The Cat Returns

The Cat Returns is a straaaaaange movie. The first time I watched it was back in middle school, which is around 7-8 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, isn't that the movie where the main character wants to fuck a cat?" Of course, I'd say no and we'd 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 college's film club, I was determined to figure out what this movie's deal was.

I think the best way to describe this movie is that it's a perfect "head empty, no thoughts" film. (That's probably why middle school me liked it so much). This is Ghibli's shortest film, only clocking in at a little over an hour, so it's anything but a commitment. If you're bored one day and have HBO Max/Netflix, The Cat Returns is the perfect movie to pass the time with. It's incredibly funny, which I wasn't expecting, light-hearted, charming, and does somewhat imbue that sense of mystical adventure I felt as a kid. It's 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 don't 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. It's not their best, but it's 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 doesn't 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. There's 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. There's a bunch more spoiler-y elements that don't make sense either but I won't 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 it's 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 doesn't 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, it's pretty illuminating when, later on in the movie, he puts on a mask that only covers his eyes and she doesn't recognize him LOL. The Baron is pretty cool though. He'll probably be most people's 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 it's doing, but the writing definitely drags down the film as a whole.

Movies like this are hard to rate for me so I wouldn't 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. I'd still recommend this movie though. It's a good experience and a great way to kill an hour!