The Cat Returns (Japan, 2002)
Directed by Hiroyuki Morita
Starring Chizuru Ikewaki, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Tetsu Watanabe, Yosuke Saito

The critical and commercial rapture surrounding Spirited Away introduced a new wave of audiences to the work of Studio Ghibli. This in turn led to a whirlwind of re-releases and the creation of English language dubs of Hayao Miyazaki's back catalogue (some of which were supervised by Pixar's John Lasseter). But even as all this was occurring, films like The Cat Returns were demonstrating that quality animation could still be produced even without the master at the wheel.The Cat Returns is a really great children's animation which, though lighter in both tone and scope than Miyazaki's work, is still gripping, magical and laugh-out-loud funny. In a marketplace dominated by fare which is often depressingly anodyne, it is the equivalent of a stiff breeze that blows through a room after someone has slammed a door. Even in its weaker moments there is more than enough for both children and adults to revel in, and the viewing experience is intensely memorable.If one takes a cursory look at contemporary Japanese and Western animation, it doesn't take long to spot the major factor which divides them. The majority of mainstream Western animation is geared against both childhood and childlikeness. The work of Dreamworks in particular seeks to appeal to adults on a different or higher level, patronising the children watching and asking them to grow up quicker so they can appreciate in-jokes about The Godfather. The progression of the Shrek series from edgy Disney satire to cynical cash cow is ample demonstration of this.Japanese animation, on the other hand, tends to revel in the wonders and magic associated with childhood. It doesn't by and large infantilise its audience, by claiming that everything about childhood is perfect or infinitely more desirable than being an adult. But the characterisation of children, particularly as they undergo some kind of development, feels so much more honest and genuine. Hiroyuki Morita and his affiliates know how to nail that sense of childlike curiosity and fearlessness which is so difficult to find in a live-action performance.The Cat Returns has several clear similarities to Miyazaki in terms of its storyline and its relationship to various works of Western literature. Both this and Spirited Away are to some extent reinterpretations of Alice in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, in that they focus on the magical and often surreal adventures of a young girl who gets lost in a world that she does not understand. The anthropomorphism of Alice carries over strongly into The Cat Returns, giving us not only talking cats but talking ravens too.If anything, however, the Oz references are even stronger. The scene of Haru lying in the fields of catkin, slowly drifting off and not wanting to leave, recalls the scene in both the book and the film of Dorothy wilting in the field of deadly poppies. The plot revolves around a deranged and maniacal king with sinister intentions whose physical presence is both intimidating and ridiculous. And as things reach a climax, there are darker and edgier scenes involving decapitation (although, being a U certificate, there is no real violence shown on screen).

But although The Cat Returns is by no means the most original story ever told, it does tell its story remarkably well with a very strong moral thread. At the centre of an increasingly bizarre turn of events is a desire of individuals and particularly young girls to define their own path in life, to embrace their own identity and not to base their every decision on the desires or attitudes of others. In the midst of so many films, from Sex and the City to Bratz: The Movie, which promote vapid and soulless views of modern womanhood, here is a film which genuinely embraces female independence without falling into the trap of lecturing its target audience.Quite apart from anything else, the characters in The Cat Returns do not feel like the mouthpieces of a disillusioned feminist champing at the bit. When we are first introduced to Haru, she is a lonely young girl who is subject to bullying at school, has few friends and lives slightly in the shadow of her mother. Her life appears to have little in the way of purpose or direction, save for a fruitless crush on the local jock. Most of us can relate to her predicament - at the very least we have all had a short phase of shyness around others we are trying to impress, romantically or otherwise.

As in Spirited Away, the central device of The Cat Returns is a subliminal or dreamlike experience causing or having an impact on the real-world development of the young protagonist. As with so much of Miyazaki's work, if you wrote out the plot of this film and attempted to assess it with a straight face, you won't get very far. The film operates on the same logic that Alice does: everything works, but to explain and rationalise it is to suck out all that is fun and enticing.The journey that Haru undergoes contains a number of bizarre or elaborate developments which threaten to pull the film head-first into outright silliness. If we accept the existence of a cat bureau that deals with all things cat-related and is run by a cat called the Baron, who wears a suit and has a German name, we still have to contend with a secret kingdom hidden through a portal under a lake with its own skewed hierarchy and customs. But for all the moments in The Cat Returns that are absurd or inexplicable, there is an undying focus on Haru's personal struggle which keeps us grounded and allows us to embrace even the strangest goings-on.Having presented us with a relatively complex parallel world, the film could so easily fall into the trap of A Kid in King Arthur's Court, namely pointing out all the differences between the worlds for the sake of a brief gag. But again, Morita holds his nerve, keeping Haru in our frame of mind even during the most outlandish set-pieces. The maze sequence, which contains nods to Jim Henson's Labyrinth, could easily descend into padding to buy the animators time. But instead it becomes an effective way of demonstrating Haru's intelligence and resilience which, combined with self-belief, are the qualities that eventually redeem her.On top of all this, The Cat Returns is genuinely charming and sweet. Morita's designs are warm and inviting without ever becoming overbearing. The colour schemes are full and the smiles wide so that every character seems inviting even if their motives are suspect. There is not a single cat which feels like it was lifted from a stock drawing and plonked idly in the background to make up the numbers, and the final sequence involving Haru walking on the backs of ravens is really something. This level of craft leads to a unified admiration of the film, so that even the bootlicker Natoru is completely adorable.While The Cat Returns is not the finest or most substantial offering to emerge from Studio Ghibli, it deserves undiluted praise for approaching its subject and storyline with such gusto, charm and conviction. It is beautifully animated, has a cast of genuine and believable characters, and a level of laugh-out-loud alacrity which allows us to forgive all but the most obvious moments of contrived sentimentality. In the end it is Miyazaki-lite and won't date as well as Spirited Away, but you would be hard-pushed to find a more entertaining 72 minutes in recent animation.

Rating: 4.5/5
Verdict: A genuinely charming children's animation

Howl's Moving Castle (Japan, 2004)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Starring Chieko Baisho, Takuya Kimura, Akihiro Miwa, Tatsuya Gashuin

There seems to be a misconception that Japanese animation is completely distinct and removed from its Western counterparts to the point of outright hostility. While the visual sensibilities of Pixar and Dreamworks don't reflect anime traditions, there is a greater exchange of styles and stories that one might expect. This is supported by the fact that it was John Lasseter, the creator of Toy Story, who first brought Hayao Miyazaki's work to American audiences.This cross-pollination of cultures is evident in both Spirited Away (which won Miyazaki an Oscar) and the follow-up Howl's Moving Castle. Where Spirited Away took the central idea of The Wizard of Oz (written by an American) and completely reinvented it, this film takes a Welsh novel and gives it the classic Miyazaki twist. The result is a very loose adaptation of Diane Wynne Jones' novel which has all the familiar Miyazaki trappings - it's filled with wonder, beautiful, and totally, lovably bonkers.

If you try to write out the plot of one of Miyazaki's films, you would quickly have to give up, either because of their complexity or for their tendency to seem like total nonsense when viewed in abstract. There's certainly a lot in Howl's Moving Castle which makes one laugh, if out of surprise as much as genuine humour. Quite apart from a metal castle which walks around the hilly landscape, we have a scarecrow that comes to life (another Oz reference), a boy who becomes an old man by putting on a cloak, and of course a talking fire (voiced by Billy Crystal in the English language version).As we have come to expect from Miyazaki, the animation is spectacularly beautiful and manages to marry an old-fashioned, hand-drawn aesthetic with more modern, CG-orientated techniques. Being a deliberately loose adaptation, the director doesn't make a concerted effort to situate us in a specific time and place; indeed that would be rather futile, since the doors of the house can lead to anywhere.

What we are given is a beautifully crafted, fantastical setting with heavy overtones of steampunk, a world which seems green and tranquil one minute and dark and aggressive the next. Howl's secret garden, with meadows filled with flowers and the mill with its slow-turning water wheel, is counterpointed by the battle scenes in the clouds, with Howl in bird form dodging missiles and strangely impossible aeroplanes being blown to smithereens. If we insist on imposing a time period, we seem to be in the early-20th century due to the presence of imperial regalia. It's not quite Wales, not quite continental Europe, and we're certainly not in Japan.For all its beauty, there is an appealing sense of the grotesque to Howl's Moving Castle. There's nothing approaching the darkness of Spirited Away or moments of Princess Mononoke, and the film's U certificate means there's nothing that will terrify very young children. But the animation is so organic and perfectly weighted that when the moments come they are emphasised. The blob-men who can seep through cracks in doors are incredibly creepy, as is the Wicked Witch of the Wastes herself (Oz again). When we first meet the Witch, she is simply intimidating. But by the time she has climbed all those steps, bathed in sweat and the fat rings becoming more apparent, there is very little about her that does not send a shiver down one's spine.For the most part, however, these sequences are balanced out by moments of genuine magic. The film doesn't waste time in introducing magic to Sophie's otherwise mundane life: by the ten-minute mark she has befriended a wizard and walked over the rooftops on thin air. The first time we see Calcifer, as two amorphous eyes peeping out from the ashes, we can't quite believe what we are seeing. The film has such a natural touch when it comes to the magical or supernatural that we feel instantly absorbed, and that has a much more powerful effect than any amount of dry exposition.But the heart of Howl's Moving Castle is rooted not so much in magic but in a great story about ageing, love and the burden of having a heart. Western culture is obsessed with youth and staying young at all costs: while experience is rewarded, old age is frowned upon as something unwanted, and the elderly are often regarded as being obsolete. How fantastic, then, to have a children's film in which the central protagonist, who rapidly ages against her will, ends up embracing her advanced years and seeing all the good in her new-found state?

When we first meet Sophie, she is drifting through life unsure what to make of herself. Her older sister berates her for not looking out for herself, and she seems lonely and unsuited to life as a hat-maker. When the Witch of the Waste first casts the spell on her, her reaction is largely one of panic, followed by funny consolations that "everything will be alright". But despite her considerable physical handicap, Sophie is not the type to sit around moping. Her age does not prevent her from either having adventures or saving those around her. When her youth is restored at the end of the film, her hair remains grey as a reminder of this precious knowledge of the value of age.Against this example of good will and charity, we have the character of Howl, a man of immense abilities and good looks but who is also distant and haughty. One of his very first conversations with Sophie inside the castle sees him screaming at her for mixing up the lotions, causing him to accidentally dye his hair. Howl dresses like the anime equivalent of a New Romantic, and his affection for Sophie appears to come from a desire more than anything to show off.

As the film wears on, however, we discover more about Howl's past and our opinion of him becomes more adjusted. The beautiful sequence of Howl catching Calcifer and swallowing a fallen star makes his predicament more tragic, and sets up a change in all that has gone before. Under normal circumstances this time travel plot point would seem like a clunky deus ex machina, but here it is handled sensitively and feels seamlessly integrated. Howl regains his heart and realises he must adjust to a life built around empathy; he may still have his powers, but now he is more aware of their consequences and his ability to use them for more than selfish gain.The film also deserves praise for the quality of its English language dub. The film is easy enough to understand through subtitles, but if one insists upon a dub then this is of a very high quality. The recording, which was personally supervised by Lasseter, took longer than expected because of the engineers getting wrapped up in the story. Whenever clips would be played back, they would spend so much time enjoying the film that they would forget to check the levels or that it had synced correctly. What more proof do you need?There are a couple of small weaknesses with the film which prevent it from being a classic. The tone of Miyazaki's work is often very whimsical, and there are moments in which one's tolerance for such whimsy is tested. In the last half hour the story starts to run out of steam as all the threads are tied up, and the revelation about Turnip Head's true identity doesn't completely hold up when you consider what comes straight afterwards.In all though, Howl's Moving Castle is a very good piece of animation with all the magic of Miyazaki's previous work and the spirit of the original novel. Its characters are well-rounded and engaging, and even when watched purely as escapism it never fails to make you smile. Despite its little flaws, which prevent it from being top-flight Miyazaki fare, it retains a radiance and playful joy which will guarantee that it ages well. It's not Spirited Away, but it's still really, really good.

Rating: 4/5
Verdict: Magical, beautiful and bonkers