The magic of Hayao Miyazaki

Upon reading the title of this you will think one of two things. Oh yes, Miyazaki is amazing! Or: what the heck is that?

Those of you wondering the latter, Miyazaki happens to be one of the most brilliant story tellers of our time, and he does it, in what I feel is becoming a lost art: the art of animation. Thanks to the people at PIXAR, Miyazaki’s films are becoming easy to come by, and done in believable English dubbing. (Though I am a fan of the Japanaese language). Some of you may be familiar with his brilliant, Spirited Away. Some of my favorites are, Castle in the Sky, Howl’s Moving Castle, Whisper’s of the Heart and Kiki’s Delivery Service. (The list goes on)

Every one of his stories star a young woman, who is sometimes clumsy, or too skinny, or a crybaby, but throughout the story they triumph over their trials because of their persistence, hard work and endearing friendships. Each one of his stories leave me completely enchanted.

So, for Christmas I just got one of his movies to add to my collection. The Cat Returns. I was skeptical about this movie at first because I don’t like cats, and as you can tell from the title, it deals heavily with cats. So I popped it in three times before I watched the whole thing. (The first two times I put it in for my kids and wondered off to do other things) Finally I sat down and watched the whole thing.

I loved it! You know it’s wonderful when it makes someone like me, who hates cats, actually wish they were a cat. And it’s all because of the Baron. Those who may be familiar with Whisper of the Heart will recognize the Baron from Shizuku’s story. And in fact that story was the spring board for this movie. The Baron is a magical figurine that has a soul and is able to come to life when necessary. He is a dignified, refined, handsome and gracious cat and with Cary Elwes doing the voice you can’t help but fall in love with him.

The story is about a young girl who saves a cat from being run over, immediately following the cat stands up and starts talking to her, leaving her in complete shock. Turns out he is the Prince of Cat Kingdom. The next day several gifts arrive from the Cat Kingdom, including mice, cat nip, and a betrothal to the Prince. Seeking help, the main girl stumbles across the Baron, who saves her from the relentless Cat King and helps her find her way home.

It’s absolutely charming and I would recommend it to everyone, if nothing else check out a movie by Hayao Miyazaki. I promise, you won’t be disappointed.