With Studio Ghibli turning 36 years old as of June 15th 2021, I thought it was high time to review one of their movies.

After a young girl named Haru saves a cat from being hurt in traffic, she finds herself to be the unwilling recipient of favors and rewards from the magical cat kingdom. For saving the life of the prince of cats, the king of cats has declared them to be engaged and soon Haru begins to transform into a feline citizen who will be trapped forever in the cat kingdom. Desperate to find a way out of this predicament, Haru turns to the mysterious Baron, who is in charge of The Cat Bureau, for help.

The Cat Returns is a cute and fun little movie from the ever talented Studio Ghibli. The animation is crisp and clean with a stellar sound design to compliment the world building and immersion that these movies are known for. The casting of Cary Elwes and Anne Hathaway in the English dub of the movie fit perfectly with what I would have pictured in my head.

Studio Ghibli is known for other classics like Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo, and My Neighbor Totoro. Many of these movies are streaming on HBO Max.