cokesque

Synopsis

Haru, a teenage schoolgirl, is bored with her humdrum life. When she saves the life of an unusual cat, things begin to get far more exciting that she ever bargained for.

As a reward for saving his son, the Cat King lavishes Haru with gifts, like cattails and catnip and hundreds of gift-boxes of mice. She also recieves an invitaion to visit the Cat Kingdom, where she is to be wed to the cat she saved, Prince Lune. Can Haru escape this unexpected proposition? And does she even want to?

Impressions

The Studio Ghibli reputation means that even a film by a young director like Morita Hiroyuki arrives with elevated expectations. This is a shame, because while it may not live up to the grand standards of Totoro or Spirited Away, The Cat Returns is as still a fun movie.

The artwork shows the traditional Ghibli watercolor backgrounds, but the character designs are a more modern take than the familiar styles we’ve become accustomed to from Miyazaki and Takahata. As much as anything, I enjoy just watching the gawky and disheveled Haru react to the world around her.

The story itself is a simple one, nothing that would be out of place coming from an American animation studio except that the protagonist would have to be several years younger than Haru’s 17. I find the first half of the film, before Haru is taken to the Cat Kingdom, to be more interesting, both visually and plot-wise. An early highlight is when Haru steps outside at night to find a procession of cats, walking on their hind legs and carrying lanterns. The Cat King is pushed along on a cart, flanked by secret service kitties who take out any neighborhood cats who try to disrupt the parade.

The magical aura of the film continues as the mysteries and magic hidden in the back-alleys of the city are revealed. Once the suspense is over and we get to the Cat Kingdom, things become more generic. Sweeping fields of grass and sugar cookie decor inside the castle contrast greatly with the cluttered and crisp feel within the city. The narrative also loses a lot of depth, eventually devolving into a sort of whitewashed Warner-Brothers-style chase sequence.

The Cat Returns is clearly a second-tier film from an inexperienced director. Never intended to be the next Spirited Away, it was assigned to Studio Ghibli’s junior staff, who enjoyed a fair bit of independence on the project. Even so, it is an fun and enjoyable film that still manages to capture the Ghibli magic now and then.

Random thoughts

I’ve always presumed that “The Cat Returns” is an odd English title for “Neko no Ongaeshi.” For while ongaeshi can be translated as reciprocating or returning, it doesn’t mean so in the Schwartzenneger sense of “I’ll be back.” Instead it means the return of a favor or kindness. So, literally, the title means “A favor repaid by a cat,” or “The cat returns a favor,” not “Here comes that darn cat again!”

Dub

This is one of the more well-cast Ghibli films from Disney. Many of the others suffer from inconsistent acting in lead roles. Here, it is only a minor role or two that is mediocre.

Anne Hathaway is easily the most natural-sounding of the Disney-chosen female leads, perfectly believable as Haru. She nails everything right from the opening scene and is a good screamer. Cary Elwes, as expected, is absolutely perfect as the Baron. Tim Curry is pretty good, albeit unrecognizable, as a very laid-back Cat King. Peter Boyle plays himself—the only role I’ve ever seen him play—this time in the form of a sarcastic and whiny Muta. Andy Richter is an odd choice for what was a originally a female role, but it works out all right because, hey, it’s just a cat. Even Elliot Gould’s terribly flat performance as Toto can be forgiven since he doesn’t have a lot of screen time.

Neko Factor

Best. Cat movie. Ever.

- 2006-01-17 00:18 -