-Written by John Cajio.
Kiki’s Delivery Service is a film that does not suck. It is a wonderful, heartwarming tale that features a strong, realistic main character, a terrific musical score, and interesting secondary characters. My chief complaint is that it probably ends too soon.
Kiki (Minami Takayama/Kirsten Dunst) is a thirteen-year-old witch, which means it’s time for her to leave the comforts of home behind to embark on a year’s worth of witch training—all on her own, with nothing but her wits, her talents, her black cat, Jiji (Rei Sakuma/Phil Hartman), and the people she encounters to help her survive the year away from home. Upon arrival in a large port city devoid of other witches, Kiki sets up a delivery service inside a bakery using her burgeoning flying skills as her primary witch talent.
Writer-Director Hayao Miyazaki somehow manages to tap directly into all of the things that make young teenage girls…well…young teenage girls with his lead in this film, Kiki: the constant overthinking, the continual reading of things into a situation that just have no basis in reality, the cognitive dissonance of desperately seeking approval from others while trying equally as desperately to not seem like she is desperately seeking said approval. Miyazaki demonstrates with a deft touch just how in tune he and the rest of the 1989 Studio Ghibli team are with young people, from Kiki’s amazingly accurate reactions to her stark successes and failures as she gets going in this new city, to Tombo’s (Kappei Yamaguchi/Matthew Lawrence) single minded fascination with all things flying and his relentless efforts to befriend Kiki, but it’s Kiki that really stands out as the star of the show (as she should).
The landscapes in Kiki’s Delivery Service are breathtaking. I thought of Liz Lemon saying, “I want to go to there,” regularly while watching. Whether it’s the vast landscapes that soared beneath Kiki’s and Jiji’s feet as they flew miles and miles from one destination to another, or it’s Osono (Keiko Tono/Tress MacNeille), the very pregnant and incredibly kindhearted woman who gives Kiki a real chance at survival, looking out at the city from the hill where she runs the bakery with her husband, every frame is gorgeously hand drawn. Even destinations that are only seen once in one scene are enticing and make one want to visit and explore every nook and cranny it has on offer.
Joe Hisaishi’s score is another highwater mark, with lilting waltzes, memorable melodies, and delightful twists and turns. If there is a complaint, it’s that there perhaps could have been a wider range of melodic material. Hisaishi heavily relies on just a handful of core musical ideas that, in spite of putting that handful of musical ideas through so much variation to maintain high interest, one or two more ideas might have gone a long way to solidifying this score as one of his best.
Kiki’s Delivery Service is a wonderful film with a lot of moments that are as silly as they are heartwarming. At the end of its 102-minute runtime, one would be hard pressed not to sport a smile and a feel-good attitude. Grab a hot tea and curl up under a warm blanket and you’ll feel right at home while watching Kiki’s Delivery Service.
Written and Directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
Starring: Minami Takayama/Kirsten Dunst, Rei Sakuma/Phil Hartman, Kappei Yamaguchi/Matthew Lawrence, Keiko Tono/Tress MacNeille, etc.
8/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING (IT DOES NOT SUCK)
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