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The Cat Returns
Japanese onesheet
猫の恩返し (Neko no Ongaeshi)
Genre	Fantasy
Anime film
Director	Hiroyuki Morita
Studio	Studio Ghibli
Released	JPN July 19, 2002 USA May 2, 2003[1]
Runtime	75 minutes
Manga
Baron: The Cat Returns
Author	Aoi Hiiragi
Publisher	Tokuma
English publisher	Viz Media
Demographic	Shōjo
Published	2002
Anime and Manga Portal

The Cat Returns (猫の恩返し, Neko no Ongaeshi ^?, lit. The Cat's Repayment) is a Japanese animated film directed by Hiroyuki Morita, produced by Studio Ghibli and theatrically released in Japan in 2002 and United States in 2003.^[2]

It received an Excellence Prize at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival.

Plot

The story follows a girl called Haru, a quiet, shy and unassuming high school student who has a long-suppressed ability to talk to cats. One day she saves a darkly colored, odd-eyed cat from being hit by a truck on a busy road. The cat turns out to be Lune, Prince of the Cat Kingdom. In return, the cats shower her with gifts of catnip and mice — and then she is offered the Prince's hand in marriage. Her mixed reply is taken as a yes.

Immersed in desperation over this unwanted development, Haru hears a kind female voice which tells her to seek out the Cat Bureau. Haru meets Muta, a large white cat the voice told her to seek for directions, who leads her there to meet the Baron, who happens to be a cat figurine given life by the hard work of his artist, and Toto, a stone raven who comes to life much like the Baron. Soon after meeting them, Haru and Muta are taken to the Cat Kingdom by force, leaving Toto and the Baron in the human world only to be followed by them. The Baron and his feathered friend finally find the entrance to the Cat Kingdom on Earth — five lakes forming a cat's paw.

Haru is conducted to a feast at the castle of the Cat Kingdom and she begins to slowly turn into a cat — with tan paws, ears, and whiskers, though still mainly human — so that she will make a suitable bride for the Prince. At the feast, the Baron (in disguise) dances with Haru as part of the entertainment, and reveals to her that the more she loses herself in the kingdom, the more cat like she will become, and that she has to discover her true self; before being discovered and fighting off the guards so that he may rescue her. They are helped by Yuki, a white female cat who works as a servant in the palace and who had tried to warn Haru to leave the Cat Kingdom before she was taken to the castle. Yuki shows them an escape leading to a tunnel.

Haru, the Baron, and Muta's escape leads them through a maze to a tower, which contains a portal back into Haru's world. The King goes through a series of efforts to keep them in the Cat Kingdom long enough for Haru to remain trapped in the form of a cat so that he can still have her as his daughter-in-law, going so far as to actually collapsing the tower.

Lune and his guards return to the Cat Kingdom to reveal that the King was not acting on his behalf and he has no desire to marry Haru; he has instead planned on proposing to Yuki. Also, Muta is revealed to be a notorious criminal in the Kingdom (having devoured a whole lake of fish in one session), and Yuki as being the strange voice who'd advised Haru to go to the Cat Bureau. In her childhood Haru had saved Yuki from starvation by giving her the fish cookies she was eating, and Yuki has now repaid her kindness.

Eventually, Haru, Muta and the Baron escape the Cat Realm, with the aid of Prince Lune and Toto, and Haru discovers her true self and tells the Baron how she has come to feel about him. He tells her he admires her sincerity but it is left unclear whether he returns her affections. Haru returns to the human world with more confidence in herself; upon learning that her former flame has broken up with his girlfriend, she simply replies, "It doesn't matter anymore".

Origin

In 1995, Studio Ghibli released a film titled Whisper of the Heart, based on a manga by Aoi Hiiragi, about a girl writing a fantasy novel. Although the girl's life had no magical elements, short fantasy scenes depicted what the girl was writing about. Those short scenes were so popular that fans demanded that a film be made of the fictional girl's novel: That film was The Cat Returns.

The Cat Returns began life as the "Cat Project" in 1999. Studio Ghibli received a request from a Japanese theme park to create a 20-minute short starring cats. Hayao Miyazaki wanted three key things to feature in the short — these were the Baron, Muta (Moon), and a mysterious antique shop. Hiiragi was commissioned to create the manga equivalent of the short, which is called Baron: The Cat Returns (バロン 猫の男爵, Baron: Neko no Danshaku ^?, lit. Baron: the Cat Baron) and is published in English by Viz Media. Once again it was written from Shizuku's perspective, roughly two years in her future. The theme park later cancelled the project.

Miyazaki then took the existing work done by the "Cat Project" and used it as a testing ground for future Ghibli directors — the short was now to be 45 minutes long. In the end, responsibility fell to Hiroyuki Morita, who had started out as an animator in 1999 for the film My Neighbors the Yamadas. Over a nine-month period he translated Hiiragi's Baron story into 525 pages of storyboards for what was to be The Cat Returns. Miyazaki and Toshio Suzuki decided to go ahead with a feature-length film based entirely on Morita's storyboard; this was mainly because Haru, the main character had such a real feel to her.^[3]

Characters

• Haru Yoshioka: A 17-year-old girl, the protagonist of the film.
• Baron Humbert von Gikkingen: Usually called Baron; a cat statue with a soul and owner of the Cat Bureau. He previously appeared in Whisper of the Heart.
• Muta: A fat, cynical cat who leads Haru to the Baron. (The Japanese word for "pig" is "Buta", which Muta is called on a couple of occasions, much to his chagrin. In the dubbed version, they extend his name, making it sound like Mooota and calling him a cow.) His "real" name is "Renaldo Moon". He previously appeared in Whisper of the Heart.
• Toto: A statue of a raven who comes alive, much like the Baron. Though friends with Muta, he enjoys making cynical comments at the latter's expense.
• The Cat King: King of the Cat Kingdom. He is portrayed as rude and slightly demented. He is notable for his heterochromatic eyes and the cat's eye opal he wears on his forehead. He serves as the main antagonist of the film.
• Prince Lune: The Cat King's son. He shares his father's odd eyes and lavender-colored fur but, unlike his father, he is well-mannered and orderly.
• Natori: The bespectacled advisor to the king.
• Natoru: The excitable messenger for the king. (Natoru was female in the Japanese version; she is voiced as a male in the English version.)
• Yuki: A beautiful white servant cat of the Cat Kingdom who was once a stray that Haru helped as a child.

Credits

• Director: Hiroyuki Morita
• Script: Reiko Yoshida
• Original author: Aoi Hiiragi
• Project concept: Hayao Miyazaki
• Executive producers: Hayao Miyazaki, Takeyoshi Matsushita, Seiichiro Ujiie, Koji Hoshino, Toshio Miyagawa, Hironori Aihara, Hideyuki Takai
• Character designer: Satoko Morikawa
• Supervising animators: Ei Inoue, Kazutaka Ozaki
• Art director: Naoya Tanaka
• Digital composite & camera supervisor: Kentaro Takahashi
• Editor: Megumi Uchida (Seyama Editing Room)
• Music: Yuji Nomi
• Music performance: Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra (conductor: Hiroshi Kumagai)
• Theme song performance: Ayano Tsuji
• General producers: Toshio Suzuki, Nozomu Takahashi
• "The Cat Returns" production committee: Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Hakuhodo, Mitsubishi, Toho
• Production: Studio Ghibli

Japanese seiyū

• Haru Yoshioka - Chizuru Ikewaki
• Baron Humbert von Gikkingen - Yoshihiko Hakamada
• Muta - Tetsu Watanabe
• Toto - Yōsuke Saitō
• The Cat King - Tetsuro Tamba
• Lune - Takayuki Yamada
• Yuki - Aki Maeda
• Haru's Mother Naoko Yoshioka (her name is found in the manga. P 22 of the English translation by VIZ) - Kumiko Okae

Voice talent for the English dub

• Haru Yoshioka - Anne Hathaway and Katia Coe as younger Haru
• Baron Humbert von Gikkingen - Cary Elwes
• Muta (a.k.a. Renaldo Moon) - Peter Boyle
• Toto - Elliott Gould
• The Cat King - Tim Curry
• Lune - Andrew Bevis
• Yuki - Judy Greer
• Haru's Mother - Naoko Yoshioka - Kristine Sutherland
• Hiromi - Kristen Bell
• Natori - René Auberjonois
• Natoru - Andy Richter
• Additional Voices by Greg Berg, Erin Chambers, Robert Clotworthy, Terri Douglas, Courtnee Draper, Jason Harris, Brian Herskowitz, Mona Marshall, Randy Montgomery, Bradley Pierce, Diz White

References

1. ^ Disney Release Date of The Cat Returns
2. ^ imdb.com
3. ^ from "The Making of The Cat Returns"

External links

• The Cat Returns page at Nausicaa.net
• The Cat Returns at Online Ghibli
• Review at THEM Anime
• Neko no ongaeshi at the Internet Movie Database
• "猫の恩返し (Neko no ongaeshi)" (in Japanese). Japanese Movie Database. http://www.jmdb.ne.jp/2002/dz002300.htm. Retrieved 2007-07-21.  

From Wikiquote

The Cat Returns (Neko no ongaeshi in Japanese) is a Studio Ghibli film directed by Hiroyuki Morita. It is a modern fairytale about a clumsy girl called Haru who saves the life of the Cat Prince. As a reward she is taken to the Kingdom of the Cats where she reluctantly begins to transform into a cat. As this happens the King attempts to force Haru to marry the Prince whom she saved. Using her newfound friends Toto, The Baron and Muta she has to leave before she turns fully into a cat.

Muta

Muta:(After the sun sets on the town, making the windows turn gold) You can come out now Baron, no-one's impressed by your fancy lights show.

• I respect a woman who stands up for herself. Even if she does like sticking her nose in other people's business!

• From now on...you're not allowed to make anymore... [starts falling] fat jokes!

• [ To Baron, about Haru] Alright, alright. I'll look after the little baby.

The Baron

• Whenever someone creates something with all of their heart, then that creation is given a soul.

• (After seeing Haru kidnapped by the cats) Better skip the tea.

• Excuse me, your majesty, but I believe I can make the young lady smile.

• [After Haru admits she has a crush on the Baron] I admire a woman who speaks her mind.

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

Dialogue in the Film

Vizier: How can you not remember it your majesty? Even our legends tell of a large white cat devouring all of the fish in our lake.

The Baron: That's disgusting, you didn't really do that did you Muta?

Haru: Hey, mom? Do you think cats can talk?

Haru's mother: Sure, why not?

Haru: Catnips does nothing for me, I'm allergic to cat-tails! And I hate mice, I don't eat them!

Cat messenger: What?! But all the cats in the kingdom agreed the gifts were just lovely!

Baron: Leaving so soon Muta? That's a pity, we were just about to have some Angel Foood cake from the cupboard.

Muta: Where in the Cupboard?

Vizier: Your majesty! You hit one of our own men, how could you!

The King:: Lets keep that between you and me.

External links

Wikipedia has an article about:

The Cat Returns

• Neko no ongaeshi quotes at the Internet Movie Database