Plot Details: This opinion reveals minor details about the movie's plot.

Intro

Another gem from Studio Ghibli and brought to the US by Disney, this is one of the rare exceptions to the rule ‘Disney ruins anime’.

The Story

Haru is a very average 17 year old high school student in Japan. She sleeps in, has a crush on the coolest guy in school and tends to daydream about what better things might be out there for her. One day after school she notices a cat wandering around in the city and sees it cross into the road right into the path of an oncoming truck. Reacting quickly, Haru rushes out into the road and saves the cat’s life.

Later that night, a long procession of cats come to visit her home and it is then that she learns that the cat that she saved was actually Prince Lune, the son of the King of Cats and to thank her, the king has insisted that she be showered with gifts… including an arranged marriage to her son.

The Good And The Bad

Studio Ghibli has an incredible reputation for producing absolutely wonderful works and this one is no exception. Originally released in 2003, The Cat Returns is a beautiful work done by a first time director.

The animation, backgrounds and character design are what grabbed me first. Normally I’m not a big fan of the character design used in Studio Ghibli films. The faces in particular usually turn me off because of the way that they are shaped. In this case though, not only did Haru look absolutely fabulous in her design but the cats were all brilliantly done, especially the natural movements that they made each time.

The only complaints I have are very minor ones that have to do with plot and continuity errors. The first one that bugged me from the very beginning was one that I just couldn’t let go of. One of the main settings in this film is the mysterious cat kingdom which is just that… a kingdom filled with buildings and a castle all built by cats, for cats. What bugs me about this though is that cats do not have opposable thumbs… and yet they built a kingdom? I know that this is a fairy tale and that in order to truly enjoy it one has to suspend some belief but this is something that just bugged me right from minute one. What’s interesting though is that late in the movie I had no problem getting into the cats having a sword fight but I still was wondering about their construction. I know, I’m odd.

The second bit that I had a bit of an issue with was something of a continuity error. Early in the film, after Haru saves the Prince, the Cat King showers her with gifts… one of which is to fill her front lawn with cat tails. Haru complains about this because she is allergic to them and yet later when she goes to the Cat Kingdom, she lays in a field of them and comments about how relaxing it is. Something about this just annoyed me slightly but again, these are very minor complaints and they didn’t take away from my enjoyment in the least.

The other major complaint I have though is once again Disney screwing up the subtitles. While overall they were vastly better than they have been before, I still noticed some very bad moments of lag and mistiming within the subtitles. Also one should be warned that the first English track is actually for ‘dub titles’ which are meant for the hearing impaired and not the Japanese script.

Music

Almost all of the music in this film is orchestral and done absolutely beautifully by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. The music is all gorgeous and done in a traditional Japanese style.

The only bit of music that isn’t orchestral is the main theme song called “Kaze Ni Naru” or “Like The Breeze” by Ayano Tsuji. A beautiful yet short theme, it’s something that I really enjoyed listening to and I really wish that it had been used more often in the film instead of just during the closing credits.

All of the music was very well done and it transferred over very cleanly.

Dub vs. Sub

Disney hired an incredible cast for this film and to choose a standout performance would be close to impossible. Playing the role of Haru is Anne Hathaway (a name that should sound familiar to me but doesn’t ring any bells). Anne does a stellar job with Haru and to say that I was impressed would be an understatement. Also included in this cast though are two of my favorite actors, Cary Elwes and Tim Curry. Both of these actors have been favorites of mine for a very long time and to hear them do wonderful jobs in an anime piece is something that I can check off my list of things to hear before I die. Though, I have to say that it’s a real shame that Cary has lost his English accent since moving to New York.

Another great performance would be from Andy Richter who plays the King’s secretary. I thought it was interesting that Andy would be chosen for this role since in the original Japanese version, this role was a female role.


Extras

Never one to spend much money on extras for an anime feature, Disney sticks with the usual features including a Behind The Microphone featurette with some of the actors, A ‘Making Of’ feature and finally a second disc with a special storyboard version of the movie.

While the first two extras were interesting to me and worth at least one look (except for the absolutely terrible narrator on the ‘Making Of‘ feature, wow that guy was boring and very condescending), I have to say that the storyboard disc was absolutely pointless to me.

Overall

Disney did a fabulous job with this release. Despite very minor flaws, this is a release that I would recommend to anyone even if they weren’t a fan of anime. The charming story and characters is enough to not only please the real children of the world but also the inner child still within all of us.


Final Grade: 95% - A

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©L.B. Bryant 2005



Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8