Irishchatter
I really like cats but this film really makes you want to have your own cat because the way it turned out with the cats was incredible! I think even other non - cat owners should watch this just to see the fun in it. I was so thrilled to have found out Anne Hathaway, she absolutely was the best choice to voice Haru. She just sounds like herself in this then other movies she has done. I wish her character and Cary Elwes' character The Baron would've kissed in the end to be honest. They deserved each other! I honestly loved Frank Boyles character Muta. His attitude and voice pretty much sounds like his well known fatherly role in everybody loves Raymond. He kept it up really good, I wish he was around today to do more great films!Christ I have to admit, Tim Curry didn't do the accent good but it wasn't his fault, the Cat King could've been improved a bit like he looks like a stray cat who pretends to be a king. The writers should really have done more on the character.I'm glad I watch this movie because it was a purrrrfect watch especially when you're bored ;)
CinemaClown
A spin-off of Whisper of the Heart & the only second Studio Ghibli feature film of its time to be not directed by either Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata, The Cat Returns is 75 minutes of fun-filled, light-hearted adventure-fantasy from the legendary studio that's delightfully engaging, highly entertaining & largely satisfying for the most part.The Cat Returns tells the story of a young girl named Haru who one day saves a mysterious cat from getting run over by traffic only to later find herself being the recipient of many gifts from the King of Cats who also wants her to marry his son. To get herself out of this mess, she enlists the help of Baron but before he can help, she is forcibly taken to the Cat Realm.Directed by Hiroyuki Morita, The Cat Returns brings back two characters from Whisper of the Heart, first being Baron; the cat figurine & the other being Muta; the large white cat. Unlike the previous feature, however, The Cat Returns presents a highly imaginative world that's finely animated, briskly paced, nicely scored & benefits greatly from its short runtime.On an overall scale, The Cat Returns is an impressive spin-off that presents an interesting take on the two cats that didn't have much to do in the last picture but it's the character of Haru who keeps this narrative glued together. Brilliantly directed, solidly written & radiating charm n wonder, The Cat Returns is another quality addition to Studio Ghibli's filmography & is definitely worth a shot.
Will Parry
This movie is very difficult to accurately review. On one hand, it is horrifying how cheesy, poorly scripted and rushed the movie is, but on the other, we know from "Whisper of the Heart" that this story is supposed to be written by Shizuku (it is NOT however the same story she was working on also named "Whisper of the Heart", which from the few details given in the movie, was more akin to a sort of epilogue for the Baron), and presumably while she was still an amateur writer.Although the story is supposed to be lighthearted, I personally found it went wayyyyy to far in that respect. Sure, it was a good approximation of what you'd expect a story from a young girl to be, however that does not change the fact that the plot is so frequently filled with scenes that even young children would find cheesy, terribly infantile "jokes" (sooo many chicken jokes D:), and worst of all, feels incredibly rushed.I'd like to say that I have nothing against lighthearted movies (I loved Whisper of the Heart), however this movie is at best a kid's movie through and through. The storyline takes Ghibli-cuteness and blows it completely out of proportion. Even "My Neighbor Totoro" feels serious compared to "The Cat Returns". Unless you're the giggly type, you'll want to punch yourself in the face at times due to how sickeningly sugary it can be. The thing about Studio Ghibli's signature cuteness in some of their films is that there is always some depth, some contrast. "My Neighbor Totoro" had the sick mother trope to play with, "Whisper of the Heart" had the uncertainty and dramatic ups and downs of an adolescent girl falling in love and finding her place in life, etc, etc. This film has positively no depth. It's constantly silly, which would work if the lines were funny, but they're not. About the only time I laughed during the film was when Haru first saw Prince Loon ("Eh..... eh... you-... eh :O").Just as bad as the film's cheesiness is it's rapid pace. The actual movie is reasonably long, however it just flies by due to the fact that none of the scene's feel important. They all feel like they are leading up to the next, without ever coming to fruition. Haru spends most of the film getting shuttled from place to place by various characters, such as to the "Cat Bureau" at the behest of a mysterious feline voice, exits that scene being dragged away by "evil" cats, arrives in the Cat World and is immediately picked up by the Kingsguard and is escorted to the castle, where she is dressed in a wedding gown. She is then forced to attend a party, and from there is rushed off in an escape orchestrated by the "mysterious" *cough* obvious *cough* "stranger". Without exaggerating, I can tell you that really the only choice as to where to go Haru made in the entire movie was to listen to the strange voice and go to a "Cat Bereau". After that, all of the supporting characters just whisked her from setting to setting, with her doing nothing along the way other than making astute observations about each setting she's in. She has a minimal interaction with the characters (never once does she ask any questions regarding the psychedelic world she is suddenly dragged into, 10 minutes after having a cat talk to her the first time, her inquisitiveness is limited to asking the names of each character), and we learn very little about her, other than that she's a high school student who has a crush on a popular guy. Oh yeah, and her Mom makes quilts. That's about all of the character backstory in the movie. Which brings me to my next point.The characters remain extraordinarily shallow, even for a children's movie. We never learn anything about the regular duties of the "Cat Bureau", or where the statue/cat came from. Why is the King so obsessed with marrying Haru to somebody (it doesn't seem to matter who)? Where was Prince Loon in-between his first appearance (as the first talking cat carrying the present) and his final appearance at the end of the film? Why did it take him so much longer to return to his world, whereas Haru only took about 10 minutes? Why did Haru act at the end as if the entire bizarre experience had taught her some lesson of maturity (she spent the entire film being dragged around a magical kingdom by cats bent on marrying her)? The film makes no attempt to answer these questions (and many more).The quality of animation was also far below Ghibli standards, though for normal anime I'd say it was usually good, and had some moments where it was definitely well done. There were a lot of scenes with characters remaining static in the background, or worse, repeating the same animation over and over again while the "center" character was talking (i.e the King's neverending dizzy expression). A lot of the scenes were fairly drab too, having none of the excellent shading I've come to expect from Studio Ghibli.In short, this might be a good Ghibli movie for very young children, however don't expect anything even remotely meaningful from it. If you want a real "coming of age" tear jerker, watch "Whisper of the Heart" instead, which is excellent.
