The Cat Returns is a straaaaaange movie. The first time I watched it was back in middle school which is around 78 years ago at this point and I remembered it being some sort of magical adventure with bright exuberant colors adorable animal characters which would have been extra appealing to a young furry and a heartwarming message about being yourself and not caving to societal pressures. Throughout the years this reputation would be slightly tarnished because every time the movie came up in conversation someone would inevitably ask Wait isnt that the movie where the main character wants to fuck a cat? Of course Id say no and wed go back and forth about it. But after each subsequent ask of that formidable question I doubted my memory of what happened in this film more and more. So when I got the opportunity to watch this Ghibli classic again in my colleges film club I was determined to figure out what this movies deal was. I think the best way to describe this movie is that its a perfect head empty no thoughts film. Thats probably why middle school me liked it so much. This is Ghiblis shortest film only clocking in at a little over an hour so its anything but a commitment. If youre bored one day and have HBO Max/Netflix The Cat Returns is the perfect movie to pass the time with. Its incredibly funny which I wasnt expecting lighthearted charming and does somewhat imbue that sense of mystical adventure I felt as a kid. Its also rather clever in some places. Using tuxedo cats as bodyguards for the king was funny but also made a lot of sense as well as the fact that these cats are pretty isolationist so they dont understand how human society runs and frequently mess things up. The English voice acting is also pretty good. Peter Boyle as Muta in particular is a standout performance. And this is a Ghibli film so you know the animation and art are going to be good as well. Its not their best but its fine. Unfortunately this is where things kinda stop. Because the more you think about this movie the more you realize that none of this shit makes any sense. This is where the short runtime of the film begins to hurt it. There is not enough time to explain any of the themes or plot points in details the relationships between several of the characters feel superficial and the world doesnt even seem real. When you go to see a Ghibli movie you go to be engrossed in an entirely new universe. One that is the different than are own but still has similarities we can attach ourselves to. To do this you need time to flesh the world out and explore its intricacies. The Cat Returns does not have time for that. Theres almost no time spent exploring the Cat Kingdom or its rules. Our main character is just kinda plopped in there and immediately whisked away to some other place. At times the movie does try to explain some of its more fantastical elements but these explanations are so vapid and nonsensical that they might have been better off not giving any explanations at all. Theres a bunch more spoilery elements that dont make sense either but I wont talk about them here. So what is this about the main character wanting to have sex with a cat? I understand where this idea comes from but its not a thing in the movie. The relationship between Haru and the Baron is somehow one of the less explored ones in my opinion. They come to the same opinion of each other the first time they meet and that doesnt change throughout the entire movie. She views him as this suave gentleman and her hero someone that can protect her from the dangers of the world. But its pretty illuminating when later on in the movie he puts on a mask that only covers his eyes and she doesnt recognize him LOL. The Baron is pretty cool though. Hell probably be most peoples favorite character. When I showed a picture of him to a friend her response was You know I kinda get what she sees in him. Young me would have totally be in love. I thought one of the more fleshed out relationships was between Haru and Muta because Muta actually goes through a character arc. With relationships like these the movie proves that it somewhat knows what its doing but the writing definitely drags down the film as a whole. Movies like this are hard to rate for me so I wouldnt put too much stock on whether I give this a 5 6 or 7. On one hand this was a really fun watch and I could see myself putting this on again with a group of friends. But I also realize that this film has several flaws. Flaws which prevent me from giving it a higher rating than I would like to. Id still recommend this movie though. Its a good experience and a great way to kill an hour
60 /100
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