Brooks films. Eventually it is revealed that the Cat King is just as crazy as he looks when Haru is kidnapped and brought to the Kingdom of Cats to become Prince Lune's bride. In an attempt to keep the captive Haru happy the Cat King marches a series of performers through the banquet hall to entertain the bride to be. As each performer fails to make the princess smile The Cat King has each one tossed out the window, which happens to be in one of the castle's highest towers. It was all I could do to stay in my seat fighting off the laughter as each cat performer's silhouette sailed out the tower window falling into oblivion. Before Haru is kidnapped she enlists the help of the Cat Bureau to help her stave off the Cat King's attempts to repay her. Muta is the fat cat who leads her to the Bureau's chief The Baron, who promptly orders Muta to become Haru's reluctant bodyguard. Muta treats all with the irreverence of a cat so large he has no need to show anyone or thing the respect he demands by his girth alone. The one thing in which he shows any interest beyond the blasé is catnip juice, which in turn provides one of the film's most disturbingly humorous visuals. The visual style of the piece is not as ornate as Miyazaki's films, however still proves Studio Ghibli's reputation as one of the best animation houses in Japan and the world. There is striking depth to some of the sequences that are given a mock third dimensional treatment, such as the scene where Haru originally saves Prince Lune from the speeding truck or when the Kingdom of Cats is first revealed to Haru and Muta. And only in Japanese anime can you find such imagination that utilizes objects and animals from the real world to create breathtaking images and ideas, like the swirling bird staircase that plays a part in the resolution of Haru's fate. The Cat Returns captures much of the youthful innocence and heartening sentiment of Miyazaki's wonderful Kiki's Delivery Service and throws in just a taste of the hidden mystery and eccentric characterization of his Academy Award winning Spirited Away. While here it is presented on a lesser scale than in those Miyazaki classics, The Cat Returns still outshines anything in the form of family entertainment produced by Disney or any other animation studio the U.S. has to offer, save maybe Pixar. And with Disney quickly abandoning its traditional animation style to compete with whomever ends up distributing Pixar after their relationship with that award winning studio is severed, Studio Ghibli may be traditional animation's sole savior, at least in the family market. "Another brilliant Studio Ghibli creation!"This film obviously cannot compete with Ghibli's Spirited Away. It does offer an interesting plot and has some very funny moments. The basic story is about a young school girl who saves this cat (she doesn't know it's a cat prince) from being run over by a truck in the street. She is thanked by cat kingdom with an assortment of gifts that only a cat could appreciate (mice, cat nip, etc). She travels into cat kingdom because the cat king wishes her to marry his son. Like all Studio Ghibli films, the first 15 minutes of the film are normal and then the film takes you on a wild journey into a different world. Children and adults can enjoy this film. The DVD extras are not very impressive but the quality is good.  "This Movie is so Cool!"All of Studio Ghibli's films are wonderful and The Cat Returns proves this. The story is a wonderfully magical tale of finding oneself (I won't go into details, but if you wish to know more read the product summary). All of the characters are well developed and the main character has a believable personality. The English dub is perfect (Disney always seems to do a good job when it comes to dubbing) and the artwork is so beautiful you won't be able to tear your eyes away from the screen. Children and adults alike will enjoy this soon to be timeless classic. The DVD itself comes with nice extras like behind the microphone with the English cast, the making of The Cat Returns, TV Trailers and complete storyboards along with some Disney sneak peaks. All in all, this movie is great buy and an excellent addition to anyone's DVD collection. (If your wondering why some people gave this movie a bad or average rating its probably because they are anime freak and are bias towards Studio Ghibli productions that are not directed by Hayao Miyazaki) "Cute, and better for younger viewers"Haru is a very nice girl. She helps her friends, and argues about which boys are the coolest - not that they seem to be arguing about her. She even helps stray cats: first that white kitten when she was little, then the gray one today, the one carrying the gift box. Gift box? That sets in motion a charming story along the lines of Alice in Wonderland. Haru unwittingly saves the prince of a magical cat kingdom. The king and all its citizens are now determined to thank her, whether she wants it or not. After getting in trouble for few dozen cats following her into school, and after finding dozens of gift-wrapped mice in her locker, "or not" is what she wants. A mysterious voice tells her to find the one who'll lead her to the Cat Bureau - and then it's down the rabbit hole, sort of. She follows the little white guide through mysterious passages, grows way too big for the house then as small as a kitten, tries to avoid the royal "Off with their heads" (or "out the window," here), scatters the bright-colored but not-too-bright guards, and grows some lovely whiskers and a tail. There's lots more, centered on The Baron and guide/guard Mutu. There's excitement but no violence, and the unwanted marriage to the cat prince is a matter of white lace and ribbons more than adult fact. The story has a safe and happy ending, with Haru happier than ever just being herself. It moves well, it's animated well, and has some clever scenes. It's not for the more sophisticated child, though. Only younger kids or grown-ups are likely to enjoy it. //wiredweird "Kittens will probably enjoy it more than adult cats."The Cat Returns is a cute and charming animated feature that's on a different leaque than other big budget Hollywood animated films such as Shrek and Shark Tales. It's style is pleasing to viewers who wants a more sketchy look rather than realism that's done by advanced technology. Afterall, it's intended to target children audiences, and if you are a child at heart, or if you are a cat lover like myself, than it's still worth-while to see it for fun. My Baby was quite hyper when he heard the sounds of many cats during my viewing of this film! It really is a simple story about a girl(Haru) who saved a prince cat from getting ran over on the street, and the Cat King wanted to repay her by offering a marriage proposal to the prince. She thought it was a joke, and ignored the cats, because she's human. She eventually seeked the help of a great big white cat(Muta), the Crow, and the Baron to fight against the forceful kingdom. She was magically transformed into a half human cat by the power of King Cat at the Palace, and she tried to escaped before it was too late for her to return to her true human form. Will the Prince return to the Palace on time to intervent the Cat King from this disastrous nightmare and help Haru return to her homeland? The film is reasonably enjoyable, but it lacked intensity in it's story. Nonetheless, it's less than 80 mins, and it's finished before you know it. |
