To me, this movie is perfection.

Thanks for the memories!

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Last year around August, I rented this on DVD. Since my sister and I are "cat people," I wanted her to watch this with me. But when she said that her friend had seen this and told her it wasn't very good, my expectations weren't so high then. After all, I mostly have mixed feelings for Ghibli movies: My Neighbor Totoro and Castle in the Sky were okay to me, while I adored Spirited Away and Kiki's Delivery Service!Thankfully, I ended up really liking this movie! It's a cute, fun, wondrous coming-of-age story. Some people have accused this for having bestiality, but I definitely didn't read it like that: for one, the main character only started having a crush on Baron after (Spoiler)she started becoming a cat herself(/spoiler). But with that aside, I highly recommend this!

I stumbled upon the movie while listening to Studio Ghibli music collection. If you haven't yet heard 'Kaze ni Naru' - the main soundtrack from the movie, do it now. One of the most pleasant, relaxing soundtracks I ever heard. Anyway, after having the soundtrack in my playlist for about couple of weeks, I finally found time to watch the movie. The movie follows the main character - Haru who saves a cat from getting run over by a truck. To her astonishment, the cat thanks her. Only later does she realise that the cat was actually the prince from Kingdom of cats. The king, as a token of thanks, wants her to be his daughter in law against her will. What follows is her adventure through the kingdom, along with Baron and Muta from the Cat Bureau who try to save her. At about 75 minutes, it was short yet well scripted. All characters were super fun, especially Haru and The Baron. It might not be the best of the Ghibli collections, but I recommend to watch it at least once.

Like I said in my review of Whispers of The Heart, there was a character known as The Baron (voiced by Carey Elwes) would feature a more prominent role in this film. Much like Whispers of the Heart, this was a very pleasant surprise.Though, this had a bit more fantasy to it, it was still a very likable film that made me feel really cheerful after I felt it. The characters are all very likable. The main character, voiced by Anne Hathaway, was very innocent and in a lot of ways, was one of the most relatable characters I have seen in a Studio Ghibli film, for me. Shy, needs lessons in confidence that she gradually learns over the course of the film to stand up for herself after being thrown into precarious situations. She's curious, polite and very wide eyed.The rest of the cast does very well, Carey Elwes was great as the Barron, charming yet he clearly always knew what he was talking about. The other cast did well too, Peter Boyle was great and Tim Curry, over the top as always and I loved it. The writing for this film was very clever and it things that don't seem to have that much relevance all seem to add up in the end. And add up quite well in the end I might add.Overall, The Cat Returns is a great film. It's funny, touching and has great characters, what more could you ask for.

The Cat Returns is one of the most unusual, and most charming, children's movies I've seen in some time. When a young woman named Haru saves the life of a talking cat, it turns out that he was the prince of the cat kingdom. The grateful cats make several hilariously misguided attempts to repay her, culminating with marriage to the prince himself- whether she wants it or not. With the help of the cat bureau, Haru must escape the cat kingdom and return home before she loses sight of who she really is.OK, so the story is pretty weird, and may not make a whole lot of sense at times, but that's standard for most children's anime, and most children will have little trouble immersing themselves in its world. Who among us, as a child, didn't think what it would be like to talk to animals? What would their personalities be like? What did they think about? What did they think of us? Did they have their own form of society? The Cat Returns answers these questions in a most delightful way, somewhat reminiscent of the land of make believe in Mister Roger's Neighborhood.These cats are remarkably human. They talk, walk upright, and most of them have clothes. They have jobs and homes, a king (who is escorted everywhere by suit-wearing bodyguards), and a magnificent capitol city that wouldn't seem out of place in Lord of the Rings or The Last Airbender. But at the same time, they're definitely still cats. Their culture is largely based around napping, eating, and the pursuit of small fury animals.More important to this film than plot is the wonder and whimsy it generates. There's just something enchanting about a cat standing on their hind legs, especially with suit, top hat, and cane. And the very idea of kitty soldiers and entertainers is delightful. There are also awe inspiring visuals, like when Haru and her companions descend from the sky on a living staircase of crows.The Cat Returns may not be on the same level as Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke, but it's still charming and funny, with an important lesson about knowing yourself. Perfect for young cat lovers and Japanophiles.