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Review: Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) (1989)
An incredibly adorable movie about a young girl trying to find meaning in life. I appreciated this movie for its simple story and strong sense of style.
Spoilers.
Story
Kiki as a thirteen year old witch embarked on her year of training. She found herself in a large city where people did not really subscribe to the wonder of magic. Kiki became disillusioned with the world, disappointed at the lack of love in the world, and with her loss of trust and love in people, she was losing her magic as well. However, with the help of her friend Ursula, she rediscovered that just because the world is not perfect does not mean she must stop being her optimistic self who always tries to do the best. The climax of the movie was when Tombo was stuck hanging from a dirigible and Kiki regained her magic (from her trust in people and zest for life) to fly and save Tombo.
It was a very straightforward movie, about a girl learning that the world was not perfect but, learning to be herself regardless. She was disappointed when she was misunderstood by the crows, she was disappointed by the granddaughter who despised her grandmother’s pies, she was disappointed by Tombo’s friends who always seemed to holler at her in a way that made her embarrassed. It resulted in Kiki almost losing her magic, which was an important part of her.
But Ursula reminded Kiki that her magic was a part of her, just as painting was a part of Ursula. So Kiki simply had to find herself, remind herself who she was, and her magic came back to her.
I admit that I teared up when Kiki went to save Tombo. I’m not quite sure why. Maybe it was Kiki regaining a confidence she thought she’d lost. Maybe it was her realizing that love and care aren’t always immediately visible to us, and she was coming to realize that Tombo never meant to tease her and that he was just trying to show that he liked her in his own way.
Anyway I liked this movie. It was straightforward and still touching.
Production
The first thing that struck me was the music. It was very rich and definitely enhanced the atmosphere, along with the very stylistic way the setting was drawn and created. This movie was animated in the typical Ghibli way we’re familiar with, though I will say perhaps it was a little faster paced. Of course, Kiki does pause, but I found that the story moved rather quickly which was interesting.
Characters
Kiki
Kiki was our main character, a witch finding her purpose in life. She had dreams of course, but the moment she left home she was faced with problems of varying magnitude. The first problem she encountered was when she met the fortune telling witch who was perhaps a bit snobby, but she did give Kiki a sense of what was to come. She told Kiki that she was the witch of a small town and she enjoyed it, and that she had started fortune telling. So Kiki realized that she needed to find a specialty, but I think it was also foreshadowing that a big city would not be as easy to adapt to as a small town.
Kiki ran into problems, from the police, to passersby who didn’t care much for her personally. Kiki was very disheartened until she ran into Osono who gave her a place to stay. Kiki’s deliver service grew very slowly, and we saw that she encountered problems regularly, from the weather, other animals, and other people.
The combination of the ungrateful granddaughter and Kiki not being able to go to the party really got her down that rainy night. I think the ungrateful granddaughter was a shock to Kiki because she had spent so much time with the grandmother and obviously enjoyed her company. When she arrived home all wet, I think Kiki felt that she really didn’t fit in and that there was no room for a witch like her in that city. And because of that, she was losing her magic because she didn’t think she had value as a person or as a witch. She had trouble flying, and she couldn’t understand Jiji, her oldest friend.
Ursula was the one who helped Kiki out of her rut, reminding her that her magic wasn’t something to be lost, just something to be unlocked, and that it was possible to find it. Kiki returned to town and helped Tombo from the dirigible. I think she understood that her sense of self came from being herself, the kind Kiki who always wants to help people. And so she regained her confidence and saved Tombo.
By the end, Kiki had become something of a local hero as she was on TV. There were kids dressed up as her in the streets, and she had made friends as well. I think she’ll be just fine 😊
Jiji
Jiji was Kiki’s black cat. Jiji was a friend, and a little pricklier than Kiki, but otherwise they were very close. I can’t figure out if Jiji is a male or female cat. I was under the impression they were male but I think it’s actually ambiguous. So I will use they pronouns for Jiji.
Jiji helped Kiki when she had lost the stuff cat toy. When inside the house, Jiji was deathly afraid, especially of the family’s big old dog. But when Kiki finally returned with the stuffed cat, Jiji said that the big old dog had helped them. I think the situation was to show that you can always ask people for help. Even though Jiji was very afraid of the big dog, he found out that the dog was in fact very friendly.
Jiji also had a story line in which they found the fashion designer’s cat to be stuck up. However, one day they caught the cat grooming themself. The white cat got shy which was unexpected, so Jiji approached them, and it’s assumed that they grew close. After the end of the main story, we saw that they had four kittens, three white kittens like their other parent and one more mischievous and rowdier black kitten, who would sometimes fly with Kiki. Incredibly adorable.
Even when Kiki had lost her magic and was unable to understand Jiji, Jiji would return to her for food and such. And at the end, Jiji had returned to her after Kiki had saved Tombo.
It is true that the end does not clarify whether Kiki and Jiji regain their ability to communicate with one another. I choose to believe that they do, as their ability to understand each other was due to Kiki’s magic, and she does find her magic again at the end of the movie.
Osono
Osono was a baker. She was the first person who was kind to Kiki. They met each other when Osono wanted to return a pacifier to a customer who had left. Osono was pregnant so it would take a while for her to get down there, so Kiki offered to make the delivery. As thanks, Osono gave her some coffee (and some milk to Jiji). Hearing of her situation, she also offered the attic to Kiki to stay in if she helped with some errands.
Osono allowed Kiki to run her deliver service out of the bakery so that she wouldn’t have to buy her own phone. She and her husband were both very supportive of Kiki. Oftentimes Osono’s husband would wait by the shop window at night time for Kiki to return, only to disappear when she did finally return so that she wouldn’t feel like flustered or that she was in trouble.
Osono eventually had her baby right at the end of the movie, and we see her and her husband with their baby on a picnic in the credits.
Ursula
Ursula was an artist living in the forest. Kiki first bumped into her when looking for the stuffed cat toy she was delivering to a client. Ursula had picked up the cat toy, so Kiki had asked her to have it returned. Ursula was occupied drawing crows, which Kiki was wary of, but they talked things out. Since the cat was torn, Kiki helped clean Ursula’s house in return for Ursula helping her mend it.
Ursula made another appearance towards the end, when she came to visit Kiki in town. Kiki was down, so Ursula took her back to her forest cottage, and they discussed artist’s block. To Ursula, drawing had always been a part of her. When she felt she couldn’t draw, she would take a break to find herself. And that was kind of what Kiki had to do to find herself too.
Tombo/Koppori
Tombo was a boy in town who wanted to befriend Kiki. When Tombo first approached Kiki, she was flustered and didn’t want to talk to him. She had just been accosted by a police officer and Tombo had said that it was him who drew his attention away. However, Tombo was also often accompanied by his jeering friends and so Kiki would feel like they were bullying and teasing her whenever Tombo spoke to her. As such, she would refuse to talk to him.
Tombo came by with an invitation to a party one day. Tombo waited a while for Kiki so that they could go together, but Kiki had gotten caught in the rain and couldn’t go. She later got sick as well so she didn’t see him for a while. Later, Osono arranged for Kiki to make a delivery to Tombo. Tombo showed Kiki his bike that he planned to turn into a flying machine. They went to see the dirigible but they crashed before they could get there. They had a nice little chat, just the two of them, sitting by the sea. However, Tombo’s friends came by again, telling Tombo and Kiki to go with them to see the dirigible. Kiki was put off by their loud behaviour and left again, disappointed and upset.
Kiki didn’t see Tombo again until the end. He was a passenger on the dirigible but due to strong winds, the dirigible was uncontrollable and Tombo was left hanging. Kiki regained her powers, including her flight, and went to save Tombo.
We see in the credits that Tombo had finished his flying machine and could fly with Kiki.
Themes
I think the greatest theme in this movie was remembering who you were no matter where you were. Kiki felt discouraged because there was no room for witches in this big town. It was a thankless job and people did not always appreciate her work. But she had to remember that no matter what happened, she was Kiki the helpful witch. Just because not everyone appreciated her didn’t mean that she had to stop being herself.
Overall
I appreciated this movie. It was very cute.
Spoilers.
Story
Kiki as a thirteen year old witch embarked on her year of training. She found herself in a large city where people did not really subscribe to the wonder of magic. Kiki became disillusioned with the world, disappointed at the lack of love in the world, and with her loss of trust and love in people, she was losing her magic as well. However, with the help of her friend Ursula, she rediscovered that just because the world is not perfect does not mean she must stop being her optimistic self who always tries to do the best. The climax of the movie was when Tombo was stuck hanging from a dirigible and Kiki regained her magic (from her trust in people and zest for life) to fly and save Tombo.
It was a very straightforward movie, about a girl learning that the world was not perfect but, learning to be herself regardless. She was disappointed when she was misunderstood by the crows, she was disappointed by the granddaughter who despised her grandmother’s pies, she was disappointed by Tombo’s friends who always seemed to holler at her in a way that made her embarrassed. It resulted in Kiki almost losing her magic, which was an important part of her.
But Ursula reminded Kiki that her magic was a part of her, just as painting was a part of Ursula. So Kiki simply had to find herself, remind herself who she was, and her magic came back to her.
I admit that I teared up when Kiki went to save Tombo. I’m not quite sure why. Maybe it was Kiki regaining a confidence she thought she’d lost. Maybe it was her realizing that love and care aren’t always immediately visible to us, and she was coming to realize that Tombo never meant to tease her and that he was just trying to show that he liked her in his own way.
Anyway I liked this movie. It was straightforward and still touching.
Production
The first thing that struck me was the music. It was very rich and definitely enhanced the atmosphere, along with the very stylistic way the setting was drawn and created. This movie was animated in the typical Ghibli way we’re familiar with, though I will say perhaps it was a little faster paced. Of course, Kiki does pause, but I found that the story moved rather quickly which was interesting.
Characters
Kiki
Kiki was our main character, a witch finding her purpose in life. She had dreams of course, but the moment she left home she was faced with problems of varying magnitude. The first problem she encountered was when she met the fortune telling witch who was perhaps a bit snobby, but she did give Kiki a sense of what was to come. She told Kiki that she was the witch of a small town and she enjoyed it, and that she had started fortune telling. So Kiki realized that she needed to find a specialty, but I think it was also foreshadowing that a big city would not be as easy to adapt to as a small town.
Kiki ran into problems, from the police, to passersby who didn’t care much for her personally. Kiki was very disheartened until she ran into Osono who gave her a place to stay. Kiki’s deliver service grew very slowly, and we saw that she encountered problems regularly, from the weather, other animals, and other people.
The combination of the ungrateful granddaughter and Kiki not being able to go to the party really got her down that rainy night. I think the ungrateful granddaughter was a shock to Kiki because she had spent so much time with the grandmother and obviously enjoyed her company. When she arrived home all wet, I think Kiki felt that she really didn’t fit in and that there was no room for a witch like her in that city. And because of that, she was losing her magic because she didn’t think she had value as a person or as a witch. She had trouble flying, and she couldn’t understand Jiji, her oldest friend.
Ursula was the one who helped Kiki out of her rut, reminding her that her magic wasn’t something to be lost, just something to be unlocked, and that it was possible to find it. Kiki returned to town and helped Tombo from the dirigible. I think she understood that her sense of self came from being herself, the kind Kiki who always wants to help people. And so she regained her confidence and saved Tombo.
By the end, Kiki had become something of a local hero as she was on TV. There were kids dressed up as her in the streets, and she had made friends as well. I think she’ll be just fine 😊
Jiji
Jiji was Kiki’s black cat. Jiji was a friend, and a little pricklier than Kiki, but otherwise they were very close. I can’t figure out if Jiji is a male or female cat. I was under the impression they were male but I think it’s actually ambiguous. So I will use they pronouns for Jiji.
Jiji helped Kiki when she had lost the stuff cat toy. When inside the house, Jiji was deathly afraid, especially of the family’s big old dog. But when Kiki finally returned with the stuffed cat, Jiji said that the big old dog had helped them. I think the situation was to show that you can always ask people for help. Even though Jiji was very afraid of the big dog, he found out that the dog was in fact very friendly.
Jiji also had a story line in which they found the fashion designer’s cat to be stuck up. However, one day they caught the cat grooming themself. The white cat got shy which was unexpected, so Jiji approached them, and it’s assumed that they grew close. After the end of the main story, we saw that they had four kittens, three white kittens like their other parent and one more mischievous and rowdier black kitten, who would sometimes fly with Kiki. Incredibly adorable.
Even when Kiki had lost her magic and was unable to understand Jiji, Jiji would return to her for food and such. And at the end, Jiji had returned to her after Kiki had saved Tombo.
It is true that the end does not clarify whether Kiki and Jiji regain their ability to communicate with one another. I choose to believe that they do, as their ability to understand each other was due to Kiki’s magic, and she does find her magic again at the end of the movie.
Osono
Osono was a baker. She was the first person who was kind to Kiki. They met each other when Osono wanted to return a pacifier to a customer who had left. Osono was pregnant so it would take a while for her to get down there, so Kiki offered to make the delivery. As thanks, Osono gave her some coffee (and some milk to Jiji). Hearing of her situation, she also offered the attic to Kiki to stay in if she helped with some errands.
Osono allowed Kiki to run her deliver service out of the bakery so that she wouldn’t have to buy her own phone. She and her husband were both very supportive of Kiki. Oftentimes Osono’s husband would wait by the shop window at night time for Kiki to return, only to disappear when she did finally return so that she wouldn’t feel like flustered or that she was in trouble.
Osono eventually had her baby right at the end of the movie, and we see her and her husband with their baby on a picnic in the credits.
Ursula
Ursula was an artist living in the forest. Kiki first bumped into her when looking for the stuffed cat toy she was delivering to a client. Ursula had picked up the cat toy, so Kiki had asked her to have it returned. Ursula was occupied drawing crows, which Kiki was wary of, but they talked things out. Since the cat was torn, Kiki helped clean Ursula’s house in return for Ursula helping her mend it.
Ursula made another appearance towards the end, when she came to visit Kiki in town. Kiki was down, so Ursula took her back to her forest cottage, and they discussed artist’s block. To Ursula, drawing had always been a part of her. When she felt she couldn’t draw, she would take a break to find herself. And that was kind of what Kiki had to do to find herself too.
Tombo/Koppori
Tombo was a boy in town who wanted to befriend Kiki. When Tombo first approached Kiki, she was flustered and didn’t want to talk to him. She had just been accosted by a police officer and Tombo had said that it was him who drew his attention away. However, Tombo was also often accompanied by his jeering friends and so Kiki would feel like they were bullying and teasing her whenever Tombo spoke to her. As such, she would refuse to talk to him.
Tombo came by with an invitation to a party one day. Tombo waited a while for Kiki so that they could go together, but Kiki had gotten caught in the rain and couldn’t go. She later got sick as well so she didn’t see him for a while. Later, Osono arranged for Kiki to make a delivery to Tombo. Tombo showed Kiki his bike that he planned to turn into a flying machine. They went to see the dirigible but they crashed before they could get there. They had a nice little chat, just the two of them, sitting by the sea. However, Tombo’s friends came by again, telling Tombo and Kiki to go with them to see the dirigible. Kiki was put off by their loud behaviour and left again, disappointed and upset.
Kiki didn’t see Tombo again until the end. He was a passenger on the dirigible but due to strong winds, the dirigible was uncontrollable and Tombo was left hanging. Kiki regained her powers, including her flight, and went to save Tombo.
We see in the credits that Tombo had finished his flying machine and could fly with Kiki.
Themes
I think the greatest theme in this movie was remembering who you were no matter where you were. Kiki felt discouraged because there was no room for witches in this big town. It was a thankless job and people did not always appreciate her work. But she had to remember that no matter what happened, she was Kiki the helpful witch. Just because not everyone appreciated her didn’t mean that she had to stop being herself.
Overall
I appreciated this movie. It was very cute.