Redheaded Jill

For Christmas my brother and sister in law got me a complete set of the Studio Ghibli movies. I had only seen 2 of them.

We started out watching The Cat Returns. I loved it.

The English dub version uses the voices of Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride), Anne Hathaway, and Tim Curry to name a few.

**SPOILERS GOING FORWARD**

The story starts out with a young girl running late for school. On the way home she rescues a cat from being hit by a car. The cat stands up and thanks her and promises to repay her later. The next day there are gifts left all over the place, gifts fit for a cat. (The cat was the prince of cats.)

The king comes and tells her she’s going to marry the prince as a reward. She goes to the Cat Agency for help where she meets The Baron (Cary Elwes) and his companion, a giant cat named Muto.

The king’s guard comes to bring Haru to cat land and she is followed by her new friends. When she arrives she starts to transform into a cat herself.

The Baron arrives and tries to rescue Haru from the insane king. (The king is Tim Curry and HILARIOUS.)

Eventually the prince returns and says he’s in love with someone else and lets Haru go home.

Overall it’s very imaginative. (As are all Ghibli creations.) The story is a simple fairytale. Easy enough to follow. Kid friendly. There are lots of laugh out loud moments.

I like the insanity of the king. He’s a lovable goof. The advisors are amazing, trying to keep the king in check. (Think Cusco from Emperor’s New Groove level of nuts.) Baron is a true hero, with sword fighting, dancing, rescuing the damsel in distress. Muto is excellent comic relief, being the grumpy but lovable sidekick. Haru is a sweet girl who is almost convinced to stay in the land of cats after having a rough day at school.

I would give this movie 4/5 stars.

What’s YOUR Studio Ghibli favorite?