Ranked #246

Kiki's Delivery Service

For my second Hayao Miyazaki movie, I’d say it was pretty good.

I liked the plot of Spirited Away much, much better though. Spirited Away had a more complex and interesting plot, while Kiki’s story was simpler. I guess the advantage of that is it’s easy to understand. As much as I like stories about witches living amongst normal humans, Kiki didn’t really act or live like a witch. She was more of a human who can fly and happens to own a cat that talks.

Since I brought up the subject of the talking cat, I’m glad I picked the English dub over the original Japanese dub. I fell in love with the cast when I saw their interviews, so I decided to go with the Disney dub.Sure it became more Disney-ish, but it was actually pretty good. I like how they made Jiji talk more – I realized that in the Japanese dub Jiji wasn’t as talkative. Also, Phil Hartman made Jiji way funnier.

As expected of Hayao Miyazaki, the animation was fantastic – even if it was a 1989 movie. Since it’s from 1989, I’m assuming everything is hand drawn. The backgrounds were very detail, but it wasn’t overwhelming. It’s kind of looking at a fine, intricate watercolor painting that moves.

I did notice a lot of fan service throughout the movie. I know that seems weird, but there were numerous panty flashes from Kiki herself. I was beginning to think if that was intentional.

Disney edited the music, for sure. There were poppy, contemporary songs (both by Sydney Forest) during the beginning and the ending scenes of the movie. I can’t say I like the songs that much, but they were pretty catchy. I also noticed that a lot of the original BGM was omitted – I don’t know why that is. For the BGM I heard, I thought those tracks were very nice. They were easy to listen to and made the scenes especially peaceful and serene.

I’m probably gonna watch it again. It’s the kind of thing that you can watch any time and you’ll never get tired of it. read more

If it's one thing Studio Ghibli does well, it's charming a viewer with something whimsical and fantastic. And that's what Kiki's Delivery Service is, most definitely.

The story is pretty sweet and simple. A young apprentice witch named Kiki goes to a busy town to hone her witch skills. She is employed by a local baker and his wife to deliver baked goods via flying on her broomstick. Saying she gets into various scrapes and hijinks ensue would be belittling the plot. Lots of small things happen with a rather big event that comes along at the end of the movie, but the most important thing is that all these events are important to Kiki herself, no matter its significance to the wider world. Meeting an artist, helping an old lady bake something, saving the city; it all means something to Kiki. More than fantasy, the story has stronger slice of life themes. This movie is slow-paced, but it's bursting with so much energy and life from its scenes.

As expected, the art and animation are excellent. Of course, it does look old, but this is an old anime. Yet, it has some impressive visuals. Kiki flying through the air, hair being tousled by the wind, a bike speeding down a hill, a fire crackling--it's all impressively animated. The character design is pretty simple and not detailed, but it does use the trademark Ghibli look. Also, the town and countryside are drawn and coloured beautifully.

Sound was pretty good as well. It suited the anime very much. Well, the Japanese version. The American version, with the changed English songs sounded too "girl power"-y for its own good. Studio Ghibli has a much subtler take on feminism, so they didn't lunge ballad-like songs down the listeners' throats. The Japanese soundtrack was very fun.

Kiki's Delivery Service has a great ensemble cast. There's Kiki, a hard-working, upbeat young witch who tries her best at what she does. It's funny that she is more excited about simple things in life when everyone else is fascinated that she is a witch. There is a young boy she befriends, who is sort of a geek, but he knows how to have great simple fun. Plus, there is the baker, and there's his wife, who offer Kiki a lot of emotional support. They sort of serve as surrogate parents for the young witch. And of course, there's the talking cat Jiji. He is pretty humorous, with his one-liners and random comments.

What can I say? This is a tremendously fun movie. The re-watch value is also extremely high. I've seen this movie countless times growing up. Any time it was on TV, I'd watch it without fail, and never get bored. Two years ago, I got the DVD. It's that good.

Kiki's Delivery Service is a quirky, simple, fun movie that delivers much more than just bread and cookies. read more

Kiki's delivery service is a beautifully written and animated story about the young witch kiki and her pre-determined adventure of seft improvment.

Story -8- The story is a bubbly fun but also progressive and heart grabbing fiction which puts a different sort of spin on the traditional conception of witches. In this representation witches are a force of good that although is not a new idea, is done in a way i have not seen before. But in many ways the fact that kiki is a witch is not as important as her being a girl, as this anime raises concepts of maturity about what it means to grow up. That said it is a innocent tale that will leave you thinking "awww" and can be enjoyed by all the family. The only reason it didnt get a 10 is that i cant really give a movie intended for a younger audiance a 10,(too many restrictions) but its as close as one will ever get.

Art -10- This is a beautifull anime, infact calling it an anime (or cartoon) is (in my eyes) downgrading its status as a peice of art, as you see it is not just telling a story, its also showing you a painting. In all my life i have not seen anything that tells a story in such detail and in such traditional hand drawn glory (as its from the 1970's before p.c. editing). If you are unsure of wether the story is for you, then i would surggest you watch this simply for the entertainment value of the art work.

Sound -8- It wasnt really my cup of tea to be honest, but it fits the story well. It also sets the mood for alot of kiki's adventures and hardships, so in terms of the background sound, it is very good. Ide also like to say on the note of sound that this is possibly one of the only anime movies/series that enjoys a good english dub. I am not afraid to say i enjoyed both the sub and dub vertions.
**note** - this is just my subjective oppinion many of you might enjoy the music in this film more more.

Characters -9- The characters in this movie are also a great feet, especially based on that its only feture length. Both the main characters get development in this film, but they still keep all the charms and features which made me love them in the first place. The supporting main characters are also quite effective in the film, and at least i hope alot of younger boys and girls can associate with them and their lifes. Although Kiki is a lovely character, i think in some ways her side-kick Jiji is the charcter that most impressed me, as he is able to produce alot of very intresting plot lines without lsoing his nature as a cat or Kiki's best friend.

Enjoyment -9- You cant help but enjoy and love this film, nomatter your age or gender. In my oppinion it is a great film to bring people together and remeber the simple innocent pleasures in life.

Overall -9- As i have said above, i decided not to give this a 10 on the grounds on that it feels too simple, but as far as simple films go this is the best. Just sit back relax and enjoy, you can think about it as little or as much as you like but will still bask in its gentle aura of innocence and bubbly fun.


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For Kiki, a young witch-in-training, the time has come to spend a year away from home. During this time, she is to mature as a person and develop into a full witch. Accompanied by her talking black cat, Jiji, Kiki will move into a new town where she will make new friends, start her own business, and even develop her first love interest. But most importantly, Kiki will come to truly understand herself and the magic that comes from within.

Kiki's Delivery Service is a very sweet story and is presented in typical Studio Ghibli fashion. Animation is detailed and beautiful, and the soundtrack is enjoyable and fits well with the mood of the film. Voice actors are well chosen and professional; in the English version viewers should be pleased to find the lead role of Kiki played by Kirsten Dunst. As for storyline, there isn't much that can be said: the film sets out to provide a cute story about a witch coming of age, and it is successful. If you're in the mood for something like that, you will be satisfied.

Still, when I watched this with a friend that loves stuff like this, even she was somewhat let down in the end. Kiki's Delivery Service is so sweet that it's drab. Throughout the film both of us kept asking, 'what's the plot?' And the fact of the matter is, nothing really happens in the story. Now of course a film doesn't need to have a distinctive plot to be good, but even in other character-centered Ghibli films like "My Neighbor Totoro" there is something unique that makes the movie stand out. Kiki's Delivery Service simply isn't unique, doesn't have much of a plot, and cannot be carried by its characters alone. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the film: upon finishing I didn't feel like I'd wasted my time. But at the very least, I recommend that you spend your valuable time watching the other Miyazaki films first.

Overall Score: B

For snapshots and a high quality download visit my blog at http://animefiend.blogspot.com read more

Okay, I am not even going to lie about how I felt about this movie. I am all for kids movies, hell, I own all three Aladdin's and enjoy them immensely. However, there is no enjoyment to be found here. I am sorry to say but I would never subject a child of my own to this borefest. I don't know about you, but I would rather get my future children to clean the house themselves than to watch an animated character do it.

Why are we subjected to countless scenes of her "trying her hardest" in every day life, by doing ordinary and mundane boring things? There was nothing stimulating about this movie, it was just a girl who could fly on a broom going around and doing chores for people. Any idiot could have written this, and I don't see what it is cherished as one of the great children anime movies of all time. By the end of it I felt like condoning child slavery. No one watches a movie to see things that they do everyday acted out with even less vigor.

Then we have the cat that makes a sexual reference about wanting to look up the kids skirt. What is this teaching our children? However, this is the point that I laughed the hardest in the whole movie. Therefore it raises the enjoyment of it all by one point. Also, if it is a child's movie, why the hell are there so many scenes with camera angles looking up her skirt too? It is beyond weird, therefore it is safe to assume that this movie is catering to no audience at all.

That is because it's a...

Boring movie. I think a child that has just learnt how to talk could even understand what happens, that's how uneventful it is.

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Link to Full Review: http://www.homeschoolblogger.com/SpeedyAlchemistReviews/743096/

Story: 7/10
Every 13th birthday, a Witch grows up enough to take off and claim a town for their new home. Young Kiki left on her journey enthusiastically, she’d never had a hard time living before, but now she had to find a place to stay. She befriended a pregnant woman, and was offered a job. Later on, she decides she wants her very own delivery service, but it’s a lot harder on her then she’d thought, she looses her ability to fly, and slowly realizes the real key to flying, is believing in yourself.

The story is really very children directed, and after watching it, I really wouldn’t think that teens or adults would be too interested in it. But it’s made for children anyway, so.

Animation: 8/10
Nice animation, it was very French, I liked that.

Music: 6/10
Everything was up beat, but not all that memorable.

Voice Acting: (Dub) 9/10
The voice acting was completely awesome, Kirsten Dunst was a great Kiki, young but determined. And Phil Hartman did fantastically, this was his last role, and a did a darn good job on it.

Characters: 7/10
They were likable enough. A lot of the personalities I’d seen before in other Animes. They were ok; just not incredibly interesting.

Over-All: 7/10 (Good)
It was a cute movie, not really anything more then that, but I imagine children will love it a lot. read more