Le royaume des chats (2002)

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

1 nomination.

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 Ôizumi	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Youko Honna	...	Chika (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 | anthropomorphic cat | based on comic book | based on manga | 

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Taglines:

Neko ni nattemo, iin janai?

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy | Romance

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Certificate:

G

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

30 July 2003 (France)

Also Known As:

Le royaume des chats

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hakuhodo, Mitsubishi, Nippon Television Network (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

In the beginning when Haru is on the roof and a volleyball hits her head, you see there is a door on the same "floor" they are on. At the end, you see that the door has moved up one level.

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Quotes

The Cat King: Thanks a lot, babe.

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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

Referenced in Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)

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Soundtracks

Kaze Ni Naru
Written by Ayano Tsuji
Performed by Ayano Tsuji

User Reviews

A Fun-filled Fantasy Caper

"The Cat Returns" tells the story of teenaged schoolgirl Haru, who saves a cat from being run down by a truck. To her shock and amazement, the cat rises onto its two hind feet and thanks her. The cat turns out to be the prince of the Kingdom of Cats, an alternate universe ruled and inhabited entirely by cats. As a sign of his gratitude, the King offers Haru his son's hand in marriage. The rest of the movie deals with how Haru initial attempts to fend off her prospective feline father-in-law's subjects and how she is brought to the Kingdom of Cats. The animation is splendid, like any other Studio Ghibli production. "The Cat Returns" also sees the return of two characters from "Whisper of the Heart", Baron the Baron Cat, and Muta, the grumpy "stray", who's fatter then ever! The movie is light-hearted and funny, though lacking the depth and grandeur of Miyazaki's films (Think "Laputa: The Castle in the Sky" and "Spirited Away"). "The Cat Returns" is an enjoyable and relaxing watch which combines fantasy and adventure. A treat for cat lovers. 7 on a scale of 10.