All of the Disney adapted Studio Ghibli films have well known voice talent attached to them, but none, I think, is cast as superbly as this. Starring Anne Hathaway, Cary Elwes, Peter Boyle, Elliott Gould, Tim Curry, and Andy Richter, they all fit their characters perfectly. Judy Greer, Kristine Sutherland, and Kristen Bell also make appearances.
Haru (Hathaway) is a slightly awkward, frazzled high school girl who saves an odd looking cat from a messy fate in the middle of a busy street. It turns out that cat just happened to be the Cat Prince, Lune (Andrew Bevis) of the Cat Kingdom and Haru is in for a slew of unexpected, and unwanted, rewards. Not the least being the prince's hand in marriage. As she tumbles further down the rabbit hole, Haru finds a number of new friends as well as new enemies as she tries to avoid becoming a permanent resident of the Cat Kingdom. She meets The Baron (Elwes), a dapper cat figurine come to life; Muta (Boyle), a huge, hungry, and perpetually grumpy white cat; Toto (Gould), a raven statue come to life who is Muta's equally cynical friend; The crazy Cat King (Curry); and Natoru (Richter), the King's eager messenger.
As I mentioned, despite the odd sounding plot, it is actually more or less straightforward with an almost painfully obvious moral of being true to yourself. This is the one thing that detracts a bit from this animated classic, as there are few cleverly crafted surprises as you would expect from, say, Miyazaki. Even so, there are wonderful characters, and it is delightfully imaginative. The mannerisms of cats are captured perfectly, even as they are given human characteristics as well. This is definitely a must see for any fan of anime or cats.
**** (4/5 stars)
No comments:
Post a Comment