Movie Review: "The Cat Returns"

Synopsis: While walking home from school, Japanese teenager Haru (Anne Hathaway) rescues a cat from the middle of a busy highway.  When the cat talks to her and tells her that her good deed will be greatly repaid, she is shocked...and is even more dismayed to discover that the Cat King has arranged for her to marry his son, the prince...which would mean Haru would have to become a cat.  When a voice tells her to find the Cat Bureau, the felines there vow to help her out of her predicament...but, with Haru already growing whiskers and paws, they may be too late.
Produced by Studio Ghibli.

The Good: The above plot sounds weird, doesn't it? Well, as bizarre as the storyline may seem, this movie makes it work really well.  It definitely kept me gripped until the end, something that other movies from this studio (Spirited Away, The Secret World of Arrietty) didn't do.  The animation is excellent, and the voice work--in the English dub, at least--was spot-on.

The Bad: The only complaint I have is that this was a bit short; seventy-five minutes is rather a low runtime for a theatrically released film.

Conclusion: Back in the day, I was a big Anne Hathaway fan...but, I'm just now seeing this.  While I've moved on from her and celebrity crushes in general, I still enjoyed this movie quite a bit.  I need to check out other movies from Studio Ghibli; the library I work for has plenty of them!

Score: 4.5/5