07-24-2014, 06:18 AM
The Cat Returns was supposed to be a 20 minute short to advertise for a Japanese theme park using the Baron and Moon (Muta) from Whisper of the Heart.
Muta's character design was based off of a female cat that had wondered into Studio Ghibli headquarters several times and was eventually accepted and adopted by those who worked at the studio.
The cat Language spoken in The Cat Returns was done by staff members making the noises in succession which was then later edited for use in the film. This is true for all cat speak used in the film accept for the Cat King himself who's voice actor did the speak himself in order to keep the voice the same when he spoke a different language.
Studio Ghibli broke tradition when making the Cat Returns as up until that point they alternated between a Hayao Miyazaki film and Isao Takahata film with one oddly coincidental film, Whisper of the Heart. Knowing things would have to change and after going through several possible directors, Hiroyuki Morita, who had done animation for Studio Ghibli's previous film "My Neighbors the Yamadas" was chosen and the film was released in 2002.
Hiroyuki was also a key animator in several famous or infamous other films such as Ghost in the SHell 2: Innocence (2004), Tales from Earthsea (2006) and Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos (2011).
Muta's character design was based off of a female cat that had wondered into Studio Ghibli headquarters several times and was eventually accepted and adopted by those who worked at the studio.
The cat Language spoken in The Cat Returns was done by staff members making the noises in succession which was then later edited for use in the film. This is true for all cat speak used in the film accept for the Cat King himself who's voice actor did the speak himself in order to keep the voice the same when he spoke a different language.
Studio Ghibli broke tradition when making the Cat Returns as up until that point they alternated between a Hayao Miyazaki film and Isao Takahata film with one oddly coincidental film, Whisper of the Heart. Knowing things would have to change and after going through several possible directors, Hiroyuki Morita, who had done animation for Studio Ghibli's previous film "My Neighbors the Yamadas" was chosen and the film was released in 2002.
Hiroyuki was also a key animator in several famous or infamous other films such as Ghost in the SHell 2: Innocence (2004), Tales from Earthsea (2006) and Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos (2011).