The Essentials
Name: KiKi’s Delivery Service
Genre: Children, Comedy, Fantasy
Episodes: N/A
Released: July 29, 1989
Based On: Novel Kiki’s Delivery Service by Eiko Kadono
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Produced By: Studio Ghibli
US Distribution By: Walt Disney
Major Japanese Cast
Kiki: Minami Takayama
Jiji: Rei Sakuma
Osono: Keiko Toda
Tombo: Kappei Yamaguchi
Ursula: Minami Takayama
Major English Cast
Kiki: Kirsten Dunst
Jiji: Phil Hartman
Osono: Tress MacNeille
Tombo: Matthew Lawrence
Ursula: Janeane Garofalo
Scores
Animation: 10/10 (x 4 = 40 pts)
Story: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Music: 9/10 (x 4 = 36 pts)
Coherence/Story Arc: N/A
English Dubs: 8/10 (x 1 = 8 pts)
Gut Score: 8/10 (x 5 = 40 pts)
Total: 160/180 (88.9%)
Review
Kiki’s Delivery Service is about a girl who is leaving on a traditional year-long training trip for witches when they turn 13. The purpose of this trip is to help them establish themselves in a new city so that they may do the normal things good witches do as a job.
Kiki leaves home one clear, full-moon night, bringing her black cat Jiji along with her. Kiki soon finds a medium sized seaside town which doesn’t have any witches currently living there, and decides to make that her new home. She is soon befriended by a baker after Kiki does her the favor of returning a pacifier to a customer who had dropped it in her shop. This delivery gives Kiki the inspiration of what she wants to do in her new town: run a delivery service.
Kiki has to learn to get through several challenges, including trying to become accepted in the city, becoming friends with a boy who saves her from the police on the street one day, and losing her confidence in her ability before she can become a full-fledged witch and member of the city’s society. Kiki’s Delivery Service is a heartwarming story that anyone in the family can watch as a young witch comes of age against both external and internal obstacles.
Despite being a movie aimed more for children than adults, it has a solid storyline from start to end, never falling for the temptation to mindlessly pander to a children’s audience while still creating an end product that even children should enjoy. The music goes very well with the movie - though the English dub does add some music as well as changes some of the Japanese songs over to English songs, which I think didn’t go quite as well as the original Japanese versions, but it still works.
The dub is pretty good I thought. It may not be the greatest dubbing job done by Disney, but given Disney’s successes in this area, that is still saying a lot.
If you’re looking for a children’s movie that can still appeal to adults, then Kiki’s Delivery Service is a good movie for you.
First Watched: July 2007
Do I Own: Yes
Do I Recommend: Yes
One Comment
wow, I didn’t know Kirsten Dunst also does voice roles. that’s cool.