Das Königreich der Katzen

Let me start by saying that The Cat Returns is not the best of Ghibli and Miyazaki had almost nothing to do with it. If Miyazaki had directed or even written it, the film would have been as great as Totoro or Kiki. This movie is pretty much Whisper of the Heart as a Spirited Away style fantasy.

The story is as follows: A normal girl named Haru is transported to the world of cats to marry a cat prince who she saved from a speeding truck. That's basically all that I can tell without giving away the film. For those of you who loved Whisper, Baron is back big time. It was great to see Baron have a much larger role as a hero. The `stray' cat from Whisper is also back and fatter than ever.

Though some Ghibli fans will be disappointed, those who are cat-lovers will fall in love with the film. The film's flaw lies in that the story moves along a bit too fast for my taste. Just don't go expecting a film on the same level as Spirited Away or Mononoke and you'll have a great time. Grade: A-.

Rated PG for frightening scenes, brief sensuality, and language. Suggested for ages 10 and up.

Not their best work. The story gets pretty boring halfway through, despite the fantastical world that it is set in. The source material "The Whisper of the Heart" is more interesting than this one despite having a more mundane setting.

'The Cat Returns' is yet another treat produced by Studio Ghibli, the company which brought us masterpieces such as 'My Neighbour Totoro' and 'Spirited Away'.

The story of this film is much simpler than previous Studio Ghibli productions/epics with a typical modern teenage girl Haru as the heroine. When walking home from school one afternoon, Haru rescues a cat from being ran-over by a lorry only to discover she is responsible for saving the life of Prince Lune, the heir apparent to the Cat Kingdom. Lune's father, the King of Cats, promptly decides the best way to repay such a favour is for Haru to marry his son. Naturally, our heroine is horrified at the prospect and must seek protection from enigmatic Baron, founder of the Cat Bureau, for help before she is carted off to the Cat Kingdom by the very determined cats.

As a cat-lover, I found this film utterly adorable. The scene where the cats from Cat Kingdom descend on Haru's street in the middle of the night was had a very wondrous aura to it and the scene where the cats try to make Haru laugh at her feast was hilarious. The characters, as always, are solid from the refreshingly normal teen-aged Haru to the grumpy Muta to the suave Baron (even though he's an animated cat, the charisma of the character will leave many females empathising with Haru's little crush on him!).

Although the plot of 'The Cat Returns' is a simple affair so it will easily appeal to young children, there is much humour in the film that will keep older kids and adults amused. Also, those who love cats can't help but fall in love with the many feline characters we come across in the film. Now, I'm off to track down 'Whisper of the Heart', which is a 1995 Studio Ghibli film that features the character of Baron.

I watched this for the fourth time today, and enjoyed it just as much, maybe more than the first. For the best experience, I recommend watching in Japanese, with subs if you need them. The original script and voice talent doesn't need the Hollywood treatment.

Such a beautiful story! I'm a cat lover, and I'm sure that helps me enjoy the movie more, but it's just great as a tale and you could apply any animal to the basic plot and get a similar result.

Every time I watch it I have a big pile of hankies nearby, as it never fails to move me. If you like the emotional feed-off you get from a nice sentimental feel-good film, you should really give this a go! Probably my favourite animated film ever.

Delightful and charming - these two words sum up this film perfectly. My only gripe is that the story takes a little bit to kick into gear, but when it does you find yourself utterly drawn into the magical world this tale inhabits. And an utterly bizarre tale this is, with enough laughs, emotion and poignant moments anyone could want.

With beautiful animation, appealing character design and a wonderfully fitting score, Neko no Ongaeshi is now amongst my favorite animated pieces. For anime buffs, animated film buffs, ANYONE - I can't recommend this highly enough.