The cat stands up and thanks Haru for saving him Haru is too surprised to even respond. One day, she saves a Russian Blue odd-eyed cat from being hit by a truck on a busy road. Haru, a quiet and shy high school student who has a suppressed ability to talk with cats. Haru rescues Prince Lune from an accident.
GKIDS re-issued the film on Blu-ray and DVD on January 16, 2018, under a new deal with Studio Ghibli. The film earned a box office revenue of ¥6.46 billion, and was the top-grossing film of 2002, while it shipped an estimated 720,000 units on DVD and VHS as of May 2007. It received an Excellence Prize at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival. The poster's advertising slogan is "Isn't it okay to become a cat?" (猫になっても、いいんじゃないッ?). This is the only film so far to be directed by Hiroyuki Morita. The voice actor for the Baron was changed from Shigeru Tsuyuguchi to Yoshihiko Hakamada due to wanting to give the character a "youthful feeling" while Yoko Honna, who voiced Shizuku from Whisper of the Heart returns as Haru's classmate Chika. It was screened in theaters alongside Ghiblies Episode 2.īased on Baron: The Cat Returns, a manga spin-off of Whisper of the Heart written by Aoi Hiiragi that was originally planned as a 20-minute promotional animated short for a cat-themed theme park starring Moon. ¥6.46 billion (USD$54 million) The Cat Returns (猫の恩返し , Neko no Ongaeshi, literally The Cat's Repayment) is an animated film directed by Hiroyuki Morita and produced by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Hakuhodo, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Mitsubishi and Toho and was released on July 19, 2002.