Neko no ongaeshi (2002)

User Rating:

7.2/10   

Director:

Hiroyuki Morita

Writers:

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

Release Date:

19 July 2002 (Japan)

Genre:

Adventure | Animation | 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 | Girl | Anime | Manga | Dance

Cast

Chizuru Ikewaki	...	Haru (voice)
Yoshihiko Hakamada	...	Baron (voice)
Aki Maeda	...	Yuki (voice)
Takayuki Yamada	...	Lune (voice)
Hitomi Sato	...	Hiromi (voice)
Kenta Satoi	...	Natori (voice)
Mari Hamada	...	Natoru (voice)
Tetsu Watanabe	...	Muta (voice)
Yôsuke Saitô	...	Toto (voice)
Kumiko Okae	...	Haru's Mother (voice)
Tetsuro Tamba	...	Cat King (voice)
Yo Oizumi	...	Additional voice (voice)
Youko Honna	...	Additional voice (voice)
Ken Yasuda	...	Additional Voices (voice)
Anne Hathaway	...	Haru (voice: English version)

Also Known As:

The Cat Returns (International: English title)

Runtime:

75 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

English | French | Portuguese | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX

Certification:

Australia:G | Germany:o.Al. | South Korea:All | 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

Company:

Hakuhodo

Trivia:

This was originally going to be a short straight-to-video project, but Toshio Suzuki was so impressed with Hiroyuki Morita's storyboard, and especially the main character of "Haru", that he encouraged Miyazaki to give this cinematic release.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Muta gets up from his chair, he puts his newspaper down on the chair. In the next shot it has vanished.

Quotes:

Baron: Always believe in yourself. Do this and no matter where you are, you will have nothing to fear.

Movie Connections:

References Mimi wo sumaseba (1995)

Soundtrack:

Kaze Ni Naru

Not on a terribly grand scale, but immensely enjoyable.

Although Hiroyuki Morita has worked with renowned directors Hayao Miyazaki, Satoshi Kon, and Isao Takahata, he has a style quite his own. While not nearly as refined as Miyazaki, his talent his clear for a newcomer. It isn't a perfect film, however. The first half is rather better than the second, and displays an uncanny view into the life of a teenage girl.

I was also impressed with the quality of the voice acting (the original, not dubbing), especially Chizuru Ikewaki. She was quite excellent, even though I am unaware of the subtleties of the Japanese language. Overall, I found "The Cat Returns" to be fun and extremely enjoyable fare, if unambitious.

7.5 out of 10