The Cat Returns

Haru rescues a cat crossing a busy street. But in doing so, she sets in motion a series of fantastical events that lead her to the cat kingdom. The cat was a cat prince and his father wants to marry Haru to show his gratitude. Haru finds help from her unwilling fate in the Cat's Business Office. It resides in a world of beings with souls, creatures of the human imagination. One of them is the elegant Baron, who, together with the down-to-earth cat Muta and the gargoyle Tot, tries to prevent the planned wedding. Kingdom of the Cats was created by the acclaimed Japanese animation studio Ghibli, founded by world-renowned animation greats Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata. The narrative is loosely based on the company's earlier film Whisper of the Heart. Here, the characters of the antique figure Baron and Muta the cat make their first appearance, albeit as minor motifs in a civilian narrative. But audiences liked them so much that Studio Ghibli was offered the chance to make a film with them as the main characters. The direction was given to animator Hiroyuki Morita, who had previously worked on Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbors the Yamadas. The screenplay was written by Reiko Yoshida, based on a comic book by Aoi Hiiragi, the author of the Whisper of the Heart.