Anime Review: The Cat Returns

Review The Cat ReturnsWritten by WarpshadowRating very good

If there is one thing that is almost certain in media it is that when something is good there is very often a sequel to it. Many of them suck but at least The Cat Returns manages to be an decent sequel as good although different than it’s predecessor.

One day Haru sees a cat crossing the road that is about to be hit by a truck and rushes out and saves it. The cat she saved stands on two feet and says thank you, using human speech. If that wasn’t weird enough a parade of cats comes to her doorstep and announces they are going to give her gifts as a gesture of gratitude. These gifts turn out to be not so great (mostly stuff cats would like) but the worst is that the king of the cats want her to marry his son. The only place that she can find any help is the cat bureau.

Being a short movie there isn’t much room for complexity in the The Cat Returns. There is room for some decent comedy and g rated action. As with many kid friendly movies The Cat Returns does have a moral to it but fortunately it’s presentation is neither forced nor cliché. Although this movie is billed as the sequel to Whisper of the Heart, the other movie only provides a couple of tidbits of character information that are hardly necessary. This movie generally follows the Ghibli philosophy of being targeted at kids but being accessible to adults.