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

Director:

Hiroyuki Morita

Writers:

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

Release Date:

19 July 2002 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

Journey to another land.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Cat | Anime | Talking Cat | Chase | Based On Comic

Cast

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: English version)
Cary Elwes	...	The Baron (voice: English version)
Judy Greer	...	Yuki (voice: English version)
Andrew Bevis	...	Prince Lune (voice: English version)
Kristen Bell	...	Hiromi (voice: English version)
Rene Auberjonois	...	Natori (voice: English version)
Andy Richter	...	Natoru (voice: English version)
Peter Boyle	...	Muta (voice: English version)
Elliott Gould	...	Toto (voice: English version)
Kristine Sutherland	...	Haru's Mother (voice: English version)
Tim Curry	...	The Cat King (voice: English version)
Katia Coe	...	Little Haru (voice: English version)
Greg Berg	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Erin Chambers	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Robert Clotworthy	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Kathryn Cressida	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Kat Cressida)
Terri Douglas	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Courtnee Draper	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Jason Harris	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Brian Herskowitz	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Mona Marshall	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Randall Montgomery	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Randy Montgomery)
Bradley Pierce	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Diz White	...	Additional Voices (voice: English version)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jenny Andrews	...	Female French character

Directed by
Hiroyuki Morita

Writing credits
Aoi Hiiragi		comic "Neko no Danshaku, Baron" and
Reiko Yoshida		screenplay
Cindy Davis Hewitt		screenplay: English version
Donald H. Hewitt		screenplay: English version

Produced by
Hironori Aihara	....	executive producer
Rick Dempsey	....	executive producer
Koji Hoshino	....	executive producer
Ned Lott	....	producer
Takeyoshi Matsushita	....	executive producer
Hayao Miyazaki	....	executive producer
Toshio Suzuki	....	producer
Nozomu Takahashi	....	producer
Hideyuki Takai	....	executive producer
Seiichirô Ujiie	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Yuji Nomi

Casting by
Ned Lott

Art Direction by
Naoya Tanaka

Art Department
Rumiko Hayashi	....	color key
Osamu Mikasa	....	color designer
Kiyomi Yamazaki	....	color key

Sound Department
Atsushi Aikawa	....	DTS mastering
Tom E. Dahl	....	sound re-recording mixer
Yukio Hokari	....	foley artist
Shuji Inoue	....	foley mixer
Doc Kane	....	adr mixer
Masaya Kitada	....	foley artist
Kayoko Morozumi	....	foley recordist
Atsuko Nakayama	....	DTS mastering
Toru Negishi	....	sound effects
Noboru Nishio	....	digital optical recordist
Akihiko Okase	....	foley artist
Makoto Sumiya	....	sound recording mixer
Yuji Tan	....	foley artist
Akihiko Ôno	....	sound recording engineer

Special Effects by
Toru Negishi	....	special effects

Animation Department
Akihiko Adachi	....	inbetween animator
Shigeo Akahori	....	key animator
Eun Hee An	....	inbetween animator
Hyun Ji An	....	digital ink and paint artist
Hiroyuki Aoyama	....	key animator
Seiko Azuma	....	inbetween animator
Ken Baba	....	key animator
Hye Soon Byun	....	inbetween animator
Hyun Mi Cho	....	inbetween animator
Hee Eun Choi	....	inbetween animator
Hyeon Ok Choi	....	digital ink and paint artist
Soon Yeol Choi	....	inbetween animator
Maya Fujimori	....	inbetween animator
Miho Fujimori	....	digital ink and paint artist
Yoshikazu Fukutome	....	background artist
Jin Ju Go	....	inbetween animator
Hiroshi Gouroku	....	background artist
Jin Young Han	....	inbetween animator
Kuk Dong Han	....	digital ink and paint artist
Kasumi Hara	....	inbetween animator
Chiharu Haraguchi	....	inbetween animator
Ayako Hata	....	key animator
Sayaka Hirahara	....	background artist
Tadashi Hiramatsu	....	animator
Shunsuke Hirota	....	inbetween animator
Soon Ha Hwang	....	inbetween animator
Su Jin Hwang	....	inbetween animator
Hiroshi Iijima	....	digital ink and paint artist
Takeshi Imamura	....	assistant supervising animator
Ei Inoue	....	supervising animator
Eiko Inoue	....	digital ink and paint artist
Tomoe Ishihara	....	background artist
Eriko Ishikawa	....	digital ink and paint artist
Nozomu Ito	....	inbetween animator
Jeong Ho Jang	....	inbetween animator
Mi Sun Jang	....	digital ink and paint artist
Youn Hee Jeong	....	inbetween animator
Hyeon Soo Joung	....	inbetween animator
Young Hee Joung	....	inbetween animator
Tsutomu Kaichi	....	inbetween animator
Yukiko Kakita	....	digital ink and paint artist
Eun Kyoung Kang	....	digital ink and paint artist
Oh Soon Kang	....	digital ink and paint artist
Mioko Katano	....	inbetween animator
Fumie Kawamata	....	digital ink and paint artist
Eun Sun Kim	....	inbetween animator
Hyun Suk Kim	....	digital ink and paint artist
Ji Eun Kim	....	inbetween animator
Jung-hee Kim	....	inbetween animator
Kyoung-mee Kim	....	digital ink and paint artist (as Kyoung Mi Kim)
Seon Ea Kim	....	inbetween animator
Shigeru Kimijima	....	key animator
Haruna Kiryu	....	digital ink and paint artist
Yumiko Kitajima	....	inbetween animator
Chizuko Koike	....	inbetween animator
Toshiyuki Komaru	....	key animator
Masahiro Kurio	....	key animator
Masahiro Kôyama	....	key animator
Eun Sil Lee	....	digital ink and paint artist
Hye Sung Lee	....	inbetween animator
Hyo Sun Lee	....	inbetween animator
Mi Ok Lee	....	inbetween animator
So Young Lee	....	inbetween animator
Youn Hee Lee	....	digital ink and paint artist
Young Sim Lee	....	digital ink and paint artist
Kiyoko Makita	....	inbetween animator
Osamu Masuyama	....	background artist
Noriko Matsumoto	....	digital ink and paint artist
Yoko Matsumoto	....	inbetween animator
Mariko Matsuo	....	key animator
Yoshinobu Michihata	....	key animator
Michio Mihara	....	key animator
Naho Mitsuishi	....	digital ink and paint artist
Shihomi Miyachi	....	digital ink and paint artist
Sawako Miyamoto	....	key animator
Nagisa Miyazaki	....	key animator
Shinobu Mori	....	key animator
Satoko Morikawa	....	character designer
Satoko Morikawa	....	layout designer
Mi Ae Na	....	digital ink and paint artist
Sayuri Nagashima	....	digital ink and paint artist
Keiko Nakaji	....	key animator
Katsutoshi Nakamura	....	key animator
Masami Nakanishi	....	inbetween animator
Mai Nakazato	....	inbetween animator
Kumi Nanjo	....	digital ink and paint artist
Hiromitsu Narumi	....	background artist
Akiko Nasu	....	digital ink and paint artist
Tetsuya Nishio	....	key animator
Minori Noguchi	....	inbetween animator
Gosei Oda	....	inbetween animator
Hiromasa Oguro	....	background artist
Minoru Ohashi	....	key animator
Mayumi Ohmura	....	inbetween animator
Tadashi Okumura	....	key animator
Fumino Okura	....	digital ink and paint artist
Takashi Omori	....	background artist
Masako Osada	....	background artist
Shinji Otsuka	....	key animator
Kazutaka Ozaki	....	supervising animator
Jin A Park	....	digital ink and paint artist
Kyong Sook Park	....	inbetween animator
Suk Hwa Park	....	inbetween animator
Yong Kyoung Park	....	digital ink and paint artist
Yun Hee Park	....	digital ink and paint artist
Eun Me Pyun	....	inbetween animator
Youn Suk Ra	....	digital ink and paint artist
Soon Yang Ryu	....	inbetween animator
Shinobu Saeki	....	inbetween animator
Masaya Saitou	....	inbetween animator
Yutaka Sakamoto	....	animation checker
Masako Sakano	....	inbetween animator
Chikako Sasagawa	....	inbetween animator
Hiromi Sasaki	....	inbetween animator
Miwa Sasaki	....	key animator
Akiko Sato	....	digital ink and paint artist
Kanako Sato	....	inbetween animator
Yoshiharu Sato	....	key animator
Kaori Seki	....	digital ink and paint artist
Atsushi Sekiguchi	....	key animator
Miyoko Shikibu	....	inbetween animator
Ikuko Shimada	....	inbetween animator
Akiko Shimizu	....	digital ink and paint artist
Keiko Shimizu	....	key animator
Keisuke Shimohira	....	inbetween animator
Emiko Shimura	....	key animator
Og Chul Shin	....	background artist
Jee Young Soung	....	inbetween animator
Takahiro Sugawara	....	inbetween animator
Toshiharu Sugie	....	key animator
Makiko Suzuki	....	inbetween animator
Mariko Suzuki	....	inbetween animator
Michiyo Suzuki	....	key animator
Shihomi Suzuki	....	background artist
Hiromi Takahashi	....	digital ink and paint artist
Moyo Takahashi	....	inbetween animator
Naoko Takahashi	....	inbetween animator
Nobuko Takahashi	....	digital ink and paint artist
Yukie Takahashi	....	inbetween animator
Yohei Takamatsu	....	background artist
Nobuyuki Takeuchi	....	key animator
Teiichi Takiguchi	....	key animator
Atsushi Tamura	....	assistant supervising animator
Takanori Tanaka	....	background artist
Yûichi Tanaka	....	key animator (as Yuichi Tanaka)
Kumiko Tanihira	....	inbetween animator
Hitomi Tateno	....	inbetween animator
Masako Terada	....	inbetween animator
Akiko Teshima	....	inbetween animator
Keiko Tomizawa	....	inbetween animator
Kazuhide Tomonaga	....	key animator
Ryuji Uchida	....	digital ink and paint artist
Mineko Ueda	....	key animator
Ryotaro Ueta	....	background artist
Yukari Umebayashi	....	inbetween animator
Alexandra Weihrauch	....	inbetween animator
Shinichiro Yamada	....	key animator
Ken'ichi Yamaguchi	....	key animator
Hirômi Yamakawa	....	key animator
Eiji Yamamori	....	assistant supervising animator
Tomoko Yamamoto	....	digital ink and paint artist
Akihiko Yamashita	....	assistant supervising animator
Yukari Yamaura	....	inbetween animator
Yun Ju Yang	....	inbetween animator
Kikuyo Yano	....	background artist
Morihiko Yano	....	inbetween animator
Hisao Yokobori	....	key animator
Masafumi Yokota	....	key animator
Mi Kyoung Yoon	....	inbetween animator
Noboru Yoshida	....	background artist
Mitsuo Yoshino	....	background artist
Myung Hee Youn	....	inbetween artist
Atsuko Ôtani	....	key animator

Casting Department
Terri Douglas	....	adr voice casting

Editorial Department
Chris DeLaGuardia	....	color timer
Mutsumi Takemiya	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Hiroshi Kumagai	....	conductor
Takamune Negishi	....	music arranger
Takuo Yamamoto	....	music arranger: strings and horns arrangement

Other crew
Rick Dempsey	....	dialogue director
Atsushi Kamimura	....	production assistant
Ryosuke Kiyokawa	....	production assistant
Ned Lott	....	dialogue director
Hayao Miyazaki	....	project concept
Yuichiro Mochizuki	....	production assistant
Yosuke Toba	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Hakuhodo
• Mitsubishi
• Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV)
• Studio Ghibli
• Toho Company
• Tokuma Shoten

Distributors

• Cinema Mondo (2004) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Gkids (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Intercontinental Film Distributors (HK) (2002) (Hong Kong) (theatrical)
• Optimum Releasing (2005) (UK) (theatrical)
• Paradiso Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Home Video
• CP Classics (Russia)
• Front Row Filmed Entertainment (2008) (United Arab Emirates) (all media) (Middle East)
• Gaumont Buena Vista International (GBVI)
• Optimum Releasing (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Paradiso Home Entertainment (2005) (Netherlands) (DVD) (VHS)
• Toho Company
• Universum Film (UFA) (2007) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Anime Sound Production  sound effects
• Continental Far East  Dolby consultant
• DTS  DTS mastering consultant
• Imagica  prints
• Ogura Kobo  
• Production I.G.  
• Pug Point  casting
• Speedstar Records  music (as Victor Speedstar Records)
• Toho Sound Studio  foley design studio
• Tokyo Opera City  music recording
• Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra  orchestra
• Tokyo TV Center  sound recording studio

Also Known As:

"Neko no ongaeshi" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Canada:G (Manitoba/Quebec) | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Finland:S | Ireland:G | Singapore:G | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | UK:U | USA:G | Australia:G | Germany:o.Al. | South Korea:All | New Zealand:G | Portugal:M/6

Company:

Hakuhodo

Trivia:

Took three years to complete.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Haru first goes to the Cross Roads to meet Muta, all the banners say "Cross Loads". When Haru goes back again at the end with her friend, one banner says "Cross Roads", but then they all revert to "Cross Loads"

Quotes:

The Baron:If you find yourself troubled by something mysterious or a problem that's had to solve, there's a place you can go where you always find help. You just need to look for it.

Movie Connections:

References Labyrinth (1986)

Soundtrack:

Kaze Ni Naru

A very different follow-up to Whisper of the Heart

Let me start by saying that The Cat Returns is not the best of Ghibli and Miyazaki had almost nothing to do with it. If Miyazaki had directed or even written it, the film would have been as great as Totoro or Kiki. This movie is pretty much Whisper of the Heart as a Spirited Away style fantasy.

The story is as follows: A normal girl named Haru is transported to the world of cats to marry a cat prince who she saved from a speeding truck. That's basically all that I can tell without giving away the film. For those of you who loved Whisper, Baron is back big time. It was great to see Baron have a much larger role as a hero. The `stray' cat from Whisper is also back and fatter than ever.

Though some Ghibli fans will be disappointed, those who are cat-lovers will fall in love with the film. The film's flaw lies in that the story moves along a bit too fast for my taste. Just don't go expecting a film on the same level as Spirited Away or Mononoke and you'll have a great time. Grade: A-.

Rated PG for frightening scenes, brief sensuality, and language. Suggested for ages 10 and up.