Catnapped! facts for kids

Totsuzen! Neko no Kuni Banipal Witt (とつぜん！猫の国 バニパルウィット, Totsuzen! Neko no Kuni Baniparu Uitto), also known as Catnapped!, is a Japanese anime movie from 1995. It was directed, created, and written by Takashi Nakamura. He also designed the characters for the film. The animation was made by Triangle Staff. The main song for the movie was sung by Mayumi Iizuka.

Story of Catnapped!

For a whole week, Toriyasu and his younger sister, Meeko, have been looking for their pet dog, Papadoll. Toriyasu thinks Papadoll just ran away. But Meeko believes an alien took him. Toriyasu laughs at Meeko for her wild ideas. However, she is actually quite close to the truth.

One day, Meeko sees a cat wearing clothes. It slips into the shadows. Later that night, three cat scientists named Henoji, Suttoboke, and HoiHoi enter Toriyasu and Meeko's room. They plan to take Toriyasu on a trip. Instead, they wake up Meeko and take her too. She joins them in their vehicle, which looks like a giant balloon shaped like a cheshire cat. Toriyasu is very tired and goes along.

The cats soon reach their own world. It is called Banipal Witt. This world is full of very strange things. Suddenly, they meet the Sleeping Cat. This cat is the very support of Banipal Witt. If the Sleeping Cat wakes up, their whole world would be destroyed. The two children soon learn that Banipal Witt is very different from their home. Three minutes in the human world is one day in Banipal Witt. The cats are only human-like in Banipal Witt. Henoji mentions that their life has become shorter because of the human world. Both Toriyasu and Meeko turn into human-like kittens. This happens as soon as they step into Banipal Witt. The sun of Banipal Witt is magical and causes this change.

Soon, the kids meet Master Sandada. He is a powerful wizard and the leader of a group fighting against the bad guys. Sadly, Master Sandada has been cursed by Lady Buburina. She is a princess who acts like a mean ruler. She has gone crazy. Because of a magic spell, she turns anyone she touches into a balloon. Sandada could not protect himself. His special magic glove, called the Sorcerer's Arm, was stolen. It was taken by DohDoh, his former student. DohDoh also went crazy because of a curse. Master Sandada explains that he brought Toriyasu here to catch Papadoll. Papadoll has supposedly been causing trouble all over Banipal Witt.

ChuChu, DohDoh's younger sister, is the strongest fighter for the good guys. She comes to warn them that Papadoll has been taking more villagers. He is coming their way fast. Papadoll soon arrives. The kids cannot believe their eyes. Their dog has turned into a giant, flying monster. DohDoh gives Sandada a message from Buburina. If Sandada does not give up before the next sunrise, Banipal Witt will face a huge disaster. Meeko manages to calm Papadoll down. But Toriyasu interrupts, which makes Papadoll angry again. In the confusion, Meeko is taken hostage. Things start to look very bad.

Some time later, Sandada explains something important. When a creature from another world is touched by the sun twice, they become like Papadoll. Toriyasu gets very scared and wants to go home. But the others convince him that he needs to save his sister.

Meanwhile, at the palace, the prisoners, including Meeko, try to escape. Meeko almost gets out. But she ends up trapped near the throne room. She listens to a talk between Buburina and her parents. She finds out that Buburina's power is a punishment. A wizard cast the spell on her. He wanted revenge because Buburina sent his daughter to her death. Buburina claimed it was not her fault.

Back at Sandada's house, Toriyasu and the others are sent to Buburina's palace. The group includes Henoji, Suttoboke, HoiHoi, and ChuChu. Their mission is to knock Papadoll out. They have a pill with sleeping powder. Sandada says it will make an animal like Papadoll sleep for a week. They also have Papadoll's chain. Before they leave, Sandada says that only Toriyasu has the power to turn Papadoll back to normal.

Later that night, Buburina calls all her prisoners together. She tells them what will happen to them. She shares her plan to create a giant mouse. This mouse would be used to wake the Sleeping Cat if anyone tried to fight her. This would throw Banipal Witt into chaos. However, Meeko makes fun of Buburina's plan. She says Papadoll would never do that. Meeko demands Papadoll back. She also insults the princess by calling her a witch. Buburina gets very angry at Meeko's insult. She tries to turn Meeko into a balloon and pop her. But she finds she cannot. The curse only works on people from Banipal Witt. Realizing Meeko is human, Buburina plans to make Meeko her new monster slave once the sun rises. She then turns all her other prisoners into balloons. This is so she can finish her mouse balloon. She throws Meeko in with them too.

Under the cover of night, Toriyasu and his friends get ready to sneak into the castle. They want to free Papadoll and save Meeko. Unfortunately, their plan goes wrong. Toriyasu accidentally wakes Buburina up. The rope he is on slips, setting off alarms everywhere. Toriyasu and ChuChu escape. Suttoboke, who went off on his own to find Meeko, runs into DohDoh. He tries to save Meeko.

Quickly, Toriyasu and ChuChu meet up again. They have a moment where they become closer friends. They arrive in time to see Suttoboke and Meeko release the mouse balloon. Buburina's plan is falling apart. DohDoh tries to kill Meeko and Suttoboke. Meanwhile, Toriyasu and ChuChu try to get Papadoll under control and stop Buburina.

During the air battle, Toriyasu feels sad for a moment. DohDoh teases him. Toriyasu remembers a time when he hit Papadoll. He did it to let out anger from bullies. But DohDoh gets what he deserves. He breaks the mouse balloon when he gets too close to the castle. He also loses his grip on the Sorcerer's Arm. Toriyasu remembers what Master Sandada said. He gets his confidence back. He tries to get Papadoll back. Buburina refuses to give Papadoll back. She almost makes Toriyasu fall to his death. She tears Papadoll's collar off.

As he falls, Papadoll finally remembers Toriyasu. He had ignored Buburina's orders to eat Toriyasu. Toriyasu also remembers how much Papadoll means to him. This is shown in a quick memory. Toriyasu then goes a little crazy for a few seconds. He calms down after landing on one of Buburina's victims. He uses the victim to move around. The victim tries to protest. Toriyasu reaches Papadoll. He avoids missiles fired by Buburina. He gets Papadoll under control with ChuChu's help. However, the signal tower goes off. This huge device lights Banipal Witt's sun every morning. Toriyasu and the others have only a few seconds to save Meeko.

Quickly, they rescue Meeko and make it home. Buburina and DohDoh both end up in bad situations. Buburina is left sinking into a small lake. DohDoh gets tangled in what is left of the mouse balloon.

Toriyasu and Meeko return to normal. They are no longer changed by Banipal Witt's sun. Toriyasu and ChuChu become closer friends. The cats say the two can visit any time. They can also choose to be cats again if they want. Before going home, Meeko says that Buburina will come back.

The next morning, Toriyasu and Meeko go back to their normal lives. The children do not know it, but Meeko is right again. The cats go to Toriyasu and Meeko's school. They have some urgent business that just came up. This leaves the movie with a cliffhanger.

Who Made the Movie?

• Original Creator, Director, Character Designs: Takashi Nakamura
• Screenplay: Takashi Nakamura, Chiaki J. Konaka
• Producers: Tarō Maki, Yoshimi Asari, Hiroaki Inoue
• Art Director: Shinji Kimura
• Music: Shigeaki Saegusa
• Sound Director: Shigeharu Shiba
• Production: Triangle Staff
• Distribution: T&K Telefilm

Meet the Characters

The actors are listed with their original Japanese voice actor first, then their English voice actor.

• Toriyasu (voiced by Hiroaki Hori/Dorothy Elias Fahn): He is one of the main characters and the hero of the movie. He is Meeko's older brother. When he first arrives in Banipal Witt, he is scared of this strange new world. But he eventually starts to like the people of Banipal Witt. He makes friends, especially with ChuChu, who seems to be his special friend by the end of the movie. At first, he does not care that Papadoll is missing. But he later starts to care and becomes determined to bring Papadoll home. Because he is human, Buburina's curse does not affect him.

• Meeko (voiced by Mirai Sasaki/Sandy Fox): She is Toriyasu's little sister and another main character. She is the first to realize Papadoll's disappearance is not normal. She is kidnapped and taken to Buburina's castle as a prisoner early in the film. She is also the only prisoner not affected by Buburina's curse because she is human. She and Suttoboke are very close. Suttoboke acts like a father figure to her. Unlike her brother, she was excited to go to another world.

• Buburina (voiced by Noriko Hidaka/Mary Elizabeth McGlynn): She is one of the main characters and the movie's main villain. She is a spoiled and mean princess. She believes everything belongs to her. When she was young, she accidentally caused the death of a wizard's daughter. The wizard cursed Buburina with a spell. It turns any living thing from Banipal Witt that she touches into a balloon. Humans are not affected by her curse. She uses DohDoh's love for her against him. She teases him because he knows he will become a balloon if he touches her. She seems to really dislike water.

• ChuChu (voiced by Mayumi Iizuka/Lia Sargent): She is one of the film's main characters and a hero. She is DohDoh's little sister. She hopes he will break free from Buburina's control. From her clothes, it looks like she is a knight or a warrior. She was looking forward to seeing a human. But she is not happy when Toriyasu acts like a jerk. However, over time, she starts to respect and eventually like Toriyasu.

• Sandada (voiced by Masato Yamanouchi/Tom Wyner): He is an old wizard and the leader of the group fighting Buburina. For most of the movie, Buburina has cursed him. He has to be pulled around by someone, usually Suttoboke or a rebel soldier. His only protection, the Sorcerer's Arm, was stolen by DohDoh, his former student. Near the end of the movie, he gets the Sorcerer's Arm back. Everyone affected by Buburina's curse is returned to normal, including himself.

• Henoji (voiced by Ichirō Nagai/Michael Sorich): He is one of three cat scientists sent by Master Sandada to find Toriyasu. He leads the trip to the human world. He is usually negative about many situations. For example, he was negative about Meeko wanting to come with Toriyasu to Banipal Witt. Like ChuChu, Henoji was very frustrated when Toriyasu acted like a jerk. But Henoji later starts to respect Toriyasu. This happens as Toriyasu begins to care about Papadoll and wants to bring him home. He acts as the lookout on the Tomcat vehicle and keeps track of time. Even though he is a scientist, he dresses like a rich nobleman.

• HoiHoi (voiced by Jōji Yanami/Simon Prescott): He is one of three cat scientists sent by Master Sandada to find Toriyasu. Unlike Henoji, he is calm and collected. But he is not always in a calm mood. He is the pilot of the Tomcat vehicle. Even though he is a scientist, he dresses like a pilot.

• Suttoboke (voiced by Sukekiyo Kameyama/Michael Forest): He is one of three cat scientists sent by Master Sandada to find Toriyasu. He is the sensible member of the team. He cares a lot for Meeko, acting like a father figure to her. He cares deeply for his friends and even for DohDoh. He is a secondary pilot on the Tomcat. Even though he is a scientist, he dresses like a butler.

• Papadoll (voiced by Fumihiko Tachiki): He is Toriyasu's dog. He and Toriyasu were once close friends. But Toriyasu accidentally hurt Papadoll once when he was angry because of bullies. Papadoll became unhappy living with Toriyasu. DohDoh soon came to the human world and "rescued" Papadoll. He brought him to Banipal Witt. Because he was exposed to the sun too much, he changed into a giant, flying dog monster. He had been in Banipal Witt for so long that he forgot who he really was. Only Toriyasu had the power to turn Papadoll back to normal. Papadoll was restored to his normal self by the end of the movie. He became Toriyasu's friend again. He was the only one who saw Henoji, Suttoboke, and HoiHoi enter Toriyasu and Meeko's bedroom.

• DohDoh (voiced by Mitsuo Iwata/Dougary Grant): He was Master Sandada's student. He went crazy because of a cursed painting of Buburina. Soon after, he stole Master Sandada's very valuable and powerful Sorcerer's Arm. He left Sandada to serve Buburina. He is Buburina's main helper. He wants Buburina's love because of the curse from the painting. This makes him a very loyal follower. His mean actions towards Toriyasu, Meeko, and the good guys eventually come back to hurt him. He ends up tangled in the remains of the giant mouse balloon that Buburina made.