Misuzu Kurata

Mei is eating a caramel on one very windy day, when suddenly a whirlwind appears and starts chasing her. The whirlwind turns out to be a baby cat bus. Mei offers the kitten a caramel and the two become friends. That night, the baby cat bus visits Mei. Letting Mei ride inside him, he leaps out into the sky. They head for the midnight forest full of ghosts. Other cat buses large and small have also gathered together.

Imprisoned by a sorcerer who fears she will rob him of eternal life, guileless young Princess Arete befriends a villager who helps her plan an escape.

A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.

The Yamadas are a typical middle class Japanese family in urban Tokyo and this film shows us a variety of episodes of their lives. With tales that range from the humorous to the heartbreaking, we see this family cope with life's little conflicts, problems, and joys in their own way.