- Ever wonder what would happen if the forlorn young lady from your favorite fairy tale refused to marry the handsome prince? The vaguely-titled The Cat Returns uses this premise to create a very entertaining anime with a surprisingly progressive message. The young lady in this case is a typically distracted teenager named Haru (Anne Hathaway) who, in the midst of a particularly unlucky week, rescues the kind Prince Lune (Andrew Bevis) from getting hit by a truck. Did I mention that Prince Lune is a talking cat? That's probably why Haru's initial reward arrives in the form of an unwanted surfeit of catnip and mice. Upon hearing of Haru's disappointment, however, the overbearing Cat King (Tim Curry) has his fawning messenger (Andy Richter) promise Lune's hand in marriage instead. It sounds crazy, I know, but Haru's wavering answer sets off a royal explosion of wedding planning in Cat Kingdom.
- Understandably worried at the prospect of having to marry a cat, even one as seemingly decent as Lune, Haru contemplates her options. Fortunately, a helpful voice directs her to a rendezvous with the plump feline Muta (Peter Boyle), who knows the way to something called the Cat Bureau. There, an undefined magical property endows inanimate figures with life, most notably including the head of the Cat Bureau, the wonderfully named Baron Humbert von Gikkingen (Cary Elwes). With the assistance of the amusingly cantankerous Muta and the chatty crow Toto (Elliott Gould), the Baron takes it upon himself to assist those whom the world has treated unfairly. Before they can act, however, a gang of cats kidnaps Haru and transports her to the mystical Cat Kingdom. Will the Baron and company be able to save Haru before she gets married or, worse yet, grows a long set of whiskers?
- I doubt anyone would accuse The Cat Returns of being a great film, but it is certainly great fun. The main characters are well-crafted and entertaining, the dialogue and action are quite humorous, and there is never a dull moment in the film. That said, its greatest accomplishment may be its rather thoughtful recasting of the standard princess fairy tale. Although Haru's initial reaction to the marriage proposal contains the appropriate humor and skepticism, her hesitation reflects a fantasy that anyone watching this film would probably understand. After all, wouldn't it be great to be treated like royalty or, at the risk of being redundant, a cat? Certainly we can all agree that it would be easier to marry into a dreamy life of luxury than to live the life of an awkward teenager. Of course, the film's answer is that self-reliance is the more likely path to happiness, but it never preaches at the expense of entertainment. The result is a cute and funny fairy tale that provides a rare set of good reasons to believe that the characters really will live happily ever after.
- Rene Auberjonois and Judy Greer also provided voices for this film.
- Despite the fact that Hayao Miyazaki did not direct this film, his influence was pretty obvious (and he was a producer).
