Ghost Cat Anzu

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Ghost Cat Anzu

Released Nov 15, 2024

1h 34m

Drama

Anime

Kids & Family

Fantasy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

67%

Tomatometer

18 Reviews

87%

Popcornmeter

50+ Ratings

Precocious tween Karin finds herself abandoned by her father in rural Japan. Living in a temple with her grandfather, she meets Anzu, a giant "ghost cat" and notorious layabout tasked with looking after her. Distrustful of her new guardian, Karin sabotages Anzu's odd jobs for the townsfolk and befriends the eccentric local forest spirits. In an effort to win Karin over, Anzu accidentally makes a deal with the devil, and all Hell breaks loose.

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David Ehrlich

IndieWire

Ghost Cat Anzu can be much too casual for its own good, but there’s a special power in the scope of its imagination, and in how that imagination is drawn in the service of a world that’s somehow both limiting and infinite at all once.

Rated: B

Nov 13, 2024

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Robbie Collin

Daily Telegraph (UK)

The film is both outrageously fun and, while largely family-friendly, feels like it genuinely shouldn’t exist: imagine Spirited Away via Viz comic.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 4, 2024

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Wendy Ide

Screen International

Distinctive in its deceptively abrasive tone and in the wildly out-there swerves of its story. It does suffer slightly from pacing issues and an unwieldy tonal shift in the third act.

Jun 12, 2024

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Brian Orndorf

Blu-ray.com

Once heavier plotting and fantasy worlds join the endeavor, "Ghost Cat Anzu" loses most of its appeal.

Rated: B-

Feb 26, 2025

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Charles Solomon

FilmWeek (LAist)

A very frustrating film that can't quite decide what it wants to be.

Dec 5, 2024

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Jana Monji

Age of the Geek

Based on a manga by Akashi Imashiro, the film is an uneven tale about adventure and friendship in a small town where strange beings from Japanese folklore (not really ghosts as the title would have you expect) are part of everyday life.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 22, 2024

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Tatiana

is an entertainment funny movie

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/20/24

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Isaias

The movie was good but lacked character development. The main duo spent 3/4 of the film arguing and they only started to get along towards the end. Karin was disrespectful, self-centered, and acted like she was better than everyone else. Anzu was kind, lazy, and caring for others. Karin's father was basically absent. He was portrayed as a single father down on his luck that needed money to pay off some loan sharks and took the first chance he got to leave Karin with her grandfather. The film would have been better if he stayed to find a way to earn money while at the same time, have Anzu's help with repairing his relationship with Karin.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/19/24

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Haruneko

It was absolutely lovely, and needed for the heart. Love, grief, all bundled up with the most human ghost-cat. Understated allegory on how we all process loss, and how love helps us move on.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/19/24

Full Review

jesse v

it's very pretty in terms of animation. a bunch of artists really designed the backgrounds from top to bottom. but where this movie shines in world building, just crumbles in story telling. stuff just happens, and you can count more scenes that can be deleted than the main characters in this movie. the movie got a tiny bit interesting in third act but it's way too late and nothing was paid off in terms of plot threads.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

11/19/24

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Francisco F

great stuff but the cat's eyes almost never changed, regardless of his mood

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/18/24

Full Review

Google

Great cute anime film, highly recommend

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

11/18/24

Full Review

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Yoko Kuno

Director

Nobuhiro Yamashita

Director

Mirai Moriyama

Anzu

Noa Goto

Karin

Shinji Imaoka

Screenwriter

Keiichi Kondo

Producer

Ghost Cat Anzu: Trailer 1

1:26

Ghost Cat Anzu: Teaser Trailer

0:52

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Synopsis

Precocious tween Karin finds herself abandoned by her father in rural Japan. Living in a temple with her grandfather, she meets Anzu, a giant "ghost cat" and notorious layabout tasked with looking after her. Distrustful of her new guardian, Karin sabotages Anzu's odd jobs for the townsfolk and befriends the eccentric local forest spirits. In an effort to win Karin over, Anzu accidentally makes a deal with the devil, and all Hell breaks loose.

Director: Yoko Kuno, Nobuhiro Yamashita
Producer: Keiichi Kondo
Screenwriter: Shinji Imaoka
Distributor: GKIDS
Production Co: Shin-Ei Animation, Miyu Productions
Genre: Drama, Anime, Kids & Family, Fantasy
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 15, 2024, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 28, 2025
Runtime: 1h 34m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital

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