Life’s a Witch: Kiki’s Delivery Service
Greetings, ladies and
gentlemen! Sunday is here and that means
it’s time to roll out the last review for Miyazaki May (though not the last
part of Miyazaki May). This week’s review
was on what many consider to be one of the great Ghibli classics. Well, I can certainly say that this was a lot
better than the previous films I reviewed this month. But enough about that, let’s talk about this
week’s review on Kiki’s Delivery Service.
The film opens on our protagonist,
Kiki, learning that the night will be clear, and decides it’s the perfect night
for her to leave home. In the realm of
the film, when a witch in training turns thirteen, she leaves her home to hone
her craft. After leaving home with her
cat Jiji and a few mishaps, she ends up in a seashore town with more mishaps;
she nearly starts a wreck and is later stopped by a traffic cop, and finds
difficulty in finding a place to stay.
Eventually, she finds a bakery owned by a pregnant woman named Osono. After returning a pacifier to a customer’s
baby, Osono allows Kiki to stay with her.
The next morning, Kiki decides to start a delivery service with her
flying abilities. Her first delivery comes
not long afterwards, but things don’t go accordingly; Kiki loses the package-a
stuffed cat toy- after a gust of wind throws her off of her broom. To cover her mistake, she uses Jiji as the
toy (who looks identical to the toy) until she can find the real one. She ends up finding it at the home of an
artist named Ursula, and after discovering that the toy was damaged in the
fall, Ursula agrees to fixing it in exchange for Kiki cleaning her cabin. Kiki is able to return the toy and retrieve
Jiji. Later, a local boy named Tombo
invites Kiki to her to a party with friends.
Earlier in the film, when Kiki tries to find a place to stay, Tombo
followed Kiki around, expressing interest in that she is a witch and that she
can fly.
Kiki initially agrees to go to the
party, even agreeing to have Tombo pick her up in the evening. However, after getting caught up in a delivery,
she ends up being late and catching a cold.
Kiki rests for the day and quickly recovers to later find that Osono has
another job for her. It turns out,
however, that this was actually a meeting with Tombo and was set up instigated
by Osono. The two hang out and Tombo
shows off a prototype airplane he and his friends were making. They test it later on with disastrous
results. Although Kiki finds herself
becoming closer to Tombo, she leaves him after bing intimidated by some local
kids. Not long after this happens, Kiki
finds that she’s starting to lose her powers.
In response to this, she temporarily closes her delivery service. Ursula later stops by the bakery and decides
to let Kiki stay with her for a day. She
ultimately suggests she needs to find a new source of inspiration to regain her
powers. Kiki returns home to find that
the maiden voyage of a dirigible has gone horribly wrong. Making matters worse, she finds that Tombo is
involved in the mayhem, getting caught on the aircraft as it floats through
town. Kiki barely regains her flying
abilities and is able to save Tombo. The
film ends with Kiki sending a letter to her parents saying that her delivery
service is going well and that she and Jiji are doing fine.
I have to admit, I can see why this
film is such a classic. In fact, I find
it hard to hate on it. Overall, I give Kiki’s Delivery Service an 8.5 out of
ten. I think what was really good about
this movie was the story. Many Studio
Ghibli films are centered on the characters and allow them to drive the film
along. While this one did something
similar, it did have something of a story, and it wasn’t forced like many
Ghibli films. What I also liked about
this film was that it makes a great teen/YA film. There’s a great message about identity and
being yourself that teens, and dare I say adults, can relate tp. Also add to the fact that Kiki is such a
relatable character in general and you have a film that outdoes any teen flick
to have come out in recent years. This
is something I think stays with people the most, more than the animation,
music, and even Kiki’s cute outfit. Like
I said, it’s a classic for a reason.
Ok, for as much as I’ve been
praising this film, there was only one problem I had with the film: Kiki losing her powers. Sure, it sounds like I’m nitpicking, but why
does Kiki lose her powers? Ursula
equates it to something like artist’s block, but that still doesn’t explain it
why it happened. Is it because she’s
homesick? Is it because she likes
Tombo? Is it because she feels uncomfortable
around his friends? Is it because the
stress of her training is getting to her?
It’s never answered or explained.
Heck, even towards the end, it’s never really confirmed if she can talk
to Jiji anymore. So did she even get her
full powers restored by the end of the movie?
Now granted, the film may have very well left this purposely ambiguous
so that the audience can judge what the cause of this is. Even so, I think there should have been an
obvious answer. And either way,
unanswered questions or not, you can’t miss this classic!
Definitely deserving of it’s title
as one of the best Ghibli films, this is a high-flying adventure you can’t
miss! If you’re interested in seeing
this awesome flick, it’s available wherever anime is sold. And so, that wraps up this week’s
review! Tune in next week as I wrap up
Miyazaki May with the unveiling of Character of the Month!
-Hanime on Anime
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