The Cat Returns

Reviewed By: Carla Land

Disney DVD/ Studio Ghibli

Review based on movie (2 disk set)

Rating G

What it’s (basically) all about: Our friend The Baron from Whisper of the Heart gets his own movie. In it, he runs a service that helps people in need. Haru needs serious help! She has rescued the son of the King of Cats, and the cats’ generous payback is ruining her life! Hopefully The Baron can save her from having to move to the Kingdom of Cats and marry Prince Lune- but Haru needs to believe in herself first.

Nitty Gritty: The special features are pretty much the standard Disney/Ghibli fare. Previews for Bambi, The Incredibles, and other Ghibli titles play before the main menu loads.  There’s the obligatory "Behind the Microphone” mini-documentary introducing you to the (incredibly stellar) cast, which included Carey Elwes, Tim Allen, Peter Boyle, and Elliot Gould. There is also a “Making Of” documentary, which is dubbed from the Japanese and goes into much detail. (They go so far as to discuss what they had for lunch and how it was arranged on the day they chose the director.) The trailers and TV spots are also all in Japanese.

As far as the movie goes, there’s a knife throwing accident which results in a female cat's top falling down. It’s a cat. No worries. Some of the chase scenes are a little scary, and the King of Cats (played by Tim Curry) is a little on the freaky side, as well.

The theme song is ridiculously catchy, by the way.

Survey says:  Fine for all ages. This one will probably appeal more to younger kids even though there are some scary elements and Haru is in high school- but overall this one’s rated G for a reason.

Personal Ad: I liked this one a lot, but that may just be because I LOVE Carey Elwes and Tim Curry. Seriously, by the end of the movie Haru admits to having a little crush on The Baron, and I was nodding my head in agreement.  It’s not Ghibli’s best work, but I’ll be purchasing it for my own collection.