Though the great Hayao Miyazaki's name is at the top of the bill in the new animated Ghibli release, "Neko no Ongaeshi" (The Cat Returns), he played little part in it. Unfortunately, it shows.
The story is set in the real present-day world. A high school girl, Haru Yoshioka, lives with her single, slightly Bohemian mother. She's not the most attractive, graceful, or popular girl in school, so she's not altogether satisfied with her life. One day, Haru eyes a cat with a small box in its mouth attempting to cross a busy street. The cat fumbles the package in the middle of the street and a truck is bearing down rapidly. Haru grabs her friend's Lacrosse stick and manages to scoop the cat away to safety at the last second and saves its life. The cat then gets up on its hind legs, brushes itself off, and thanks her very politely.
This being the real world, she is of course stunned by the cat's actions. Later that evening, the King of the cats (who, it turns out, is the father of the cat she saved) shows up in a feline motorcade replete with vassals, maidens, and Secret Service Cats. She gets invited to the kingdom of the cats and, not being too happy with her life, she is tempted into going there.
Up to this point, the movie is flawless. The artwork is great, the characters develop well, and cat lovers would eat it up. When she gets to the kingdom of the cats, however, things turn south for both the main character and for the audience. The story becomes increasingly contrived-even for a fantasy. It was like there was a shift change at Ghibli and the inexperienced night crew took over to finish up the film.
The official western title for this movie is "The Cat Returns," though the translation of the title would be "The Cats' Returned Favor." It is likely called that because the cat hero of the story, The Baron, was in another Ghibli film, "Whisper of the Heart." Until recently, it was showing in Japan with a short feature entitled, "Ghiblis - Episode 2." Hopefully, the short will be excised from the bill when it gets sent abroad--it is a stinker.
Overall, the film was quite good, but it was a relative disappointment after seeing "Spirited Away." It should make it to the states within a year. Because it describes a far more western-oriented culture than other Miyazaki films, it might find new fans over here. I give it an eight out of ten.
The story is set in the real present-day world. A high school girl, Haru Yoshioka, lives with her single, slightly Bohemian mother. She's not the most attractive, graceful, or popular girl in school, so she's not altogether satisfied with her life. One day, Haru eyes a cat with a small box in its mouth attempting to cross a busy street. The cat fumbles the package in the middle of the street and a truck is bearing down rapidly. Haru grabs her friend's Lacrosse stick and manages to scoop the cat away to safety at the last second and saves its life. The cat then gets up on its hind legs, brushes itself off, and thanks her very politely.
This being the real world, she is of course stunned by the cat's actions. Later that evening, the King of the cats (who, it turns out, is the father of the cat she saved) shows up in a feline motorcade replete with vassals, maidens, and Secret Service Cats. She gets invited to the kingdom of the cats and, not being too happy with her life, she is tempted into going there.
Up to this point, the movie is flawless. The artwork is great, the characters develop well, and cat lovers would eat it up. When she gets to the kingdom of the cats, however, things turn south for both the main character and for the audience. The story becomes increasingly contrived-even for a fantasy. It was like there was a shift change at Ghibli and the inexperienced night crew took over to finish up the film.
The official western title for this movie is "The Cat Returns," though the translation of the title would be "The Cats' Returned Favor." It is likely called that because the cat hero of the story, The Baron, was in another Ghibli film, "Whisper of the Heart." Until recently, it was showing in Japan with a short feature entitled, "Ghiblis - Episode 2." Hopefully, the short will be excised from the bill when it gets sent abroad--it is a stinker.
Overall, the film was quite good, but it was a relative disappointment after seeing "Spirited Away." It should make it to the states within a year. Because it describes a far more western-oriented culture than other Miyazaki films, it might find new fans over here. I give it an eight out of ten.