The Cat Returns (2002)
"Neko no ongaeshi" (original title)

After helping a cat, a young girl finds herself involuntarily engaged to a cat prince in a magical world where her only hope of freedom lies with a dapper cat statuette come to life.

Director:

Hiroyuki Morita

Writers:

Aoi Hiiragi (comic "Neko no Danshaku, Baron"), Reiko Yoshida (screenplay),

Stars:

Chizuru Ikewaki, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Aki Maeda

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Chizuru Ikewaki	...	Haru (voice)
Yoshihiko Hakamada	...	Baron (voice)
Aki Maeda	...	Yuki (voice)
Takayuki Yamada	...	Lune (voice)
Hitomi Satô	...	Hiromi (voice)
Kenta Satoi	...	Natori (voice)
Mari Hamada	...	Natoru (voice)
Tetsu Watanabe	...	Muta (voice)
Yôsuke Saitô	...	Toto (voice)
Kumiko Okae	...	Haru's Mother (voice)
Tetsurô Tanba	...	Cat King (voice)
Yô Oizumi	...	Additional voice (voice)
Youko Honna	...	Additional voice (voice)
Ken Yasuda	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Anne Hathaway	...	Haru (voice)

Storyline

A young girl rescues a mysterious cat from traffic and soon finds herself the unwelcome recipient of gifts and favors from the King of the Cats, who also wants her to marry his son, Prince Lune. With the assistance of a fat, grouchy real cat and a an elegant cat statuette come to life (both characters featured in Studio Ghibli's earlier anime "Whisper of the Heart"), the girl visits the Cat Kingdom and narrowly escapes again.

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Plot Keywords:

cat | anime | talking cat | chase | based on comic | 

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Taglines:

Journey to another land.

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Disney Official site

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

19 July 2002 (Japan)

Also Known As:

O Reino dos Gatos

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$522,911 (France) (1 August 2003)

Gross:

$522,911 (France) (1 August 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hakuhodo, Mitsubishi, Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

75 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES Dolby Digital EX

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film started when Studio Ghibli received a proposal from a Japanese theme park to make a twenty minute animation starring cats.

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Goofs

When Haru's friend calls Haru, she is seen beside a table with a plant and vase. In the next scene, the table is gone and she is somewhere else.

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Quotes

Haru: Thank you, Moo-ta...
Muta: What? 'Moo'? So now you're saying I'm a fat cow?
Haru: No! You're just fat... Oh!

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Crazy Credits

The credits have a series of still images from the film. The last image before the film fades is Haru feeding the small white kitten on the pavement.

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Connections

References Whisper of the Heart (1995)

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Soundtracks

"Kaze Ni Naru"
Written by Ayano Tsuji
Performed by Ayano Tsuji

User Reviews

Beautiful film.

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.