Written by Linda
March 21, 2010
The first bonafide hit film for Studio Ghibli, Kiki's Delivery Service maintains the studio's tradition of charming family fare told with glorious hand-drawn animation.
Now that Kiki, a young witch, has turned 13 years old, she must venture forth into the world for a year of independence. Young witches fly off at the full moon after their birthday, taking off on their trusty broom along with their black cat. The girl must find a new town (preferably one without an already-resident witch) to make her own, and to discover her true strengths. So Kiki takes off with her mouthy cat Jiji (hilariously voiced by the late Phil Hartman) and lands in a beautiful seaside city that hasn't seen a witch in a long while.
One of the things that is fun about Kiki's Delivery Service is that other than the initial stir of curiosity from the townsfolk, no one seems to blink an eye at the vision of an adolescent girl flying over the city on a broom. Kiki soon finds a place to live above a bakery, and, by accident figures out a way to support herself. With the ability to fly, she makes the perfect delivery girl, shooting around town and dropping off packages at the whisk of her broom!
Along the way, Kiki makes memorable friends, including a kindly elderly lady, a cool artist woman (Janeane Garofalo) who lives in a cabin in the woods, and a friendly local boy named Tombo (Matthew Lawrence). As in all Ghibli films, adults and children are respectful of each other, and the fact that the elderly are represented at all is just amazing and wonderful in itself. But trouble arises when Kiki, dealing with self-confidence and adolescent angst, finds that her powers are waning. What is a witch to do?
The animation is of course glorious, and according to one of the fascinating extras (an excerpt from a Japanese documentary about places that inspired Miyazaki's films), the cities of Stockholm and Visby, Sweden were sources of inspiration for the "generic" European design of Kiki's adopted town. There is a thrilling scene runaway dirigible soaring over the Euro-city skyline, which is right up there with one of the most memorable visual moments of any Ghibli film. And in my book, Jiji the cat is one of the greatest and funniest Ghibli characters of any of the films.
According to the plethora of extras on the 2-disc Special Edition of Kiki's Delivery Service, director Hayao Miyazaki was hesitant to tell a story about a young girl, as he had only brothers and sons. The inspiration was right there, however, with his regular producer Yasuyoshi Tokuma's then 13-year-old daughter. So Kiki, despite being a good kid has her adolescent-girl tantrums and emotional fits; she longs to fit in with other kids; and she wishes she didn't have to wear the drab traditional witch dress. But she is also strong, and not afraid of new challenges. Kiki is bold, yet respectful; she is a hard worker, but also knows how to still play like a child. She is a wonderful role model for both girls and boys as she grows up to find her own sense of self in this charming film.
