Teenage Haru isn't having much teenage fun; she's always late, always clumsy, and always ignored by boys. Preventing a "most unusual cat" from getting run over opens up a world beyond gym class and buttered toast for Haru, as a grateful cat king-complete with secret service entourage-comes to whisk her away to a Cat Kingdom. But not for too long, otherwise Haru might find herself with a cat–husband, or with very, very long whiskers. A suitably dashing cat–baron offers Haru some advice: "Learn to be yourself, and you'll have nothing to fear." Filled with medieval cat–town squares, castle cat–swordfights, and romantic court cat–waltzes, The Cat Returns is pure magic, using its fantastical Errol Flynn–like tale and watercolor–style impressionist animation to illuminate children's desire to find-and be-themselves.