I haven't posted anything from Ghibli's 2002 movie The Cat Returns the Favor (Neko no Ongaeshi), so here are some terrific hi-resolution screenshots to admire.
Every time I see these hi-res photos from Studio Ghibli, I go on and on about how perfect this will all look on Blu-Ray. It's becoming a habit of mine, but the truth is that animation has suffered greatly on the DVD format. It just was never large enough to encode all the material without heavy artifacing, pixelation, and edge enhancement. Then I remember that DVD was a step above VHS. Good heavens, how did I ever tolerate movies on videotape?
The Cat Returns may be regarded as a minor film in the Studio Ghibli canon, but it's really great and entertaining. It just happens to fall through the cracks, that's all. I thought cat lovers would be all over this one.
2 comments:
Decent movie, though kind of run of the mill for me. Very girl fantasy chick-flicky.
Doesn't compare to Whispers of the Heart or even Ocean Waves. Ever see Mamoru Hosoda's Girl Who Leapt through Time? There's a great movie.
This film really deserves more attention. I think Hiroyuki Morita did a fantastic job.
The backgrounds are gorgeous, and the character designs are very compelling, especially the human models. The eyes are warm and expressive, much more so than the traditional Ghibli black eyes, I feel.
Morita did Ghibli proud while making his own mark. It might not be as fantastic or as surprising as their other films, but it makes me smile every time I watch it. It's a beautiful work.
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