Kiki's Delivery Service |
 | Summary:Scrupulously designed, vividly imaginative fantasy follows a young witch's quest of self discovery in a amicable conurbation. Miyazaki's lush, innovative atmosphere; fantastic characters is ideal for fans of timeless coming-of-age tales. Classic, groundbreaking storytelling. |
| Title Aka: | Majo No Takyubin |
| Company/Distributors: | Studio Ghibli;Tokuma Shoten;Buena Vista |
| Year: | 1989 |
| Length: | 103 Minutes |
| Rating: |  |
| Genres: | Family, Fantasy, Classic |
| Format: | Feature Film |
| MPAA Rating: | G |
| Comments: |
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Synopsis:
It is tradition in the ways of all witches, that when they turn 13 they leave home to go complete their witches' training. Kiki, a kind-hearted (13 year old) young witch, along with her trusty cat Jiji; are planning to leave home in order to go live in the city. While there, Kiki will complete her training period. When she arrives, she decides to stay in a beautiful city alongside the ocean. There she befriends a woman named Osono, who owns a bakery in town. But soon enough, kiki gets the idea to begin her own "Delivery Service"; delivering Osono's baked goods to customers throughout the city. Kiki experiences many fun-filled adventures, challenges and various experiences; one of which is with a young boy named Tombo, who dreams of one day flying. While in her attempt to become a witch, Kiki experiences the various challenges of growing up and discovers what it takes to be responsible and independent. Making many new friends along the way, she soon realizes that the will she needs to gain success is deep within herself; and not in her magical powers. What is more powerful than the magic of a witch, is the wonderful magic of friendship, which I feel that this film is all about.
Review:
Are you tired of giagantic mecha, sinister villains, plots threatening to unbalance the fate of mankind and the universe? Violence and gore in a cartoon? Is there possibly an anime film which achieves the same sense of great entertainment value as the typical anime films do?.... Kiki's Delivery Service" is a wonderfully lavish, heartwarming story from master childrens' storyteller "Hayao Miyazaki". The film is surely destined to become a family favorite, for anime fans, non-anime fans alike. Perfect for those who tire of your usual mainstream anime, which is The characters are highly appealing, the story is intelligent and the animation is absolutely marvelous. Like all Miyazaki's works, the film is basically top-notch in every single aspect. The movie is very rich in color, each and every nook of scenery is left with extreme detail. This movie creates a wonderful sense of depth, in addition to it's fantastic story. One could attempt to look for flaws in the film, but I doubt they would find any. I as a viewer of Studio Ghibli films, appreciate the elaborate production style and wonderful storyline. The music in Kiki's Delivery Service is as good as any Ghibli film, excellent. The wonderful score only adds to the film's greatness. In watching the middle of the film, I thought it could not get any better than it already was. It did. Each and every character in the movie had his/her share of dialouge. Unlike many other anime films, Kiki's delivery service has a well-rounded cast of characters; rather than just concentrating on the development of the lead character. But this film also does this aspect very well. I enjoyed watching every character improve and change, especially that of Kiki. Who is probably one of the most likable female leads in anime, and I'm not just talking about just in Studio Ghibli productions. Now I sure have used the word 'wonderful' in this review A lot, and many other words of praise. But for this movie, thats all true in every sense of the word. I could easily say this for all of Miyazaki's works. One could say it's unfair to compare "Kiki's Delivery Service" to "Princess Mononoke", and could not easily believe that one is superior to the other. But in this case, I think I believe a little bit of both. Miyazaki's films share a common bond in the world of animation, the various films which he has produced share common characteristics with one another. While at the same time, they all still manage to maintain that same level of originality. Kiki's Delivery Service is very comparable to other films such as "My Neighbor Totoro", and many other Hayao Miyazaki films. But I feel that all his productions share equal amounts of greatness, in many different areas. Every single one of his films has left me in a state of bliss and admiration. Age has surely not shown any sign of this master animator to loose his edge. I only hope that in the years to come, he continues to create such masterpieces like "Kiki's Delivery Service"; which make the world of animation just a little more pleasant than it already is.
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usually adult oriented entertainment. It's nice to know that people like Hayao Miyazaki still wish to maintain family values and good moral in Japanese animated cartoons. I have always considered myself to be a huge fan of Miyazaki's works. Who's films have always contained that sense of Miyazaki magic, the briliant animator's wonderful sense of visual style, character originality and moving storytelling which I have seen in all his films. This aspect truly shines in what I feel stands alone as being one of the greatest of the Studio Ghibli productions. "Kiki's Delivery Service". Call this film what you may. Some see it to be a childrens' film, others think it to be a family film, others call it a kid flick; but one thing this film is for certain. Truly a wonderful piece of work. Those of you don't be fooled by this film's childish look, the movie really is great. Though I know most anime fans used to the mainstream will probably stay away from this title, I encourage them to think twice. Perhaps it will give them a different view of what anime is. Although this is just one person's opinion.