Catnapped! DVD

Toriyasu and his little sister Meeko have been missing their dog Papadoll for a week. Toriyasu figures he ran away. Meeko is convinced it was aliens. Then one night three feline scientists — Henoji, Suttoboke, and HoiHoi — appear at their window and whisk the children away to Banipal Witt, a hidden world built atop an enormous sleeping cat, where the magical sun turns people into kittens and dogs into monsters. Poor Papadoll, it turns out, has been transformed into a massive flying creature and press-ganged into service by the wicked Princess Buburina — a cat sorceress whose touch turns any living thing into a helpless balloon, and who intends to use Papadoll to seize control of Banipal Witt before the sun rises. With time running out and their own bodies now covered in fur, Toriyasu and Meeko must find a way to reach Papadoll, break the spell, and get home — before everything in Banipal Witt floats away forever.

Catnapped! is one of the most distinctive and visually inventive anime films of the 1990s — a wildly imaginative fantasy that draws comparisons to Winsor McCay's Little Nemo in Slumberland and the works of Studio Ghibli while remaining entirely its own strange and wonderful creation. It marks the directorial debut of Takashi Nakamura, the legendary animation director whose work on Akira helped define the look of modern anime. The film was produced by Triangle Staff, the studio behind Serial Experiments Lain, with background art painted entirely by a single artist, Shinji Kimura, giving it a strikingly unified visual personality. The screenplay was written by Chiaki Konaka, creator of Armitage III and Serial Experiments Lain. Criminally overlooked on its original release, Catnapped! has earned a devoted cult following among fans of offbeat, imaginative animation.

Notable Staff & Voice Talent

Director: Takashi Nakamura (Animation Director: Akira; Director: A Tree of Palme)
Screenplay: Chiaki Konaka (Serial Experiments Lain, Armitage III, Digimon Tamers)
Studio: Triangle Staff
Music: Shigeaki Saegusa
Theme Song: "Yume e no Tobira" performed by Mayumi Iizuka

Cast:
- Noriko Hidaka as Toriyasu
- Hiroaki Hiro as Meeko
- Mitsuo Iwata as Henoji
- Mayumi Iizuka as Buburina
- Sukekiyo Kameyama as Suttoboke

DVD Features

- Geneon Entertainment Previews

Spoken Languages: English & Japanese Audio, English Subtitles

Edition Details

Japanese Title: とつぜん！猫の国 バニパルウィット (Totsuzen! Neko no Kuni Baniparu Witto)
Runtime: ~75 Minutes
Director: Takashi Nakamura
DVD Release Year: 2000 (U.S. Release)
Original Release Date (Japan): June 10, 1995
Publisher: Geneon Entertainment (Pioneer)
Rating: G
Region: Region 1 (U.S. / Canada)
Genre: Fantasy, Adventure, Family, Comedy
Themes: Hidden Cat World, Transformation, Rescue Mission, Dreamlike Fantasy, Friendship & Courage

Media assumed VG+ unless otherwise noted.