Neko no Ongaeshi

This is my first review, but hopefully it is of some use to the community here.

Story: The Cat Returns is a side story to the Studio Ghibli film, "Whisper of the Heart'. In essence, it is a separate story within a story, which makes the concept quite clever. It brings back old characters from the original showing, into a plot that has a similar atmosphere to The Nutcracker or Alice in Wonderland. It is a fantasy, in a which a shy girl is carried off into another land, and in the process learns more about herself. The moral behind the story is a touching ... one, and it is delivered well. Perhaps the only drawback that someone might find, is that it all ends too happily [or that the story is too predictable].

Art: The art was decent, considering it came from a studio that is well known for its high quality animation. Yet I saw the film in a site where the movie had slightly lower quality then what might be seen on a dvd or television screen. There are some scenes in which the art is commendable. This includes anatomy of the animals, and the city scenes. Some scenes were very well detailed, although the color at times wasn't as vibrant as it could be. [This could simply be a style presented in the film]. It can't compare to some of the more vibrant shows of today, but it is still well done.

Sound: The sound was decent, although it could have been better. If there were any songs, they were not strong or memorable. It was straight forward sound that was good enough to deliver the show. The voice actor for the main character did a good job, making Haru [the girl] quite comical at times. Audio was not the strongest area in this film, but it was not bad.

Character: The character's personalities were probably typical for a story such as this one. Yet there are many aspects that they portray in the film in order to help the story flow. There is also character development within the main character, Haru, although the change was rather sudden and short-lived. It still makes it all fit together nicely in the end. The characters themselves are not as strong as the story or the enjoyment, but they are quite comical.

Enjoyment: In my opinion, this is the strongest point of the film. There will always be a moment in which something ironic, or humorous occurs. They try their best to make the audience laugh. If it isn't the witty or silly remarks made by the characters, then it is the very actions within the plot itself. I enjoyed the film very much, and haven't felt so light-hearted in a while.

Overall, The Cat Returns, is a comical and sweet tale. It isn't something meant to be taken seriously. It is an odd, wacky fantasy with jokes and general mischief at every corner. I feel that it is a must see for any Studio Ghibli fan. Yet even if you are unfamiliar with the other works in Studio Ghibli, I feel that this story will still leave you with a nice (if not wacky) impression.

There are a group of fans who believe that Ghibli can do no wrong. Yet even the studio who gave us classics such as Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, Castle in the Sky, and Spirited Away, are capable of turning out a second-class effort. The Cat Returns, a curious entry to the Ghibli library, is one such movie. Directed by newcomer Hiroyuki Morita, this film is a spin-off of Yoshifumi Kondo's magical Whisper of the Heart--almost unheard of for a studio that strives on original productions.

The story, which involves Haru, an unlucky high school student, whisked away to ... the Cat Kingdom after saving a feline from being run over by a truck, is serviceable but uninspired and predictable in a Disney-ish sort of way--a trait that Miyazaki and Takahata's works never shared, and that is a detriment to this film.

More problematic, however, is the "believe in yourself" message. Rather than allowing the viewer to watch the struggles of the protagonist and determine what she has to learn in order to return to her homeland, Haru is given this very message verbally about halfway through the movie. Not only does this undermine the theme, it makes the ultimate resolution less satisfactory than it should be.

The Cat Returns is not a bad film by any means. It has its preciously delightful moments (an adorable scene where we see a young girl feeding a small, filthy kitten fish crackers and a very charming ballroom dance sequence), a healthy share of comedy (mostly in the form of a grouchy fat furball named Muta), and one truly memorable character, a suave, splendidly dressed "aristocat" antique by the name of Baron (his presence carries the movie as a whole). But while unquestionably fine for children and families, the film is ultimately a weaker effort, both narratively and artistically (the artwork, although colorful and imaginative for the most part lacks the polish that we have come to expect from Ghibli), and consequently, is not especially memorable.

Aurally, The Cat Returns cannot be faulted. The musical score from Yuji Nomi (Whisper of the Heart) is pleasantly orchestral and charming, and the ending theme song which accompanies the closing credits is lovely and catching. And of course, Disney does yet another fabulous job of providing a top-notch cast to translate the movie into English. These include Tim Curry, Peter Boyle, and Elliot Gould. Special credit in particular goes to Cary Elwes (Donald Curtis in Porco Rosso), who is perfect as the suave, debonair Baron. On the other side of the spectrum, Anne Hathaway's Haru, although good, sometimes comes across as too whiney. Granted, this is how she is supposed to be, but it does detract from the likeability of the character.

As mentioned, children will obviously enjoy The Cat Returns, but in contrast to the studio's more memorable features, it falls disappointingly short. Although better than the worst animated features out there, The Cat Returns, so far, ranks as the weakest of the Studio Ghibli films. Ghibli completists will pick it up just for the sake of "owning the entire collection", but chances are it will not be among their top ten lists.

A pretty good effort from Studio Ghibli, here.

The story here is very similar to many other Ghibli movies. A character is thrust into a magical land, or sees something out of the ordinary. However unoriginal it may be, it's well done. It's well written, and it's well paced.

The art style is a bit mediocre for a movie. The characters are drawn very simply, and lack shading to make them look more three-dimensional. The background paintings are very beautiful, though.

Soundwise, it is very well done. The music is high quality, and the stereo sound is mastered well. The English dub is done pretty well, no ... complains there really.

The character is very relatable, especially if you are a girl. My sister and one of her friends were watching this, and fell in love with the movie. I believe the reason for this was the central female protagonist. She is portrayed realistically and believably as a teenage high school girl.

Although a bit short for a Ghibli movie, it's a concise, memorable and whimsical adventure into a fantasy world that is worth seeing. It is a good movie overall; if you like Miyazaki's work, give this one a go.

You can watch my video review of this anime HERE.

Story - This has to be my favourite Studio Ghibli film so far - it is so engaging in every aspect. Unlike most movies, you never properly feel like the characters are in danger, and this movie ends up being more of a relaxing film to watch due to how soothing and cute it is. I am a big fan of action, and although there was not a lot in this, I still found this to be an AMAZING movie.

Art - If you compare this movie to the rest of Ghibli's works (other than My Neighbours the Yamadas), it stands out as odd. It isn't ... bad by a long shot, but it just felt a tiny bit lacklustre at times as sometimes it can look a bit goofy.

Sound - The music in this film was phenomenal and engaging. The sound quality is a bit old and there a couple of Natoru's lines which seem a bit too far from the microphone or have a slight echo.

Character - Every single character in this movie is loveable. A lot of anime movies would have at least one character who you would think needs to shut up, but not in The Cat Returns! The Baron, the Cat King, Haru, Muta, Lune, all of them - loveable characters with distinct personalities that don't clash and make this an amazing film.

Enjoyment - This movie was super enjoyable the entire way through, from the very first scene to listening to Ayano Tsuji's singing over the credits at the end (she was also an amazing choice and sang it beautifully). Every single little bit about this film was enjoyable for anyone and everyone.

Overall - This movie is highly recommended, I give it a 10/10 and I already want to watch it a second time, and I only just finished it.

Studio Ghibli has a long history of film making and is known for its great producers. They've made a name for themselves as one of the best studios in the past few decades with all the movies that have risen to fame quickly and cultivating fans throughout their entire run. Everyone has probably watched a Miyazaki film or heard his name. His movies are always top quality and tend to outshine the other films Ghibli makes.

Neko no Ongashi or The Cat Returns is one that has received both good and bad opinions over the years. I discovered this movie due to watching a marathon of ... Ghibli films and at first this movie seemed quite bland and boring, but it entertained me with the concept and I unexpectedly enjoyed it.

The story follows Haru, a girl who has an ordinary life and is nothing too special in beauty, nor special qualities. She stumbles upon a cat on the road and runs to save it without a second thought and it turns out to be a cat prince.

The story from there takes off into an adventure of cats trying to please her and repay for what she did to save the prince. Over a time period she gets a proposal to be engaged with the prince and it takes off to the perfect comedy/fantasy themed story.

Shes taken to a place where cats can talk and live out their daily lives, basically like their land. She gets turned into a cat the more she stays there and if she doesn't leave by a specific time shes stuck a cat forever.

Ghibli has a art style that doesn't match today's high quality art style like most animes, yet still makes it perfect and wonderful to watch.

Art for an anime is something i'm really picky about. If the art isn't something I can enjoy then I usually judge the anime harsher. Though the art for this is nothing great, it's perfect for the time it was made and fit the movie greatly. The characters were really nicely drawn and the cats were all different and had a unique trait to each of them. Though the art may not be top quality, some scenes were just beautiful to watch and had some effort really put into them.

The sound for this movie was probably the thing I enjoyed the most. The background music for each scene was actually very calming and made the mood of the movie all around really good. The voice actors were all really good, especially baron, and you can really feel the emotion that they all put into trying to bring the characters to life. Now the ending for this movie is probably on the most calming song i've ever heard. It's really catchy and really did a good job finishing off the movie.

The characters for this movie were actually really pleasing to watch and made the movie even better.

You have Haru, a girl who is just living an ordinary life who gets thrown into a world she is unknown to. This brings out for a lot of adventure and comedy from the reactions that she gives.

Second you have baron, a cat that helps everybody and is very cunning. He makes the movie even better with his heroic deeds and actually starts to attract Haru's attention.

The rest of the cast is built of cats and they made the movie fun to watch. The king is someone can be misjudged, but his intentions aren't bad. The prince doesn't get too much show time, but really sticks out when he's in the scenes and makes it even better. Lastly you get Yuki, a cat that knows Haru when she first enters the cat world and makes a good mystery for how she knows her.

This movie is one that gets overshadowed by the more popular films, but can compete with them. The story of it is unique and was the first time i've seen it tackled. The art was perfect quality for its time and still very enjoyable for the genre and audience that it's aimed at today. The sound is something I greatly enjoyed throughout the movie and the ending song is just perfect to me and I fell in love with it. The characters are pretty unique and what makes this movie what it is. It gives a nice feel to the main being taken away to a new land and the adventures awaits from there. I recommend anyone who loves Ghibli to check this out!

The Cat Returns is a bit of an odd one. It's connected to another Studio Ghibli film, Whispers of the Heart, but they don't have any of the same characters nor are their plots connected. Basically, the protagonist in that film writes a story as part of a subplot and this is supposedly that story. The connection is very loose and pretty unimportant, which is why I'm reviewing this one before Whispers of the Heart.

The Cat Returns follows a young girl named Haru. One afternoon she's heading home from school when she sees a cat about to get run over by a truck. Acing ... quickly, she saves his life. The cat wipes itself off in a very humanoid way, thanks her and goes about its way. That night Haru is visited by a procession of cats walking on two legs and the king of cats thanks her for saving his son and gives her a scroll listing all of the “great” gifts that she'll receive, including the right to marry his son. Haru, not wanting to marry a cat for obvious reasons, seeks out the cat bureau. A place run by a cat figurine given life by the power of animism named Baron Humbert von Gikkingen. Baron agrees to help her, but she's quickly grabbed by a horde of cats. The story goes from there to the kingdom of cats and Haru's struggle to escape. On the positive side, the story is well-paced with both good and funny moments. On the negative side, it's really predictable and there's very little tension.

The characters in this are okay. I did like Baron quite a bit, but Haru is one of the most generally useless protagonists I've ever seen in a Studio Ghibli film. For most of the film she's just going along with everything and having to be rescued. The characters as a whole are pretty under-developed.

The art is spectacular, of course. The character designs look good. The action sequences are drawn well. The backgrounds are stunning. It's what you'd expect from a Ghibli film. One thing that is noteworthy are the movements. They manage to make the movements of the feline characters look very catty while still using gestures and posing that are readily recognisable. Which does make for some interesting sights.

They got a pretty good vocal cast. All of the performances are well done and pretty memorable. The best probably come from Hakamada Yoshihiko, Ikewaki Chizuru and Maeda Aki. The music is just superb.

The ho-yay factor is a 1/10. There is none in this.

The Cat Returns is a rather silly film, but it is pretty enjoyable. It's certainly not one of Studio Ghibli's best works, but it's one that's worth checking out. Final rating: 7/10. Next week I'll look at something more serious. Have a handkerchief ready, it's Grave of the Fireflies.

The Cat Returns is my ultimate favorite Studio Ghibli film. Of all their work I honestly think this is their finest. Everything from the character development down to the music is just right. But now let's get into more of the nitty-gritty details.

Story:

The story is about a girl in high school, Haru Yoshioka, who saves a cat from being hit by a vehicle on the street. Haru had unknowingly saved the cat prince, Prince Lune, of Cat Kingdom. As thanks, the Cat Kingdom showers Haru with many "fabulous" gifts like cat tails in her lawn and mice in her locker! She demands they stop, but ... they refuse, informing her she will be taken to Cat Kingdom and married to the cat prince! Haru is greatly distressed hearing this, but not long after she is told this information she hears a voice in her head telling her to go the Cat Bureau. Here she meets Baron Huber von Gikkingen who offers his services to help Haru from being forced to marry Prince Lune. If you want to know what happens from this point you'll have to watch it!

Art:

The art was wonderful in my personal opinion. The town Haru lives in seems to have a rustic European yet modern Japanese feel. The Cat Kingdom itself is very imaginative, from the walking and talking cats to the eyeball video cameras that watch over them. It's just so wonderfully creative!

Sound:

The music is my favorite bit about this film. The waltz song between Haru and Baron at the Cat Kingdom's event is my absolute favorite piece. In general though, the voices are well done. Anne Hathaway stars as Haru!

Character:

I will forever cherish these character. Baron Hubert von Gikkingen is absolutely adorable, yet such a gentleman! Haru herself is also a strong-willed heroine, first losing herself at Cat Kingdom and then re-finding herself with the help of her friends.

Enjoyment:

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. I would recommend it to anyone. Even if they don't like cats! :-P

Overall:

If you like Studio Ghibli, give it a try! It's a bit older, but it's a wonderful film! I've watched it so many times with my best friends! All three of us really love this film!

This is only my second review, but I'm hoping it will be of some use to someone somewhere...

Story:
Okay, well the story is pretty basic. If you've seen other Miyazaki flicks, you know that usually the story is a little like this: There's a female protagonist in some strange situation because she saw or did or interacted with some type of otherwordly thing. Basically, Haru, who is completely normal, saves a cat and gets WAY more than she bargained for. It's really short, and there aren't too many plot twists, but it's a nice story. It's pretty relatable because Haru is so average. I liked it, ... but it wasn't Miyazaki at is finest or anything.
Art:
I can't complain. It's distinctive and you can tell right away that it's a movie done by Miyazaki. It isn't very intricate or outstandingly elegant. Very simple, but very visually appealing, especially the scenery.
Sound:
I was really surprised that the English dub wasn't trash. The music was great, as usual and the dialogue was nice.
Character:
Haru is very simple and ordinary, but she's portrayed as very pure and good-willed. Her buddies (cats) are...really great. The Baron has a very typical "hero" feel to him, but I mean, it's still pretty cool. Muta was really funny and if you've seen Whisper of the Heart, you'll probably enjoy seeing Muta in The Cat Returns.
Enjoyment and Overall:
It's great, but when you have someone like Hayao Miyazaki, it's not surprising that it's overshadowed by other pieces of his work. If you're a fan of Miyazaki, you will more than likely like this movie. It's nice watch and it's easy to fall in love with. I think female audiences may be more entertained because Haru is so easy to identify with as a typical high school girl with no particularly special talents or skills.

Studio Ghibli has the reputation of making nothing but classics that will forever be remembered. Even as I've started marathoning through some of the lesser known titles in the Ghibli library, even the obscure ones were surprisingly good. This is the first Ghibli film to disappoint me. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either. It was just a vanilla story.

Story (6/10) The concept was very good. But the way it was handled felt too easy. The fact that the cat happened to be a prince was a funny coincidence. But then the fact that Haru just happened to have a voice tell her where ... she needed to go was too easy. The fact that they were willing to help her for no explained reason was too easy. Even after things start going wrong, there's just a deus ex machina that comes in and solves the problem each time. It was all too easy. There was no real struggle for the happy ending.

Art (7/10) For 2000s animation, this is pretty good. There weren't any real breathtaking scenes, but the dance scene was done very well. Aside from Haru's character design, everyone was drawn very well.

Sound (6/10) It does its job. I didn't really hear anything to memorable, but it did what it was supposed to do.

Character (4/10) This was easily the most frustrating part of the movie. I literally cannot tell you a thing about Haru, or the Baron. Haru is nice...and that's it. She literally doesn't do anything else. The Baron is a typical cool heart throb character, aside from being a cat. He saves the day, and sounds cool while doing it. That said his personality is just as bland as Haru's. The only character that stood out was Muta. Ironically, he's the one that got the most back story.

Enjoyment (7/10) This movie was in no way unpleasant. There is nothing "bad" about it. But coming from a studio like Studio Ghibli, the movie feels worse than it actually is. If this was made by someone else, I could see it being a popular kids movie. But when you put this movie next to other works like the Miyazaki movies, or even its parent movie (Whisper of the Heart) it looks really bad.

Overall (6/10) This movie was more disappointing than it was bad. I understand why some people would like it. There are some cool ideas in this film. But I feel like none of them were pushed hard enough. It works as a nice easter egg for those who liked Whisper of the Heart. But as a stand alone, it isn't anything to write home about.

Cat Returns is a bit of an anomaly Ghibli movie. It isn’t directed by Miyazaki or Takahata, but instead by Hiroyuki Morita, dude who went onto direct Bokurano. It’s a spin-off story from Whisper of the Heart, and was originally only supposed to be a 20 minute piece, but for various reasons kept spiralling up and up in length until we got this full blown movie. Not that you need to know any of this going in. It’s about a girl who saves a cat from being hit by a truck. The cat hails from the Cat Kingdom, who promises to repay her by being ... a huge nuisance. A bit like how cats cough up dead animals on your chest and expect to be congratulated.

Cat Returns doesn’t get a whole lot of publicity next to its Ghibli movie compatriots. It’s not a sprawling epic fantasy, nor a deeply personal human tale like their other movies. Cat Returns is firmly a comedy. It’s trade is primarily visual slapstick, but there’s enough cleverness to the way its presented that it doesn’t feel juvenile or get old quickly. They’re usually one-note things, like the bodyguard cats having a fur pattern that makes them look like they’re wearing tuxedos, or the disproving look the Muslim cat wearing a burqa gives her husband after she catches him ogling another pretty lady cat. Most of the visual gags come from ‘cat lore’ ideas such as this, where they translate human ideas into cat form. What would the leader of a slightly dodgy organisation give as a present? Why, recreational drugs of course! Otherwise known as catnip in cat-lore.

When it’s not trading in on its visual humour, Cat Returns goes to that stable of Ghibli tricks to bring out the wonder as the magical enters the mundane world. Statues coming to life, cats parading down the street, entering a street that you’re clearly too big for. I’ve never been as big on the massive sprawling fantasy epics Ghibli do, because they feel like they get a bit lost in what they’re trying to do and end up getting all a bit silly. Where I love them is Porco Rosso, Arrietty or the start of Spirited Away where it’s the injection of a little bit of magic into the regular world, and time and time again they nail those scenes. The way the music tees up the scene, how there’s little hints of reveals that something’s up before it actually happens. The movie does lose this edge when they enter The Cat Kingdom, but the visual comedy picks up the slack there. It gets all a bit silly, but since its played for jokes, it remains thoroughly entertaining.

Cat Returns doesn’t have an annoyingly perfect female lead either! The lead character is an humanly flawed teenage girl who feels she’s sucking at life and wouldn’t mind a change in identity to escape from it all. Her story of self-confidence, while obviously not the main attraction while you’ve got cats wearing burqas, wraps up quite nicely in its own way. She’s animated quite strangely, in a different way to how Ghibli usually operate it. She stumbles a lot, moves like she’s uncomfortable in her skin, and has lots of little attention to detail that’s really quite noticeable and goes a long way to establishing her character using visual cues. It’s rather reminiscent of the way KyoAni animates nowadays, except without all the little cutesy details like inward pointing toes and other animation tricks sacrificed towards the Unholy Alter of Moe. Although considering the Cat Returns girl falls over a lot and is generally really clumsy, maybe she is a K-ON girl after all? She even has the eyes for it.

As an aside, the English Dub is possibly the best I’ve ever heard. Disney usually do good jobs anyway, but they really knocked it out of the park with Cat Returns. Every single role is nailed, from the gentlemen cat’s posh Britishness to the king cat’s opening “heeeyyy babe” line. The main girl in particular is so fantastically done, and she wouldn’t have come across as human as she did without it. I know poor old Bang Zoom can’t afford to bring on friggen Anne Hathaway to voice their main characters like Disney did for Cat Returns, but it really is nice to watch an anime of this quality and not either flinch every 5 minutes because of bad line delivery or resort to subs and have my eyes glued to the bottom 6 inches of the screen.

Cat Returns doesn’t leave a huge impact. Its comedy, being of the silly variety, doesn’t hold a lot of weight. The story is quite pedestrian too, if at least still well executed. But the movie is a huge amount of fun, and genuinely laugh out loud in a way Ghibli normally are not. It’s magical, doesn’t outstay its welcome, and I’m hard pushed to think of a way the movie could have been any better. So yeah, Ghibli make good movies. News at 11.

I watch this movie right after Whispers of the Heart, and I can not express how disappointed I am.

The plotline is not very complex and is relatively easy to follow. Although it is not delivered very well, the message is very meaningful ("be yourself").

The art is distinctive compared to other Studio Ghibli movies, which can be quite refreshing if you're binge-watching the movies.

The worst is probably the characters, especially the protagonists. Some of my favourite characters are the crow and Muta which are only comic reliefs. There's no character development and the characters hardly ever struggle to reach their goal. Throughout the ... movie, the main fem.character proceeds to be a damsel in distress dreading to be save by her prince Charming. You can hardly feel any chemistry between the love interests (which, to be honest, absolutely aches me) and the whole thing (as mentioned in another review) feels like a teen fic of Whispers of the Heart.

Overall, I wouldn't recommend this movie to anyone. It is, at least in my opinion, a big waste of time. If you want to watch a wholesome but not too complicated Ghibli romance, I highly recommend Whispers of the Heart instead.

This is one of the great works of Studio Ghibli and It is a side story with Whispers Of The Heart which is another great Ghibli production.

The story takes place when a young girls saves a cat from getting ran over. Little did she know that she saved a Prince and now the whole cat kingdom wich to meet her and thank her for saving their Prince. But she gets more than a thanks, she searches for another cat who can save her from the cat kingdom and return to the human world.
This is a very cute and funny anime which I enjoyed very much. ... The art is very beautiful and the characters will make you fall in love with them. This is a great film for all the family on any occasion. I would recommened watching both Whispers Of The Heart and The Cat Returns.
The Baron is the character that links both of these great storys together. Whispers of the Heart is more of to do with a first love and dicovering a new talent as The Cat Returns is to do with discovering who you are and something new about you.

This movie is like a Miyazaki movie. The story is a very well thought out and creative, i think it might be enjoyable to most ages. The animation is very good and that just adds to it's charm. Not much romance but thats what makes it even more better. These days it's hard to get ppl to read stories, mangas, or watch tv shows, anime without romance involved. This one just has several cute scenes that just makes you say 'aww' or squeal a little. Recommend to everyone, if you see and dont like it then forget about it but i'd highly doubt anyone ... would actually hate the movie. Pretty much you'd enjoy it^^

Studio Ghibli generally use a little more heavier themes in they're movies, or usually try make the viewer drop a tear or two. It seems to me that this film is an exception.

Schoolgirl Haru saves a cat from getting hit by a truck. Surprisingly, the cat thanks him. The next night, a strange line of cats thank Haru, and invite her to The Cat Kingdom. The next day, cats cause chaos in Haru's life. Through many random consequences, Haru ends up in the kingdom,with Muta, The Baron and his eagle companion Toto.

In general, Studio Ghibli mixes fantasy and realism to movies and remains to stay ... reasonable. Here they relaxed, lose the rules, and created a completely absurd world, where there is no rhyme or reason. But actually, I'm glad that they did so. The film goes crazy when they get to the kingdom, and all messes up. Haru gets dressed to a cheesy and tacky wedding dress, Cat King throws people from the tower and behaves like a psychopath. The film is much lighter than the other Ghibli animes. It, in fact doesn't even feel like a movie. It seems rather a collection of funny jokes and light action, with some good characters thrown to the mix.

The film has been slightly criticized that Ghibli didn't invest that much to the animation in this film. In fact, yes I liked the movie's a little reduced and a conventional style that is easy to the eye.

The Cat Empire is one of the so-called '' snack films '', which can be viewed when you want to kill a little time or just to twist your brain into gear to zero for a moment, in the end of a stressful day, or if you just want to simply laugh. I also recommend to the little ones, the film has hardly anything that's even a bit eyebrow- raising. I highly recommend!

I have not seen Whisper of the Heart yet (soon!), but I've seen multiple people say that this is a spin-off of that movie. That may give me a different perspective of this film than many viewers as I don't have the context that film provides.

The Cat Returns was a delightful movie, full of charm and whimsy. For the sadly short 74 minutes, I don't think I was having a bad time at any moment. This movie didn't try to be some deep introspective piece or a giant action-fest, and that was just fine for me! After having watched some disappointing Ghibli movies up ... to this point (I'm watching in order of MAL ratings), this was the first movie that truly gave me the sense of Ghibli charm that I've grown to love. It's a fantastical experience from start to finish with some truly interesting animation, enjoyable characters, and just overall plain old fun.

Story: 8/10. This movie doesn't try to be what it's not. The story is fairly predictable but its whimsical nature is a breath of fresh air after so many dramas and character-based stories. It follows a girl as she's drawn into a fantastic world and encounters very strange events and people. The writing isn't anything new or exciting but it's just so charming and fun that you don't really care and just enjoy the ride.

Art: 8/10. There are some very interesting designs in this movie, with how the cats walk and present themselves. The characters were all super cute and the backgrounds were typical Ghibli quality, full of wonder. The animation was very clean and never looked out of place.

Sound: 7/10. Nothing really stood out sound-wise, for good or bad. The voice acting was lovely and the characters were all believable, and the foley work was nice. Nothing else of note.

Characters: 9/10. This is the meat of the movie. The characters are very charming and every single one was delightful in some way or another, even the freaky, crazy king. The Baron is cool and collected, Muta is funny and sweet (when not gorging himself), Toto is unfortunately underused but was lovely while in the film, and the heroine Haru is just a typical kind, if unfortunate, girl thrown into circumstances beyond her imagination. She's charming though, and that's what this movie is all about. Charm and whimsy.

Overall: 9/10. I loved this movie. Its worst quality is that there wasn't enough of it. 74 minutes for a movie this delightful is criminal, and I wish it had been given more time to develop the world a little more and give the characters more time to interact. But when your biggest complaint about a movie is that there isn't enough of it, I think that speaks to how lovely it truly is. This is a movie that you should see if you're down to not have to think about deeper meanings behind characters' actions and thoughts and just want to whisk away to a fun, charming adventure for a short time.

Studio Ghibli. Mention this studio to any anime fan and they'll instantly think of either Hayao Miyazaki or rattle off any of his movies. In that list of movies, there will be a slim chance that a fan will mention The Cat Returns, one of Ghibli's more light-hearted efforts. I have to admit that I've avoided this title for a long time due to Miyazaki's lack of involvement with this project. This, however, is a decision that should be regretting at the moment because, surprisingly enough, I liked this film. I liked it a lot.

This movie's story couldn't be more straight-forward. It's a simple fantasy ... tale that, despite not being a two-hour epic like Miyazaki's movies, tells an incredibly coherent story that's easy to follow for anyone. I think the key to enjoying this movie lies in the fact that the viewer needs to take what is presented before them as it is. There is no point in wracking your brain for any sort of in-depth, universal message in this movie because there really isn't one. I have a feeling that this is where people dismiss the movie as "weak" when compared to Ghibli's other efforts. The film's message has no more depth than your average Disney animated film ("believe in yourself"), which seems sort of tagged on at times thanks to one of the characters saying that several times over the course of the film. If you try to watch the film based on that message alone, you won't get much out of it, though there are elements of a coming-of-age story buried beneath the film's fantastic adventure and splendor. The story is something that should be appreciated at face-value rather than something that could be measured up to one of Miyazaki's films. On its own, the story is simple enough to almost be boring, but the witty humor (which is actually quite well done) and interesting characters make the story one well-worth being told.

Speaking of characters, it would be harsh to say that these characters are two-dimensional, but, then again, the movie's suspension of disbelief works well enough to make me believe in a talking cat. While these are not the most realistic characters in Ghibli film history (again, talking cats), there's a human warmth to each of them that makes the viewer support the heros and sympathize the villain. In a fairy-tale-esque story like this, it would be easy to separate the heroes and villains into black and white, but even the villains' chaotic deeds are lined with good intentions and the heroes aren't all that heroic to begin with. The main character, Haru, sort of belongs in the middle ground because of how indecisive her personality was to begin with. The characters' distinct personality traits also make them easy to recognize. You could probably summarize each character in one sentence without saying which species they are. They're also all very likable, including the villains' lackeys, which almost never happens to me when watching an anime. Maybe its Baron's gentlemanly poise or The Cat Prince's nobility that do the trick. Or maybe it's just as easy to get lost with the characters as it is to escape in the world they live in. Normally, I would say that not adding enough depth to these characters is a missed opportunity, but with characters like these, heavy, three-dimensional character depth almost becomes unnecessary. For the world that they're created in, the amount of warmth and depth they have is just enough.

Do I really need to go into the art for a Studio Ghibli film? It's almost a given that if you're going to watch a Ghibli film, you're going to be handed some gorgeous visuals along with a decent story. While this is by no means the studio's best artistic effort, a handful of scenes really stand out in terms of artistry, such as the introduction of The Cat Kingdom and Haru's search for "the big, white cat" at a busy shopping centre. The latter especially stood out in my mind, since the artists put great detail in making sure that every piece of lettering on the signs by the shops were legible. As for the character designs, Haru's is noteworthy to me even though she is supposed to be an average Japanese student with average looks. She looks like a cat to me, which makes me wonder if that was an intentional character trait on the artists' parts of if that's just a conclusion that I came down to on my own. Aside from the fact that they walk on their hind legs from time to time, the physiology of that cats is really well done. It even shows when they fold their paws in as they stand up. The overall artistic atmosphere will feel familiar to you if you've seen movies like "Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland" or "Catnapped!" without the trippy visuals. For a movie that was made at the dawn of the new, computer-colored anime age, the animation is refreshing and vibrant.

Over the years, Disney has built up a reputation for having top-notch dubbing in the English versions of Ghibli films, and this one was no exception. The flow of the voice acting hardly made the film sound like I was watching an anime at all. It didn't even sound like the voice actors went into the studio thinking that they were going to dub an anime feature. For the majority of the characters, the English voices matched the characters well. I thought Haru's voice was a little deep at first, but I got used to it eventually. Baron having a dapper British accent made his character all the more likable and Muta, the fat cat, even sounded like he was fat and boorish. It's easy to hear in the actors' voices that they not only put in the effort to try to match their voices to the characters' lips, but they sounded like they had fun taking on the challenge.

The music didn't stand out a lot of the time for me, but when it was noticeable, it was worth listening to as a separate piece of music. The soundtrack even strayed into neo classical territory at times, especially during scenes in the Cat Kingdom. Straying from the film's orchestral soundtrack, the ending theme song is an incredibly upbeat and catchy pop song led by one woman and her ukulele. You'll have to drink a couple of bottles of brain bleach in order to get that one out of your head. The audio aspect of the film couldn't have been more satisfying to me.

I don't know what it is about this movie that made me enjoy it so much. The story, characters, and the world they live in are simple enough that this movie seems to be tailor-made for children and their families, yet there's a certain spark about it that made me cheer on for the characters and leave me in shock if they were ever in trouble. That's probably it: the innocence of this story was what drew me in. The magic is in its simplicity. There's nothing hidden beneath it and there's no reading between the lines. It's just a good movie with a good plot and nothing more. Sometimes Ghibli films need a break from their reputation as animated epics with hard-hitting moral messages. Sometimes you just need to escape into a world of fantasy without the weight of philosophy on your shoulders. And if that fantasy world is filled with cats that stand on their hind legs and talk, so be it.

NOTE: I did not see "Whispers of the Heart", since I recently found out this movie is a spin-off of "Whispers", and I watched this as an average movie goer, while still keeping an open mind. So forgive me if I say something that's not correct about the movie in this review.

Despite a misleading title, "The Cat Returns" is still a film that I'm glad I saw. It has a lot of charming and quirky moments throughout and has a cast of characters that's hard not to appreciate no matter you love or hate them. Which is very typical for a Studio Ghibli film.

The story ... centers around a young high school girl named Haru, who one day comes across a cat who's just about to get run over by a truck, but Haru rescues it, and amazingly finds out can stand and talk. Later that night, a group of cats come together and thank Haru, because it turns out that that cat she rescued was a noble Prince.

The next day, the same group of cats keeps following her around and offering to repay her with lots of gifts, and even gives her a gratitude to marry the prince, which they mistakenly think that she said yes. They say the prince is away on business and won't be back soon, but they'll still marry without him. Haru is terrified about this, and a strange voice tells her to find the Cat Bureau. She finds a big white cat and follows it to the Bureau where she finds a noble cat known as the Baron, along with Muta, the white cat she followed.

She tells them the news about saving the prince and how the World of Cats want to her to marry him, and they plan a visit to the World. However, it's too late when they find out she was in the Bureau and then take her away to the World of Cats to marry the prince. Now it's up to the Baron, Muta, and a crow named Toto to save Haru.

I'm not going to go further into talking about the movie because I'm afraid I'll be giving away spoilers. Earlier, I said it had a misleading title, simply because the Cat really doesn't return, and the main character Haru simply finds him. And I know that this was a spin-off of "Whispers", but if you're going to promote a movie like this to American audiences who are unknown to the material, but are familiar with Studio Ghibli's films, you could've given a better title.

I know everything I said above are probably just nitpicks, but if that's the only thing I have to say negativity about the film, that would be the only one. Other than that, the movie is great. I love the characters, the charm, and the animation. Cary Elwes does a good job of playing the Baron, and a young Anne Hathaway is great as Haru. Being a person who has a soft heart, I have to say it's really hard not to love this movie.

Would I rank it up there with Studio Ghibli's best? No, simply because of the title, but it would definitely be in the Top 10 or Top 20. "The Cat Returns" is a charming film, that you would want it could be longer and would want to watch again and again. It's perfect for any age, and you'll wish you would find the Cat Bureau yourself.

The Cat Returns/Neko no Ongaeshi review, originally written for my Letterboxd account.

The Cat Returns is one weird movie. At the same time I did find it enjoyable, largely because of how silly it was, but at the same time when it ended, I wasn't left with that much to take away from it.

A lot of it might be because of its runtime. It's just a bit over an hour long, and so it doesn't spend too much time in the cat kingdom, and a lot of it does feel kinda rushed.

However, with its beautiful animation and entertainment value, it is worth a watch, especially if ... you're a fan of Whisper of the Heart, a film to which this one is connected to through one particular character.

Studio Ghibli was strong in the early 2000s. This particular film is a bit of a divergence from the studio’s norm. The Cat Returns is actually a spin-off from a previous Ghibli film, Whisper of the Heart. The other way this diverts from the norm is a different director was chosen, and he was Hiroyuki Morita (animator in Akira, Lupin III). Fun fact, Miyazaki actually tested others to come up with a story featuring three key elements from Whisper of the Heart: the cat Baron, big fat cat Muta, and a mysterious antique shop. Morita took the challenge and past thus creating his own story ... which turned into this adorable film.

Our story focuses on the lonely-esc girl, Haru, whom is going through the usual teenage angst thought process of life is dull and needs a change. She ends up saving a cat from getting hit by an auto, which begins the tale. The Cat King decides to repay her kindness, but with all of the cats trying to help in comical way ends up becoming more trouble then she bargained for. Eventually she is lead to the cat kingdom to be married to the Cat Prince.

There are three main characters that create the film, the Baron, Haru, and Muta. Haru, as mentioned before, goes through trials of her own character in order to truly find herself. Muta is a big fat cat and plays essentially the comic relief role and does a good job with it. The Baron is a renegade cat whom Haru seeks out for help in her matter with the Cat King. A regular Prince Charming one could say. Even the “antagonist” in the Cat King is done exceptionally well. Of course, being Ghibli, music and animation are amazing as per the usual.

No, the film doesn’t have a mass sci-fi or magical environment like some of the studios other big hits (Spirited Away), but much like Whisper of the Heart and Only Yesterday is more down to Earth and sets a realistic tone despite most of the film taking place in a Cat Kingdom. The Cat Returns is about Haru realising who she is and what she truly wants out of her own life. For what the film is and what it is supposed to be, The Cat Returns is truly a film worthy of being described as adorable.

This is my first review and I’m not sure how to properly write these so please keep that in mind. This may also come from my nostalgia as, being an early 2000s kid with anime easily being available to buy in my hometown, I grew up watching this and many of Studio Ghibli films.

Many people will say this is one of the weakest Ghibli features, which I quite frankly can’t argue against, but that may be due to the high expectations they have of this film. Trust me, if you forget the masterpieces this studio has made you might enjoy it more. You shouldn’t go ... into this film having high expectations. But you should still give it a chance as it is probably the most underrated Ghibli entry.

I personally like to say this is one of their cutest films. Just the whole idea of the cats having their own sort of world and not fully understanding simple things of humans like they don’t eat mice or love catnip is actually adorable. The whole cat world is a cute concept, although messed up. The king is... somewhat terrifying but his first appearance in the film always makes me chuckle. Small things like this really entertain me.

The story itself isn’t the most interesting but there have been far worse from Ghibli.