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| Cat Returns, The |
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  (7/10)
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Runtime: 75 |
| Public Rating: 8.95 (22 votes) |
Director: Hiroyuki Morita |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Animation/Fantasy |
Year: 2002 |
| Writer(s): Reiko Yoshida, Hayao Miyazaki (project concept), Aoi Hîragi (comic) |
| Distributor: Studio Ghibli/Disney Studios |
| Reviewed by: Mel Valentin |
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Studio Ghibli, the Japanese animation studio co-founded by and known for the films of Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service), has also nurtured talented animators not named Miyazaki. Case in point, The Cat Returns ("Neko no ongaeshi"), a whimsical animated children’s film produced by Hayao Miyazaki and directed by Hiroyuki Morita. Miyazaki receives a “project concept” credit. In fact, Miyazaki wrote and storyboarded the first film in the series, Whisper of the Heart, released in 1995 in Japan (and still unavailable in the United States). While The Cat Returns shares the theme of female empowerment found in most of Miyazaki’s films, it has little of their thematic, character or narrative complexity, nor does the animation meet the high standards Miyazaki has set in the films he's written and directed. Standing alone, however, The Cat Returns' mixture of whimsy, humor, and the fantastical still makes for a highly entertaining, if limited, film.
Haru (voiced by Anne Hathaway in the English-language dub), the lead character in The Cat Returns, is a typical high-school teenager: self-interested, insecure, accident-prone, slightly bored, and prone to seeing her adolescent problems in overly grandiose terms. Like the lead character in Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, her self-centered world, however, is about to be disconnected from everyday reality. Her decision to save a cat crossing a busy intersection from an oncoming truck (in slow-motion, no less) leads her directly into the world of the fantastic: the cat stands on its hind legs, brushes off dirt and dust, and thanks Haru for saving his life. She has saved no other than Prince Lune (Andrew Bevis), heir to the Kingdom of the Cats. Later that evening, the din of cats awakens her to a procession outside Haru’s window. None other than the King of Cats (Tim Curry) appears to thank Haru for saving the Prince’s life. As befits a king, he doesn’t come alone. Natori (Rene Auberjonois), the king’s royal advisor and Noturo (Andy Richter), the king’s servant are both part of the king’s retinue. Little does Haru know that the Prince’s father, the King of Cats (Tim Curry) has already decided her fate, marriage to the prince.
Haru’s discovery of the king’s intention leaves her scurrying for help. At the end of a long, winding journey through city streets, Haru seeks out and find help at the mythical Cat Bureau. There, she encounters the Baron von Gikkingen (Cary Elwes), a dashing (cat) figure in coat tails, top hat, and cane (a holdover from Whisper in the Heart), and Muta (Peter Boyle), an extremely large white cat with an enormous appetite (and an irascible demeanor). Before they can help Haru with her dilemma, however, Baron and Muta are separated from Haru. The only way, it seems, to save Haru from the king’s plans is to follow her to the Kingdom of Cats.
One reversal leads to another, of course, and ultimately, a riveting escape attempt through a giant maze with moving walls and a tower spiraling into the sky, with Haru in danger of losing her personal identity. Haru’s adventures in the Kingdom of the Cats allow her (and the audience) to experience some of the kingdom’s cultural and political life, based around an anti-egalitarian feudal monarchy. Here, the commoners live outside in Hobbit-like burrows. The king and his retinue live inside the royal palace, of course, where sub-par entertainment is punished with a shove from a high window (it’s more amusing than it sounds). On a lighter note, the king is zealously, aggressively guarded by the kingdom’s version of the Secret Service. The black and white furred agents have no need for black suits (or skinny ties). If anything, they resemble the main characters from the [i]Men in Black[/i] film series. When present, the Baron’s heroics provide the film with much-needed energy and charm.
On a visual level, most of the animation, especially the cityscapes and background buildings, falls short of what audiences have come to expect from a Studio Ghibli/Hayao Miyazaki production. Morita’s background designs are too linear, too geometric, often lacking all but rudimentary detail. To be fair, Morita may have been constrained by a tight budget, limiting the amount of time he could spend on the backgrounds. Morita, however, deserves credit for his distinctive character designs (i.e., the Baron, the King of Cats, Muta) that correspond with the character’s effusive personalities. Morita also deserves credit for capturing the rhythms of cats in motion, walking on hind legs or on all fours. The sense of the fantastic erupting into everyday reality begins with the simplest of actions: a cat standing on its hind legs.
Story wise, The Cat Returns features a simple, linear, goal-oriented plot, along with an underdeveloped "life lesson" about believing yourself (and appreciating your everyday life). Haru's character arc, from insecurity to self-confidence, is telegraphed from the opening scene, while also taking a back seat to the incident-laden plot that inevitably leads to Haru's adventures in the Kingdom of the Cats. Morita seems to be fully aware of the character and story limitations, adding whimsy, humor, and comedy (some of it physical) to keep the film from straying into darker, more reflective territory. The Cat Returns may be a second-tier Studio Ghibli production, but it consistently meets its modest goal: to immerse its audience, young and not-so-old alike, in Haru and the Baron's world.
© Mel Valentin, 25th March, 2005
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 Printable Version
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* Available subtitles: English
* Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.1 Surround), Japanese, French
* "The Making of The Cat Returns "
* Behind the scenes of the English recording session
* Complete storyboards
* Japanese trailers
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