DVD Review: The Cat Returns

By Sandy Amazeen Feb 17, 2005, 15:34 GMT

Take for instance when she rescues a cat from being run over by a speeding lory. The cat gets up, dusts itself off and thanks her for saving him from certain death. That night a strange procession of upright walking cats stops in front of Haru’s house, presents a scroll and the Cat King (Tim Curry) thanks her personally for saving his son.

When Haru awakes the next morning she is more then happy to think this is all some bizarre dream. On her way to school a herd of cats chase her, when she opens her locker an avalanche of gift-wrapped mice fall out which causes quite an uproar when the cat entourage discover them. Andy Richter gives a convincing vocal performance as Natoru, the Cat King’s toady. Natoru is much chagrined when it’s discovered that Haru’s is unhappy with the gifts. In an effort to win her happiness, Natoru invites Haru to visit the cat kingdom where the King himself has decreed that she is to be awarded the highest honor, marriage to his son.

Haru may be a timid young lady but she knows her mind enough to realize that a forced marraige into the royal cat family may not be much of a bargain. Following the advice of a sweet voice on the wind, Haru seeks assistance from the Baron (Cary Elwes). Aided by the Baron, his rotund sidekick Muta (Peter Boyle) and Toto the crow (Elliott Gould), Haru goes on a marvelous journey of self-discovery where she learns to have faith in herself.

One of the menu screens from 'The Cat Returns' DVD

Never having been a fan of the Japanese Anime genre with the large eyed characters, angular drawing and often jerky animation style I went into this film with low expectations. What a surprise when this turned out to be a sweet gem that has me rethinking my prejudice and looking for more work by this studio. The characters are nicely developed with an interesting, imaginative plot line. The animation is smooth and the attention to detail is reminiscent of the old Disney animation work. The first viewing I was concentrating on the plot and main characters, the second time was to enjoy the rich background and both times it was a pleasure to watch.

There are plenty of extras that come with this 2-disk set, of particular interest was the segment on the voices behind the figures. The original language was Japanese and rather then simply slap on subtitles, the English version was done with carefully choreographed voice-overs. So much care was taken with this step that it’s nearly impossible to tell, the actors involved with the project enjoyed their work and it comes through load and clear.

It’s fun to watch how this piece came into production and listen to the Japanese animators and actors. Of special interest is the entire storyboard presentation on the second disk, it’s a treasure trove of more then 500 frames complete with all the feature length voice-overs. This is family entertainment at its best, not cloyingly sweet or insultingly condescending in its presentation of a moral lesson.

"The Cat Returns" will be released on February 22 in the US and available in stores or via Amazon.

Further details, including a set of stills, from the DVD in our database.