The Cat Returns

Directed byHiroyuki MoritaScreenplay byReiko YoshidaBased onProduced byToshio Suzuki
Nozomu TakahashiStarringChizuru Ikewaki
Yoshihiko Hakamada
Tetsu Watanabe

Aki Maeda
Tetsurō TambaCinematographyKentaro TakahashiEdited byMegumi UchidaMusic byYuji NomiDistributed byToho75 minutesCountryJapanLanguageJapaneseBudget$20 millionBox office$65 million

The Cat Returns is a 2002 Japanese animefantasy film directed by Hiroyuki Morita from a screenplay by Reiko Yoshida, based on the 2002 manga Baron the Cat by Aoi Hiiragi. It was animated by Studio Ghibli for Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network, Hakuhodo, Buena Vista Home Entertainment, Mitsubishi and Toho, and distributed by the latter company. It stars Chizuru Ikewaki, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Tetsu Watanabe, Yosuke Saito, Aki Maeda and Tetsurō Tamba. This is Hiroyuki Morita's first and only film as director for Studio Ghibli.

It is a spin-off of Whisper of the Heart. It was theatrically released in Japan on July 20, 2002, through Toho and in 2005 in the United States through Walt Disney Home Entertainment. It received generally favourable reviews, and won the Excellence Prize at the 2002 Japan Media Arts Festival. GKIDS re-issued the film on Blu-ray and DVD on January 16, 2018, under a new deal with Studio Ghibli.