Starring (voices): Anne Hathaway, Cary Elwes, Peter Boyle, Elliott Gould, Tim Curry, Adam Bevis, Judy Greer, Rene Auberjenois, Kristine Sutherland, Kristin Bell
Director: Hiroyuki Morita
Haru (Hathway) is a really nice girl. She loves her mother (Sutherland), has a best friend Hiromi (Bell) and…no control over her life. When she saves an odd eyed cat from certain death on the motorway she at least thinks she’s done someone a good turn. Until the king of the cats (Curry) turns up and reveals that the cat she saved was his son and in gratitude, she gets to marry him. Whether she wants to or not. With only the Baron (Elwes), a cat figurine brought to life, Toto (Gould) a raven statue and the splendidly cynical Muta (The late, great Peter Boyle) to help her, Haru must find her way out of the deal, and the Kingdom of Cats, before it’s too late.
If this had been done anywhere else on the planet it would have been a disaster, a saccharine tidal wave which, let’s face it, Celine Dion would have provided the theme song for. Instead, it’s an absolute delight, a sweet natured, unpretentious film filled with the same good nature and invention that Studio Ghibli movies are renowned for.
The cast (A geek’s dream in itself, considering the presence of Buffy, Star Trek, Rocky Horrorand Princess Bride alumni at every level) are uniformly fantastic, with Hathaway’s honest, charming Haru an endearing heroine and Elwes’ splendid, at times Doctor-esque swashbuckling Baron a worthy hero. Likewise, Curry has great fun as the Elvis-esque King of Cats and with a cast this talented even the minor roles are played extremely well, especially Sutherland as Haru’s mum.
However, the real star here is Boyle. The animation and voice performance mesh perfectly as Boyle’s biting, barbed cynicism is embodied in a wonderfully down at heel and distinctly tubby white cat. The first time we see Muta he stares at the camera with an absolutely perfect combination of apathy and menace, the quintessential feline cocktail of disdain and apathy, all summed up in one frame. Given many of the best jokes and a great, oddly bear-like foil for Haru in the Kingdom of Cats, he’s a wonderful character and testament to Boyle’s natural comic talent.
Backed up by some beautiful, clean design work and moments of real, unforced emotional weight, this is a genuinely very special film with some wonderful moments of visual humour, especially the King of Cat’s entourage (Complete with security cats who are of course black and white and have sleeve mikes). Beautifully written, acted and drawn, it’s Studio Ghibli at their very best. Utterly recommended.
Alasdair started writing when he was nine, powered by a hefty diet of '80s cartoons, Doctor Who and Icepops. He's quite tired by this stage but has written a lot of things for a lot of people, including Fortean Times, Neo and Surreal.