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The Cat Returns
猫の恩返し
2002 · Film · 75 min
Directed by Hiroyuki Morita
AdventureFantasyAnimationDramaFamily
Young Haru rescues a cat from being run over, but soon learns it's no ordinary feline; it happens to be the Prince of the Cats.
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7 comments on Hacker News
For some reason my brain was remembering The Cat Returns as being directed by him, my bad
Well their top directorial talent is retired (and even if it's another fake retirement like his last two, he's too old to do too much more) or dead. Miyazaki's films seem to be more popular and well known than Takahata's (personally Grave of the Fireflies and The Cat Returns are the only Takahata films I've seen), but both men were the heart of the studio. Goro Miyazaki has improved since his debut but is still nowhere as talented nor as visionary as his father.
Also The Boy and the Heron was quite a letdown for me for Miyazaki's final film. I understood the point he was trying to make, that the films he made were his attempt at creating a perfect world, but the malice in his own heart made him unable to accomplish his vision. But the rest of the film didn't really seem to be built around that message, it seemed like an afterthought for the final scenes where the great-uncle is trying to pass the mantle on to him.
In any case, Princess Mononoke is my favorite film of all time, and the closest that Miyazaki (and Studio Ghibli) ever got to perfection. If you haven't seen it you should absolutely check it out.
I don't really (honestly) understand this critique.
What's wrong in being honest?
Goro works are inferior to his father's works on many levels.
He's no amateur, that's for sure, but he's no master either.
Among the best Japanese animation artists, he's probably average.
He's no Takahata, Oshii, Otomo, Anno, Watanabe, Hosoda by a long shot.
Hayao worst rated works on Rotten Tomatoes are "The cat returns" and "The wind rises" and I completely agree on that, with a rating of 88%.
Goro worst is "Earwig and the Witch" that I have not watched with a 28%, "Tales From Earthsea" that I've seen and did not like much with 38% and the best is "From Up on Poppy Hill" with 87%, which was good, but not "Spirited Away", "Princess Mononoke" or "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind" good.
And Nausicaa itself is not as good as a movie as the manga, that is an order of magnitude better!
The Cat Returns would be a great Ghibli film for children. I also would never show children most Disney movies as a lot of them have terrible take-aways.
Watch them all, there is something to appreciate in all of them. I would just put a trigger warning before Grave of the Fireflies, one of the saddest movies ever; everything else is pretty cool. The only one I’d pass on is The Cat Returns, but some people love it...
Generally speaking, Isao Takahata’s movies are more experimental and unique; his very last work, Kaguya-hime Monogatari, is incredibly beautiful but the animation is completely different from the “traditional” Ghibli style.
Porco Rosso, Howl's Moving Castle, My Neighbor Totoro, and Princess Mononoke are good. In fact, they're arguably some of his best.
But my favorites will always be Kiki's Delivery Service, Castle in the Sky, and Whisper of the Heart. They may not be Miyzaki at his best, but they were the films that I loved the most.
The Wind Rises may also join the latter category. Either way, it's a really good film.
Finally, it should be noted that Kaze Ni Naru from The Cat Returns is possibly one of my favorite songs from any anime, ever. And I watch a lot of anime.
Suffice to say it's up on the list with A Cruel Angel's Thesis, and Tank. For you anime fans who know what that means, yes, it's that good, IMHO. YMMV.
I was essentially raised on Miyazaki. Some kids grew up with Toy Story and Finding Nemo, I grew up with Kiki's Delivery Service, Howl's Moving Castle, and The Cat Returns. I mean, I watched other films to (a lot of other films), but Miyazaki had a huge influence me: without him, I would have likely never gotten into anime. To this day, his films are still some of my favorites.
Whoever made this tribute, you have my salute: The 3D CG, while quite obvious, blends very well with the rotoscoped animation, something that doesn't always happen (just look at some of Cowboy Bebop). It also captures the feel of Ghibli's animation amazingly well.
I salute the animator, and I also, of course, salute Hayao Miyazaki: Farewell, and may your legacy live on.