Movies Like The Cat Returns (2002)

The Cat Returns is a 2002 adventure, animation, drama, family, fantasy film from Hiroyuki Morita with a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with K-On! The Movie and Maleficent.

Adventure Animation Drama Family Fantasy

K-On! The Movie

2011

With graduation right around the corner, every member of the Light Music Club except for Azusa will be leaving for good. But the girls aren’t going to let something as silly as graduation tear them apart! For their final hurrah, the girls are going on the ultimate vacation tour— all the way to London! Their overseas journey will lead them on a trip of discovery and friendship as they take the stage one last time for their final encore together.

7.9

MagicScore

Maleficent

2014

A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. She rises to be the land's fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal – an act that begins to turn her heart into stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading King's successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom – and to Maleficent's true happiness as well.

7.1

MagicScore

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III - The Advent

2013

One year has passed since Guts left the Band of the Hawk and Griffith was imprisoned by the Kingdom of Midland for treason. In the dead of night, at a camping site where they hide, the Band of the Hawk is attacked by Bakiraka assassins led by Silat. When all seems lost, Guts returns from his journey. "You destroyed everything." Crying that Griffith is nothing without Guts, Casca and Guts are joined together body and soul. Griffith is imprisoned in the oldest building in Wyndham Catle, the Tower of Rebirth.

7.6

MagicScore

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II - The Battle for Doldrey

2012

The Band of the Hawk and their enigmatic leader Griffith continue winning battle after battle as their prestige throughout the kingdom of Midland grows. But their latest task is one that has seen failure from everyone who has attempted it: the subjugation of the impenetrable fortress of Doldrey.

7.3

MagicScore

Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King

2012

Guts, an immensely strong sword-for-hire, has little direction in his life, simply fighting one battle after the next. However, this all changes suddenly when he meets and is bested by Griffith, a beautiful and charismatic young man who leads the Band of the Hawk mercenary army. After Guts joins the Band and the relationship between the two men begins to blossom, Casca, the tough, lone swordswoman in the Band of the Hawk, struggles to accept Guts and the influence he has on the world around her. While the two men begin to fight together, Griffith continues to rise to power, all seemingly in order to reach his mysterious, prophesied goals. What lengths will Guts and Griffith go to in order to reach these goals, and where will fate take the two men?

7.2

MagicScore

Recently, My Sister Is Unusual

2014

Mitsuki and Yuya become stepsister and stepbrother because of their parents' marriage. Mitsuki can't get along with her new family and Yuya doesn't know how to approach his new stepsister. One day, Mitsuki becomes possessed by the spirit of Hiyori. Hiyori likes Yuya and believes Yuya can help her get to heaven. Hiyori places a leather chastity belt upon on Mitsuki and a plan takes place to help send Hiyori to heaven.

7.0

MagicScore

Big Fish & Begonia

2016

Beyond the human realm, there is a magical race of beings who control the tides and the changing of the seasons. One of these beings, a young girl named Chun, seeks something more—she wants to experience the human world! At sixteen, she finally gets her chance and transforms into a dolphin in order to explore the world that has her fascinated. But she soon discovers that it's a dangerous place and nearly gets killed in a vortex. Luckily, her life is spared when a young boy sacrifices himself to save her. Moved by his kindness and courage, she uses magic to bring him back to life only to learn that this power comes at a serious price. On a new adventure, she’ll have to make her own sacrifices in order to protect his soul until it is ready to return to the human world.

7.4

MagicScore

Kiki's Delivery Service

1989

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.

7.8

MagicScore

A Silent Voice: The Movie

2016

Shouya Ishida starts bullying the new girl in class, Shouko Nishimiya, because she is deaf. But as the teasing continues, the rest of the class starts to turn on Shouya for his lack of compassion. When they leave elementary school, Shouko and Shouya do not speak to each other again... until an older, wiser Shouya, tormented by his past behaviour, decides he must see Shouko once more. He wants to atone for his sins, but is it already too late...?

8.4

MagicScore

#10

Little Witch Academia

2013

Inspired by a magician named Shiny Chariot, the lively Akko Kagari enters the Little Witch Academy with the dream of one day becoming as cool as her idol.

7.1

MagicScore

#11

Teasing Master Takagi-san: The Movie

2022

Takagi and Nishikata’s final summer in junior high is about to begin, and it’s already off to a heartwarming start! When the pair find an abandoned kitten, they decide to work together and take care of Hana, their adorable new companion until they can locate its missing mother.

8.4

MagicScore

#12

Mannequin Two: On the Move

1991

Although Jason works as a department store clerk, he is also a reincarnated prince. Long ago, his beloved Jessie was snatched away from him by an evil wizard who used his powers to transform her into wooden statue. Now Jessie is in Jason's department store as a mannequin. When he encounters her, she awakens from her thousand-year sleep. They quickly revive their romance, but the evil wizard has been reincarnated as well, and he's up to no good.

5.8

MagicScore

#13

Sword of the Stranger

2007

Pursued by formidable Chinese assassins, young Kotaro and his dog run into No Name, a mysterious stranger who gets pulled into the chase. The unlikely companions form a bond over saving the dog from a poison attack, but chaos erupts when the assassins find Kotaro, and No Name must face his past before a horrible fate is met again.

7.6

MagicScore

#14

Shrek 2

2004

Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey set off to Far, Far Away to meet Fiona's mother and father, the Queen and King. But not everyone is happily ever after. Shrek and the King find it difficult to get along, and there's tension in the marriage. The Fairy Godmother discovers that Fiona has married Shrek instead of her son Prince Charming and plots to destroy their marriage.

7.3

MagicScore

#15

In a Corner

1998

Two schoolgirls, Hisayo Yoshida and Kanna Murakami, who are tasked with caring for their school's pet rabbits, are sweeping the cages and feeding the animals when Kanna cuts her hand, so Hisayo leaves her alone to go get bandages. (A prequel to the first version of Ju-on, 2000.)

5.8

MagicScore

#16

Sword Art Online the Movie – Progressive – Aria of a Starless Night

2021

One month after Kayaba Akihiko's game of death began, the death toll continues to rise, two thousand players having already lost their lives to the ultra-difficult VRMMO world of Sword Art Online. On the day of the strategy meeting to plan out the first-floor boss battle, Kirito, a solo player who vows to fight alone to get stronger, runs into a rare, high-level female player. She gracefully dispatches powerful monsters with a single rapier that flashes like a shooting star in the night...

7.8

MagicScore

#17

A Whisker Away

2020

A peculiar girl transforms into a cat to catch her crush's attention. But before she realizes it, the line between human and animal starts to blur.

7.9

MagicScore

#18

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

1984

After a global war, the seaside kingdom known as the Valley of the Wind remains one of the last strongholds on Earth untouched by a poisonous jungle and the powerful insects that guard it. Led by the courageous Princess Nausicaä, the people of the Valley engage in an epic struggle to restore the bond between humanity and Earth.

8.0

MagicScore

#19

Hunter x Hunter: Phantom Rouge

2013

One day, Kurapika spots a child who looks very similar to his childhood friend, Pyro. However, when he catches up to him, the boy steals Kurapika's eyes with some kind of magical power. Gon, Leorio, and Killua promise to help find who took his eyes and get them back, but Killua is having his own problems when he is forced to face his past and whether he really is worthy to have Gon as a friend.

7.0

MagicScore

#20

Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos

2011

A fugitive alchemist with mysterious abilities leads the Elric brothers to a distant valley of slums inhabited by the Milos, a proud people struggling against bureaucratic exploitation. Ed and Al quickly find themselves in the middle of a rising rebellion, as the exiled Milos lash out against their oppressors. At the heart of the conflict is Julia, a young alchemist befriended by Alphonse. She'll stop at nothing to restore the Milos to their former glory – even if that means harnessing the awful power of the mythical Philosopher's Stone.

6.8

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Cat Returns?

The top films similar to The Cat Returns by MovieMagicScore are K-On! The Movie (7.9), Maleficent (7.1), Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III - The Advent (7.6). Each shares adventure/animation/drama/family/fantasy themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Cat Returns worth watching?

The Cat Returns holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10 from 2,434 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Cat Returns?

The Cat Returns (2002) is a adventure, animation, drama, family, fantasy film directed by Hiroyuki Morita, starring Chizuru Ikewaki, Yoshihiko Hakamada, Aki Maeda.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Cat Returns?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more adventure recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like K-On! The Movie Movies like Maleficent Movies like Berserk: The Golden Age Arc III - The Advent Movies like Berserk: The Golden Age Arc II - The Battle for Doldrey Movies like Berserk: The Golden Age Arc I - The Egg of the King Movies like Recently, My Sister Is Unusual

About movies like The Cat Returns

This ranked list pairs The Cat Returns (2002), a adventure and animation and drama and family and fantasy film from Hiroyuki Morita, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Chizuru Ikewaki take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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