Yuki

Yuki (ユキ, lit. "Snow") is a character in The Cat Returns. She is a friend of Haru Yoshioka and is the fiancé of Prince Lune, making her the future queen of the Cat Kingdom.

She has white fur, blue eyes and wears a pink ribbon around her neck.

The Cat Returns
Yuki first appeared as a stray kitten in a flashback, where she was seen being given fish crackers by Haru. In the present day, having noticed that something isn't right, Yuki, in a loud overarching voice, instructed Haru to seek the Cat Business Office, where she meets Muta, a large white cat Yuki told her to seek for directions, who leads her there to meet Baron Humbert von Gikkingen.

As Haru and Muta arrived at the Cat Kingdom, Yuki pleads Haru to leave the realm at once, only for Haru and Muta to be taken by the King's servants. It is then later revealed that Yuki works as a lowly servant at the palace, serving food and wine to the guests at the banquet. In the ensuing scuffle as the Baron is discovered, Yuki aids Haru, Muta and the Baron by leading them to an escape tunnel, where the three move through a maze to a tower, which contains a portal to Haru's world.

Lune and his guards then arrive at the Cat Kingdom, only to reveal that the Cat King isn't working on his behalf, and is intent on proposing to Yuki.

Behind the scenes
Yuki was voiced by Aki Maeda in original Japanese release, and Judy Greer in the English dub. In the Cat Returns manga from which the film was adapted, Yuki was not a stray kitten but rather Haru's childhood cat, hence her ability to communicate with Haru throughout the film.

In an additional element not included in the film, it is revealed that the Cat Kingdom is where cats go when they can no longer live in the human world, thus implying Yuki is deceased. The presumed difference between deceased cats and inhabitants of the kingdom who can come to living world is that deceased cats can't physically act in the living world, being somewhat consistent with Yuki guiding Haru with voices only. Additionally, Yuki can behave akin to inhabitants of Cat Kingdom (walk bipedal, speak human speech, perform human-like deeds) while she once was a normal kitten in the living world, and can also pronounce Yu (ゆ) sound where cats usually cannot pronounce, supporting the theory that she is deceased.

Gallery
Yuki 小雪