Though maybe the story here is a bit on the thin side, this is still glorious mix of family and fantasy from the hand-drawn animation of the gifted Hayao Miyazaki. It's all about two sisters - "Mei" and "Satsuki" who travel with their father to a new, rather rustic, home. It's all a grand adventure for the girls though and they are barely through the door before realising that the house has some extra special occupants. Things is - are they benign or not! Luckily, an old lady from the house nearby sets their mind at rest and soon "Granny" is looking after them from time to time in between school and visits to their ailing mother in a nearby hospital. As they explore the grounds, they discover that the place is alive with creatures both natural and supernatural - and it's the eponymous beast - a sort of hybrid between a cat and a panda - that soon becomes an integral part of their adventures as they eagerly anticipate their mother coming home. It's its simplicity that really worked well for me, here. A close-knit family with some bubbling trauma provides for a setting for their situation, but it doesn't dominate the children at play. They know sadness, sure, but they also know joy and love; there's a magical eight-legged moggy-bus (or maybe that's ten legs?) and they have their shy neighbour who's terrified of the very thought of the girls! It's a delightful combination of fantasy, community and family that you're bound to enjoy. Take a brolly, though!
