Cat Classics on Film: Ghost Cat (2004)

Today’s Cat Classic on Film might be called “The Cat Movie of Many Titles.” This is because, as you may have guessed, it has been known by a few titles—three, actually: Mrs. Ashboro’s Cat, Ghost Cat, and The Cat That Came Back. The disc we got from Netflix was titled Ghost Cat, so we’ll go with that title.

Before we really get started, I should tell you that this is not a scary movie. It is instead a rather sweet story that is suitable for family viewing. Old SoLT thought she was getting us a good Halloween movie, but Ghost Cat is not Halloweeny at all. It does have an awesome senior kitty who protects her friends from beyond the grave, but not in a frightening way. Now, let’s move on.

The plot (may contain spoilers)

Natalie Merritt (Ellen Page) is a teen, her mother has died, and she and her dad, Wes, are moving to the town where her mother lived when she was Natalie’s age. Wes is a writer working on a book about ghosts of the American Revolution, and he expects to get some good research done in this town. Oh, and he does not believe in ghosts.

Anyway, Wes and Natalie end up buying a great old house where a woman named Ruth Ashboro had lived with her cat, Margaret. Ruth recently died, and Margaret, who was 15 years old, died soon after. (The movie actually starts a little before this, and Natalie meets the very much alive Ruth and Margaret, with whom she forms an immediate bond.) We soon learn that Ruth’s nephew, Boyd, has money trouble and is expecting to inherit $50,000 from his aunt. Too bad she had other plans for that money...

Nearby is a farm that is not a farm; it is an animal rescue run by Ruth’s friend Brenda. Brenda is behind on her mortgage and is getting big pressure from a developer to sell the land. This is where Ruth intended her money to go. Natalie gets involved in helping around the place, along with the two boys who live next door to her. The older boy, Kurt (Shawn Roberts), stirs Natalie’s heart, and a little romance starts (everything stays totally innocent though). Somewhat predictably, the same thing happens between Wes and Brenda.

The cat

Meanwhile, some strange things have been happening back at the house. Natalie keeps hearing strange sounds, and things keep getting knocked off shelves. It is exactly as if a cat were doing some kitty antics. Well, this is of course Margaret, a wonderful gray and white cat. The part of Margaret was played by Baretta the cat. We haven’t been able to find out anything more about Baretta, which is unfortunate because she is so important to the plot and she plays her part so well.

Margaret was known to have woken Ruth once to save her from a fire, and now in her ghostly form, one night the cat wakes Natalie to lead her to the animal rescue, where evil nephew Boyd has tried to kill the animals. She also leads Natalie and the neighbor boys to where Ruth had hidden that $50,000. With that money delivered to Brenda, the animal rescue is saved and the developer can just buzz off. Only, he and evil nephew Boyd have one more trick up their sleeves, one that will require the ghostly Margaret to save the animals (not to mention Natalie and Kurt) and make sure the developer and the evil nephew get their comeuppance.

I should mention that Margaret is not the only animal in this film. There is also Comfort the dog (played by a dog named Harley), as well as several puppies, dogs, cats and kittens, bunnies and more at Brenda’s animal rescue. It is really quite nice to see them all.

Our verdict

Ghost Cat was not the movie we were expecting to see, but it is such a sweet story it’s impossible not to like it. Of course we loved Margaret (excellent work, Baretta!). There is really nothing surprising in the plot, and for the adults in the audience, it probably won’t bring you to the edge of your seat for any reason. However, we imagine that younger viewers would find some of the pivotal moments pretty thrilling (especially the scene in which the animals have to be rescued from a burning barn). Basically, Ghost Cat is great for family night, or those nights when you’ve just had it with the real world (which is happening to old SoLT with increasing frequency) and you want to escape into a story that’s not too messy and turns out happily.

A note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives either one or two paws up. One paw is for a good movie; two paws is for a great movie. She never gives three or four paws because that would require her to lie on her back...and Miss C does not do that!

The link below is an Amazon Associates link. If you purchase the movie through this link, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our kibble account. Thank you!

Finally, the following clip has nothing at all to do with the movie, but we got a kick out of it and wanted to share: