CULTJAPAN!

Kiki’s Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese animated (anime) fantasy film produced, written, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki and the fifth Studio Ghibli anime film. It is based on Eiko Kadono’s novel of the same name, which is the first in a series originally published by Fukuinkan Shoten in 1985. The film adaptation includes only some of the episodes in the book; it ends at the end of summer while the book covers an entire calendar year.

Kiki is a 13-year-old witch-in-training, living in a small rural village where her mother is the resident herbalist. The film opens at the time traditional for Kiki to leave her home to spend a year alone in a new town to establish herself as a full witch. Kiki therefore flies off on her mother’s broom with her closest companion, Jiji, a loquacious black cat. At her departure from home, she has trouble controlling her newly inherited broom, and ricochets off of the trees in her front yard. Wind chimes in the trees chime; one of the neighbors wistfully comments that he will miss the sound of the bells, implying that such incidents have been common.

Soon after leaving, Kiki asks Jiji to turn on the radio. He flips to a lively pop song and the beginning credits roll. After the credits and song finish, Kiki and Jiji meet another witch on her way back home from training. After giving some advice about inner skills, this newcomer flies down yelling, “Ciao!” Seconds after she leaves, Kiki and Jiji are caught in a thunderstorm, from which they take overnight refuge in a train. The next morning, Kiki wakes up and a cow is licking her foot below and she starts laughing. Both Kiki and Jiji soon realize that they rode in a car full of cows. They then leave to find a place to settle in.
 
Kiki settles in the beautiful seaside city of Koriko, and, after initially finding it difficult to adjust to the city’s pace of life, starts a delivery service that takes advantage of her ability to fly. Kiki experiences several setbacks, such as slow business, misplaced merchandise, rude customers, and illness. She also must contend with her loneliness, worries, and homesickness.

Having caught the eye of Tombo, a local boy about her age who has an interest in aviation and in Kiki herself, she at first rebuffs then befriends him. Jiji simultaneously courts a local cat named Lily, who had earlier snubbed him.

Because of slowly growing insecurity that finally comes to a head, Kiki’s powers diminish and ultimately disappear, to her great shame. She also learns that, because of her loss of powers, Jiji has lost the ability to speak to her. Kiki learns about overcoming such obstacles with the help of a newfound friend, a young artist named Ursula, who gives Kiki advice regarding inspiration that she needs in order to regain her magical abilities.

In a moment of deadly crisis, Tombo is accidentally lifted into the air in a dirigible accident. When she is his only hope of rescue, Kiki finds the inspiration to regain her flying ability. Improvising with a street-sweeper’s push broom, Kiki manages to rescue Tombo with considerable difficulty. At that adventure’s conclusion, Jiji joins her and can speak again, but keeps this a secret from the people gathered around Kiki. Suddenly famous, she sends home a simple, modest letter to her parents, saying that she is becoming used to her new home and that things are working out well for her.

The story continues through the end titles, as she flies a high-guard formation with Tombo as he flies his human-powered aircraft in a flight sequence obviously inspired by the Gossamer Albatross. Later, she is on the street of her town and notices a little girl walking past, because the little girl has her hair and clothing styled like Kiki’s and is even carrying a small deck broom like the one Kiki flew to save Tombo – an indication of her having become a local celebrity. Jiji and Lily are also shown, with several kittens in tow.

Get Kiki’s Delivery Service on DVD

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article “Kiki’s Delivery Service“.