Things get even weirder for Haru when she learns that the Cat King has decreed that she will marry Prince Lune! Though these gifts are more cumbersome than anything, and include boxes of live mice (the cats being unaware of the difference between human and cat diets) as well as planting cattails (which Haru happens to be allergic to) all over her front yard. They tell her that for her actions, she will be showered with gifts. That night, a parade of cats – which includes the Cat King himself – visit Haru at her home. This cat turns out to be Prince Lune, the prince of the Cat Kingdom, who begins to speak to Haru and thanks her for her bravery, much to Haru’s astonishment. That is until one day when she saves the life of a cat that’s about to be hit by a truck. Basically, she’s the most uneventful student at her school. She’s shy, quiet, and a bit clumsy, not to mention she tends to be late for class and other events. The Cat Returns tells the story of Haru, a Japanese high school student.
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While Morita may not have become the successor to Miyazaki or Takahata, his single feature remains a delightful if small-scale installment in the Studio Ghibli canon. Strangely, The Cat Returns remains Morita’s sole feature film as director. As only the studio’s second animated film not to be directed by either Hayao Miyazaki or Isao Takahata, The Cat Returns was aiming to be a means to groom a new director for the studio, Hiroyuki Morita. The Cat Returns was always one of Studio Ghibli’s smaller features.