Katherine (The Toy Shop)

Katherine is a character and the main protagonist of the straight-to-video musical fantasy animated movie, The Toy Shop. The film is Canadian, co-produced by Blue Migicovsky Productions, Phoenix Animation Studios, Bedtime Primetime Classics, produced with the financial participation of Catalyst Distribution, and produced with the participation of CFCF 12. 
She was voiced by Alyson Court.
==The Toy Shop==
In 1910, Sussex, England, Katherine arrives at her Aunt Haggis's mansion to live with her after her parents died and she becomes an orphan. When she meets her aunt, she finds out that she is in a serious mood. Katherine begins to take in her bags, but her aunt says to leave them. Katherine thanks her aunt for taking her in, but her aunt says that she was obliged to do so, since she was her mother's sister. After Katherine is shown to her new room, her aunt tells her that from this day forth Katherine will no longer be treated like the child she is.Katherine tells her aunt she'll try not to be a bother. Her aunt says she hopes so, as she finds children to be nuisances and the sooner they grow up, the better. Katherine holds and looks at a picture of her late mother yearningly, saying that she'll try to be good. Her aunt also tells her that lunchtime will be at 3:30 sharp in the afternoon. At lunchtime, her aunt tells her to call her Mrs. Haggis instead of auntie. Katherine follows her aunt's request. Later, Katherine is up a tree when she spots a boy playing with his dog. She considers befriending him, but before she can, her aunt calls her and demands that she get down from there. Upset, Katherine runs to her room, crying on her bed and into her pillow. Her aunt tells her that there are going to be some changes made with her. Talking to her mother in spirit, Katherine is lonesome and longs for company who are her peers. Then, she draws a picture of a doll, who she imagines is her sister and names her Sarah.
The next day, when her Aunt Haggis calls Katherine downstairs, she tells her that she's taking her on a trip to the bank to deposit money and so she can see what grownups do there all day. Aunt Haggis introduces Katherine to her cousin, Matthew. They all take a ride together. When they arrive, Katherine asks her aunt if she owns the local bank. She tells her she owns several. Banking isn't Katherine's idea of a fun time and she's rather unenthused. Katherine tells Matthew that she finds the notion of working in a bank rather dull. Matthew tells her he plans to get a job in banking in the future. When Katherine asks why, he tells her that it's his father's idea and what he wants for him. Aunt Haggis tells the kids to wait in the car until she gets back. Katherine then decides to leave the car to look around at the various businesses. He reminds her that Aunt Haggis told them to stay where they are, but she tells him they won't be away for too long. She exits and he follows. Katherine looks at a puppy in a pet store display window and eats him up, but sees a sign that reads "closed" being displayed in the window. It's closing time at various other places too. Matthew tells her they should get back before Aunt Haggis finds them missing and wonders where they went. Katherine wants to look around just a little longer. They then head to a toy shop and find the door open. They look around in marvelment and Katherine wonders why anyone would want to sell it. Mystifyingly and coincidentally enough, she finds a doll that looks just like the one she drew. She takes the doll off the shelf, cradles her, and tells her she'll be her sister. Matthew finds a toy dump truck and rides it. But the toy shop's door ends up closing by itself, trapping the kids inside and the weather becomes rainy. Matthew blames Katherine for this, fearing his father will be mad at him. She apologizes and tells him she'll take the blame for it once they're freed, and return home. As Matthew often complains, she asks him if he ever stops doing that and he replies "no". She tells Matthew that they'll just have to wait it out till the next day and she refuses to leave without her doll/sister, but the creepy vibe of the toy shop makes Matthew uncomfortable. They spend the night in the toy shop and fall asleep on the floor.
While Katherine and Matthew sleep, a clown doll named Ruffles comes to life, as do several, other toys, and comments that it's wonderful they have visitors. A toy soldier named General Jim approaches Katherine to investigate her. When she wakes up to find him alive and near her, she's startled and he flees. Katherine wakes up Matthew to inform him of what she just saw, but he chalks it up to her just having a weird dream, as he thinks all girls do and she goes back to sleep. Then General Jim approaches Matthew, who wakes up again to see him alive and he's spooked. Both of the kids find all the toys in the shop moving on their own and can hardly believe what they're seeing. General Jim apologizes for giving them a fright and tells them he and the other toys are harmless. He introduces himself to them and among the other toys are the aforementioned Ruffles, a ballerina hippo named Henrietta, a grandfather clock named Clarence, and the toy dump truck Matthew rode earlier named Wheelie. Matthew is in disbelief at the sight of the talking toy dump truck and even Sara comes to life, and Katherine comments that she is real. It's revealed that it's no ordinary toy shop, as it's magical. Katherine introduces herself and Matthew to the toys. The toys explain that their toymaker died and the store has been deserted for years. Nobody wanted to buy them and they've never been sold. When Matthew asks why the door was opened, Ruffles explains that the toys were the ones who opened it, hoping someone would visit to buy them. The toys wished to have owners that love them. Katherine can relate, as she tells them she's parentless and the toys feel for her. Then, a jack-in-the-box known as Master Jack hears of the conversation and enters, mentioning that he wasn't invited. Ruffles tells him they were planning to invite him and makes a joke about Master Jack popping. Master Jack responds that one day he's going to die laughing. Matthew asks Master Jack what happens if he were to push him back in the box. The other toys try to warn him not to do that, but he already does it. Master Jack emerges from the box, agitated and furious, telling him not to do that ever again and Matthew apologizes. Master Jack then notices Katherine and takes a shine to her. He offers a cordial invitation for her to have a pretend dinner with him. Matthew says he's hungry, but Master Jack tells him he was asking her only. Katherine is hesitant at first, due to the suddenness of the toys coming alive and having to take in all this, but she accepts. General Jim says that the other toys should accompany her just in case, but she asks what could he do to her, since she's twenty times his size. She says she'll take Sara along with her and that Matthew can stay behind with the other toys. As Katherine and Sara leave, Matthew asks the other toys if they're up for a game of soccer and they are, as they cheer.
Katherine and Sara have the pretend dinner with Master Jack in his palace, which is made of cardboard packages for toys. When Katherine looks around the place, she tells him that he lives like a king. He says that's because he is, in fact, a king. He explains in song how he came into that position and why he rules over the other toys. Katherine discovers that he's a nefarious king at that and the reason he's so nefarious is that he became bitter due to the lack of love he never received. He originally planned to get revenge on kids, but then decided to take out his cruelty on other playthings instead. Katherine and Sara are appalled at this, and the former tells him that he's a bully who forgot how to love. He tells her he could learn and remember how to love again, if she'll agree to be his queen. She turns down his request and leaves with Sara. But Master Jack isn't one to settle for less that easily. As Katherine tries to crawl out of the palace, she finds it harder to exit than it is to enter. She's halfway out and gets stuck. A beak belonging to a toy toucan suddenly comes at Katherine and bites off a lock of her hair. 
Katherine's new friends and Matthew come to her aid after they hear her call them for help. After Matthew fails to free her himself, Henrietta assists by using a sling worn around her waist, stretched and placed around Katherine, and they manage to release her from the tight space. Katherine tells everybody else about how it went and that they're right about Master Jack's intentions. General Jim tells her that since the lock of her hair was bitten off, she will be reduced to doll size at the stroke of midnight, due to a spell inflicted on her. Clarence tries to stop the minute hand on his face from reaching that time, but isn't able to do so. General Jim also tells her that if she doesn't return to her normal height before sunrise, she'll remain doll-sized forever. When midnight arrives, Matthew doubts the power of the spell Master Jack put on her, saying he's all bounce and no bite. But just as he says that, Katherine magically shrinks to the size of a doll. Master Jack returns to show the hair pieces he collected in his magic locket and declares that she shall be his queen forever. Katherine needs the others' help, but they're not so sure the goal can be accomplished, since they don't think they're much, especially against him. Katherine can't do this on her own, as she tells them they're all she's got. After General Jim discusses the plan with the others, they head over to Master Jack's place. Matthew thinks that the toys would be better off being safe if they were hidden, but Katherine tells him that it would be better to face the problems head on rather than flee. When they spot a few toy airplanes fly towards them, Katherine and the toys take refuge in a dollhouse while Matthew takes off in another direction. Katherine feels guilty about putting herself and Matthew in this predicament. She realizes her aunt must be worried sick about her and wondering where she is by now. Back at her aunt's mansion, the chauffeur informs Aunt Haggis that there's no sign of Katherine. Aunt Haggis tells him that she's got to be found somehow. Back in the dollhouse, Katherine sings a song about home and family while memories of her with her mom are shown in a flashback sequence. After exiting the dollhouse once they think the coast is clear, one of the toy planes drops a stink bomb on the dollhouse and some noxious gas is released. Katherine asks where Matthew went and Ruffles tells her he fled when the planes arrived. Sara is caught in the smoke in an upstairs room of the dollhouse. Katherine says they've got to bring Matthew back to save Sara, but Ruffles goes in the dollhouse to save Sara himself instead. Wheelie backs up to the front of the dollhouse and Ruffles, and Sara, jump out the window to safety, and land in his bed. Back at Master Jack's palace, he berates his subjects for failing him, but he has another plan to capture Katherine that he believes is foolproof. Matthew returns to help the others, but before he can reach them, a doll in a rabbit costume trips him with a rope, and the toy toucan bites off a lock of his hair, which means that he'll too be doll-sized soon. When Master Jack's toy soldiers and subjects try to surround Matthew, he sees an exit and runs to the door while carrying Katherine and Sara. But he shrinks before he can even touch the knob. Katherine says she'll make up for everything once they get back home. Matthew corrects her by saying if they'll get back home. Master Jack shows pieces of Matthew's hair he added to his magic locket and requests Katherine be his queen once again. Matthew speaks up for her and tells him no, but Katherine decides not to resist anymore and surrenders so that her cousin, and friends, will be left alone. She goes along with Master Jack and he's satisfied. At Aunt Haggis's mansion, Aunt Haggis misses Katherine and begins to regret how she treated her earlier.
The other toys then begin to work on another plan to rescue Katherine while singing an encouraging song about it. They then go to fend off Master Jack's toy soldiers. Master Jack is in the middle of settling on what color crown should be used on Katherine's throne when one of his soldiers informs him about the toys attacking the other soldiers. Furious, he heads out to give commands to put a stop to this. Katherine is grieving, still feeling guilty and blaming herself for the situation in which she put Matthew and herself. When she hears a door open, thinking it's Master Jack, she asks what does he want with her now. But it turns out to be Matthew, who tells him he came to retrieve her. Glad to see him, she gives him a hug and they exit. When Master Jack attempts to stop them, a chandelier is dropped on him and he's forced back into his box. Enraged, he comes out of it and orders his soldiers to seize them. Katherine and Matthew escape by toy train while a pair of toy soldiers give chase in a toy truck. Attempts to stop them are done by releasing water from a toy water tower and Master Jack ordering a toy soldier to pull a switch. But the kids come to the end of a track that's in the air and they're launched, and land on some sacks. They then take another ride, this time by toy truck to make their getaway, but that fails as well. Just as Master Jack has them where he wants them and draws near, Matthew spots a toy tower crane lowering a concrete slab. He and Katherine jump on the slab and it carries them away from Master Jack while he's distracted by the time. Sara is inside of Clarence's compartment containing the pendulum behind the glass door, holding his pendulum to keep the minute hand from striking the time of sunrise. Master Jack laments at his defeat and Henrietta forces him back into his box by sitting on him. Sara lets go of the pendulum to let the minute hand reach the first minute of the next hour. The spell wears off and the kids grow back to their normal size, and everybody cheers, as the kids give each other a celebratory hug. Katherine thanks everyone and comments on the qualities of Ruffles, General Jim, Henrietta, Clarence, Wheelie, and Sara. At daybreak, the door opens and the cousins are free to go.
The kids are brought back to Aunt Haggis's home. Aunt Haggis is elated to have them back and Matthew shows the few toys from the shop they brought back along with them in the car. Aunt Haggis gives Katherine and Matthew a hug in each arm. That night, Katherine is in bed and Aunt Haggis tucks her in it. Katherine tells her about the adventure she had, claiming it's all true. Aunt Haggis takes her word for it and goes along with what she says. Katherine's aunt has a change of heart, relaxing her strictness, and has a newfound appreciation for her niece, realizing that family, even if the members are kids, is everything. Possibly considering her the daughter she never had, she turns off the light and leaves Katherine to her rest. Katherine's newfound toy friends are on the shelf in her room. Ruffles comments on how it's wonderful again. Holding Sara close to her, Katherine contently and peacefully drifts off to her slumber.
==Personality==
Katherine is friendly, courteous, courageous, curious, encouraging, inspirational, motivational, eloquent, confident, thoughtful, and resolute. When something bad happens or goes wrong, she tends to look for the upside. She's fun-loving, up for excitement, and gets bored easily if there are neither of those happening.
==Physical Appearance==
Katherine is a slender, young girl with fair skin. She has shoulder-length, orange hair with a cowlick and blue eyes. She wears two white, pearl earrings; a blue coat with three, red, bow tie-shaped buttons; a red ribbon bow tie; a white, shin-length dress with a puritan collar and cuffs at the end of the long sleeves; blue socks; and coffee brown boots with a red streak on the top each of them.
Category:Cartoon Heroes
Category:Thrill-Seekers
Category:Female
Category:Kids
Category:Orphans
Category:Strong-Willed