3 Days till Christmas already!
Where do I start with a Motion Picture like "The Cat Returns"? It wasn't bad, but-WHOA, this is the zaniest movie I've seen since "Speed Racer". Before I go on, I'd like to make clear one point: THIS IS NOT HAYAO MIYAZAKI. In case you aren't acquainted with Miyazaki, he is the Genius behind 'Spirited Away', and 'Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind'. This Film was directed by Hiroyuki Morita, and it's his first film. The following marks are how I will rate it:
Good Grades: I=Incredible G=Great A=Acceptable Bad Grades: P=Poor B=Bad V=Vomit
The Story: The movie centers on a Japanese High-Schoolgirl named Haru. She is your stereotypical teenager: Harried, late to wake up, late for School, etc. But one day her life changes when she notices an odd-eyed cat walking out into the street. As he walks out a big truck comes, and the Cat drops the package... Haru grabs her friend's lacrosse stick and runs into the street, scooping up the cat and carrying him to safety---IN SLOW-MOTION!!!! (Which happens to be something that I've never seen Miyazaki do.)
When she gets to the other side, the cat stands up and thanks Haru. As in, it actually says "Thank You". The next day, she is showered with gfts of catnip (The sight of Haru running away from 14 or so cats always makes me laugh.), mice, and lacrosse sticks. (The cat she saved was actually the cat prince.) Then she gets a proposal of marraige, her answer is taken as a yes, and, well--I think you can guess. Grade: A
The English Dub: I haven't seen the Jpanese version yet, so I can't exactly compare it with the English. But, that being said, the English Dub is one of the best. Anne Hathaway (THE PRINCESS DIARIES) nails the character of Haru, while Cary Elwes (PORCO ROSSO) does the voice of Baron Humbert von Gikkigen, a Cat Statue that comes to life. Peter Boyle (SCOOBY-DOO 2) voices the Fat Cat Muta. ("Thank You, MOO-ta!" "Moo? Are you saying I'm a fat cow?" "No, you're just Fat!") Elliot Gould voices a raven statue named Toto who comes to life, ("You've got a hairball in your brain!") and Tim Curry voices the King of Cats, who sometimes acts like a hippie, referring to everybody he comes into contact with as "Babe", and sometimes acts like a psychotic dictator that had too much sugar. (WAAAAAAAYY too much Sugar.) Grade: G
The Animation: Well, the animation is good. (With Studio Ghibli, it always is.) It's not as detailed as anything that Miyazaki's done, (Nothing is, really.) but it's nice. Grade: G
The Music: The Music is unlike anything I've heard before. Yuji Nomi, the composer has a strange Musical Style. It's not bad, but he's no John Williams. Grade: A
Overall: "The Cat Returns" is a great movie. It is short, but that hour and 15 Minutes is well-spent. It's not as good as anything by Miyazaki, or even anything else by Ghibli. (Except 'Whisper of the Heart', though that one's not bad, either.) Hiroyuki Morita is showing symtoms of becoming a great director. I really hope his next film is as good as this one. Grade: G
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Hello Marlow