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Cast
(voices only):
Chizuru
Ikewaki
Yoshihiko
Hakamada
Aki
Maeda
Takayuki
Yamada
Hitomi
Sato
Kenta
Satoi
Mari
Hamada
Tetsu
Watanabe
Yosuke
Saito
Writer:
Cindy
Davis Hewitt
Donald
H. Hewitt
Reiko
Yoshida
Aoi
Hiragi (comic)
Producer:
Toshio
Suzuki
Nozomu
Takahashi
Director:
Hiroyuki
Morita
Score:
 
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THE
CAT RETURNS
AKA:
Neko No Ongaeshi
Year:
2002 Reviewer: Phil
Mills
For
17 year old Haru, life is pretty hectic thanks to the
pressures of trying to remain popular at college and get the
boy of her dreams to notice her. However, life is about
to get far more complicated when she selflessly saves the life
of a cat who is about to be run over by a truck. As it
turns out, the cat is in fact the son of the King of the cat
kingdom and in return for her good deed Haru is to receive a
string of lavish gifts. This would be fine if she was a
cat but a hundred mice and a field of catnip in her front
garden aren't exactly fitting prizes for a human but this is
not the end of it. The prize de jour comes in the form
of marriage to the King's son which horrifies Haru but it
would appear that she has no say in the matter. Now Haru
must see if there is anyone out there that will not only
believe her tall tale but perhaps be able to help her before
she finds herself whisked (or should I say whiskered) away to
live out her days as the wife of a cat!
Whilst
watching 'The Cat Returns' on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I found myself
reminiscing the wacky kid's adventure films from the 1980s.
I'm referring here to the likes of
'Labyrinth', 'The Neverending Story' or 'The Goonies', those films
that seemed to house such infectious charm and outrageous scenarios that they
couldn't fail to suck you into their magical worlds. The
reason behind my trip down memory lane is that 'The
Cat Returns' encompasses exactly that same kind of universally
appealing storytelling that, whilst not as deep or meaningful as other Ghibli epics, is still
immensely enjoyable and addictive. Of course some
may frown upon it's somewhat "fluffy" approach and
seemingly moral-less story (or at least it would appear so in comparison to
Ghibli's most acclaimed efforts) but what 'The Cat Returns' achieves is
filmmaking at its simplest but at the same time, often most pleasurable.
The idea of a topsy turvy world in which a child becomes lost
is far from original but the technique of telling the tale
manages to reignite the child in all of us and the enchanting
characters never fail to amuse viewers of all ages.
For
the animation used in 'The Cat Returns', its clear from the
off that the film is aiming for a slightly more refined overall look
than what has become the norm with most Ghibli productions. Gone are the
majority of comical and
cuddly illustrations that filled the likes of 'My Neighbour
Totoro', 'Spirited
Away' and 'Pom Poko,' and in their place are
a set of finely crafted and elegant characters. This
artistically stylish approach proves to be very pleasing on the
eye and conveniently enough, is somewhat fitting for a film based primarily around
such graceful creatures. Obviously some of you may be
disappointed by these alterations but in my opinion, each and
every one of the the characters is still every bit as
captivating and comical when required and the human-like
traits and movements that the cats adopt is nothing short of sublime.
Controversially
enough, I feel 'The Cat
Returns' is a very strong contender in the catalogue of Ghibli titles
despite it's lack of moralistic layers. What makes it
work so well for me is the ease in which it taps into the
child in all of us and creates a rip roaring adventure that is
fun for all the family. These types of films (or decent
ones at least) are a rarity these days and it's often nice to
have a film in your collection that you can always rely on to
bring a naive smile to your face.
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