Review of The Cat Returns (2002)
An ordinary girl in modern Japan is involuntarily initiated into the secret life of cats. Muta/Moon and the Baron from Whisper of the Heart (1995) accompany her to their hidden kingdom.
Light, mainstream comic fantasy. Directed by Morita Hiroyuki. It’s a shallow, less serious clone of Spirited Away (2001) with poorly recycled characters and ineffective anthropomorphism. A definite low for Ghibli.
References here: Ghibli movie titles, “Ghiblies: Episode 2” (2002), Tales from Earthsea (2006), A Whisker Away (2020).