The Cat Returns Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.5

The Cat Returns Blu-ray Movie Review

A must-see anime classic.

The Cat Returns is a beautiful spin-off following the seminal anime masterpiece, Whisper of the Heart. A brand new story (with the return of the baron cat), The Cat Returns explores a magical land full of surprise and wonder – yet danger and adventure awaits for Haru (Chizuru Ikewaki) when she finds herself engaged to a cat king – and transforming in to a cat herself! Can the cat Baron (Yoshihiko Hakamada) help Haru return to the human world?

Based on the manga by Aoi Hiiragi, The Cat Returns is a wonderful gem that manages to offer plenty of excitement, action, and adventure. While the feature-film doesn't come even remotely close to the masterpiece status of Whisper of the Heart (which should come as no surprise – without any direct involvement from Miyazaki), The Cat Returns is still a gorgeous anime production which superb animation and art direction by Naoya Tanaka (Princess Mononoke, My Neighbors the Yamadas).

The screenplay by Reiko Yoshida (Ride Your Wave, Okko's Inn) is charming: an engaging delight from beginning to end. The characters and journey taken are all new – taking the magical cat from Whisper of the Heart and exploring the new story with a sense of wonderment. Yoshida sticks the landing: the filmmaking is thrilling and fun (even though it lacks the greater sense of depth within Whisper of the Heart). The music score by Yuji Nomi (Whisper of the Heart) delights, too.

Directed by Hiroyuki Morita, The Cat Returns doesn't rank as one of the best Ghibli efforts (with most Ghibli films falling in to the “masterpiece” category) but it is still undeniably charming, entertaining, and heartfelt. The Cat Returns has great animation, an energetic story, and an abundance of whimsy. Make sure to check it out.

A quality steelbook with an orange tint.

For more information on The Cat Returns, please refer to the original review by Blu-ray.com writer Kenneth Brown.

The Cat Returns Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from GKids, The Cat Returns is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen. For more information on the presentation, please refer to the review by my colleague Stephen Larson.

The Cat Returns Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes lossless 24 bit high-resolution audio in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (with English subtitles). For more information, please refer to the review by my colleague Stephen Larson.

The Cat Returns Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The release comes with the same on-disc supplemental package found on the original release by Gkids (including a booklet). For more information on the supplements included, please refer to the review by my colleague Stephen Larson.

The special edition includes a gorgeous collectors steelbook highlighting one of the most iconic scenes from the film. The steelbook looks even better in hand than in does in photos, with a nice shimmer that impresses and an orange tint that is harder to duplicate in photography – a impressive steelbook edition that fans will be pleased to display with the rest of the Ghibli Blu-ray editions. Another nice effort from GKids.

The Cat Returns Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Cat Returns is an entertaining, heartfelt, and exciting animated gem. While not top-tier Ghibli, The Cat Returns is still a must see anime classic. The steelbook edition comes in collectible packaging and looks nice next to the other Studio Ghibli steelbook releases. A must-own. Highly recommended.