Hiroyuki Morita's THE CAT RETURNS is a delightfully engaging children's fantasy from Japanese animation powerhouse 'Studio Ghibli', creators of SPIRITED AWAY. Resurrecting 'The Baron', an aristocratic feline from previous Ghibli release Whispers Of The Heart, this has schoolgirl Haru being, well
spirited away into the bizarre 'Kingdom of the Cats' and forced into an arranged marriage with Prince Lune, heir to the moggy throne. As this was the first film from Ghibli since the Academy Award winning Spirited Away, and as the two movies as similar in premise comparisons are inevitable. Although THE CAT RETURNS lacks the thematic depth and lush animation of Miyazaki's film it does possess a certain charm of its own. Sequences such as a nocturnal kitty parade through the sleeping streets or a breathtaking aerial escape with the help of some friendly crows reveal this unassuming little cartoon to possess more undiluted imagination than three Harry Potter films combined. Plenty of sly humour for mum and dad, no mawkish Disney-style song-and-dance numbers and a brisk 75 minute running time combine to make THE CAT RETURNS a family film in the best possible sense. Once again Studio Ghibli prove that rumours concerning the death of traditional cell animation have been wildly exaggerated.
Review of The Cat Returns
