Majo no takkyûbin
Tags: comedy, fantasy, cult, feel-good, psychedelic, romantic

Plot synopsis:
After listening to a portable radio one afternoon, a young witch named Kiki goes to her parents, claiming that the evening would be perfect for her to leave home. Kiki's request is due to the custom that when a witch turns 13, she is to leave home and find a new place to settle. Naturally, Kiki's parents are sad to see her go, but Kiki is ecstatic to go on her big journey.That evening, her family and friends see her off. Kiki's mother gives Kiki her broom for the journey, and after a shaky takeoff, Kiki and her cat Jiji are on their way. Along the way, they encounter another young witch who has already found her town to reside in, and tells fortunes about love. Eventually, a thunderstorm causes Kiki and Jiji to seek shelter in a train car.The next day, the two depart, and find themselves near a seaside town. Kiki loves the environment, and soon finds out that there isn't a witch that resides there. Kiki almost gets in trouble when she almost causes a traffic accident, but manages to escape from the officer who accost her. However, her flying into town is seen by a young boy named Tombo, who seems to have developed an immediate crush on her. Kiki ignores him and intends to find a place to stay.She soon encounters a pregnant baker's wife named Osono, who is trying to return a pacifier that was left in her shop to a woman. Kiki offers to help, and returns to Osono with a thank you note from the woman. Osono also thanks Kiki by giving her some coffee, and providing Jiji with some cream. When Kiki explains that she is unsure where she can stay, Osono offers to allow her to lodge in a spare building on her and her husband's property. The structure is more of a storehouse, but Kiki doesn't mind, as it also provides a lovely view of the ocean. Jiji notes a white female cat at a nearby residence, but grows indignant when she seems to ignore him.The next day, Kiki wakes up and helps Osono and her husband get bread ready for the day. Overnight, Kiki has decided that her witch's talent will be to work as a delivery service. Kiki and Jiji then clean their new home, and then go out shopping. On a trip to get supplies, Kiki feels self-conscious when she sees some other girls walk by with nice clothes, compared to her dark purple witch's robes. Kiki and Jiji purchase supplies, but are also seen by the boy from the day before. When he claims that people can 'tell she's a witch' by her clothing, Kiki gets upset and walks away.Returning to the bakery, Osono claims that Kiki has a customer. A woman has arrived with a black stuffed cat toy (that looks just like Jiji!) in a birdcage, and wishes it delivered to her nephew. Kiki and Jiji head off to deliver it, but end up falling into some trees, where they rile a group of crows. The crows turn defensive, and Kiki and Jiji fly off. However, once they get away, Jiji notes that the toy cat has fallen out of the cage! Given that she has to deliver the gift by a specific time, Kiki has Jiji pretend to be the stuffed toy while she finds the real one.After delivering Jiji in the cage, Kiki returns to the forested area. Nearby, she finds a log cabin, and a young artist named Ursula. Kiki notices the stuffed cat in Ursula's cabin, but notes that has gotten damaged. Ursula offers to mend it if Kiki will help her clean her cabin. Finally, the job is done, and Kiki returns to collect Jiji and replace him with the stuffed toy.After her first delivery, business slows down considerably until one day when the bakery is visited by the young boy who Kiki saw from before. As he drops off an invitation to a party that evening, but Kiki suddenly finds her hands even more full when she receives a call for her services, and a man drops off a large parcel for delivery.Kiki delivers the parcel, and arrives at the house where the phone call was made. The old woman and her housemaid who lives there want Kiki to deliver a herring pie to her granddaughter for her birthday. The two older women note that the electrical oven is not working, but Kiki notices they have a wood-burning oven nearby. Having worked with one, Kiki helps the women cook the herring pie, and also helps them with a couple other chores around the house. However, when the hour grows late, Kiki quickly gets the pie and takes off, but runs into trouble when a rain storm breaks out.Kiki and Jiji arrive at the granddaughter's party, but are rather downtrodden to be soaked, and the granddaughter vocally criticizes that her grandmother sent her a herring pie even though she doesn't like them. Kiki and Jiji return to the bakery, and note the young boy leaving, carrying an umbrella. Instead of going down to see him, Kiki goes straight to her room.The next day, Osono finds Kiki has gotten sick from flying in the rain. She makes her some oatmeal to help her get better, and also mentions that the young boy came by earlier to see her. However, pretty sure that she did not want to be disturbed, Osono sent him away.Eventually, Kiki recovers, and Osono has a delivery assignment for Kiki. Kiki looks for Jiji, but instead finds him talking to the white cat he had seen earlier. Noting they seem to be having a nice time, Kiki leaves them be, and walks to the delivery spot.Upon arrival at the house, she is shocked to find the boy from before, and that he claims the delivery is for him! Kiki is relatively sure this was something that Osono and the boy put together to get him to meet her. The boy then introduces himself as Tombo, and shows Kiki a bicycle with a propeller on it that he showed at the party the other night. Tombo explains that it's part of a project to make a bicycle-propelled flying machine.Tombo offers Kiki a ride on the bicycle, and they pedal off down a coastal highway towards where a large dirigible is tied down. Kiki and Tombo have a quiet conversation until a few of Tombo's friends appear and offer to take him on a ride on the dirigible. Tombo invites Kiki along too, but she quietly leaves.Kiki returns home, but feels listless. When she tries to tell Jiji how she feels, she finds him only meow'ing to her. Kiki then realizes that she can't understand him anymore, and in a state of fear, attempts to fly on her broom, only to come crashing to the floor. Later on that evening, she attempts to do so on some hills near the store, but her attempts only end up breaking the broomstick's handle.Growing more listless, Kiki carves out a new broomstick, but perks up a little when Ursula shows up at the bakery to visit her.Kiki confides to Ursula about her powers becoming weak, and Ursula invites Kiki to come back to the cabin for a short stay.Upon arriving, Kiki finds that Ursula is working on a large painting, and would like to paint a portion of Kiki's face on it. During the session, Kiki confides into Ursula that magic used to come easily, but is wondering why it has stopped. Ursula tells Kiki that her magic sounds like her with art. Sometimes you just need to step back and take a little break, and it will most likely come back.At the end of her time away, Kiki calls Osono, who tells her the old woman she made a delivery for would like to see her again.Upon returning to the seaside town, Kiki stops by the woman's residence, who has fashioned a cake for Kiki as an added thank you for her services. However, the happy moment is interrupted when a television set tells of the dirigible in town being blown free of its moorings. As the airship is blown aloft, the camera captures an image of Tombo holding onto a rope, hanging from the airship.Kiki rushes out of the house, following the trail of the airship, but soon tires from running. When a street sweeper with a broom inquires if she's alright she asks to borrow his broom. After concentrating, Kiki starts to fly, and eventually makes her way towards the dirigible, which has crashed into the town clocktower.After Tombo loses his hold on the rope, Kiki swoops in to save him, and the crowd of people around them cheer on her rescue.After this, a series of images are shown to the audience- Tombo successfully finishes building his flying machine, and Kiki and him fly around the seaside area.- Osono has had her child.- Jiji and the female cat he met have had kittens.- Kiki's parents receive a letter from her, telling how even though life is not easy, she's doing well.

Review: Having already been familiar with and a great admirer of some of Miyazaki's other Ghibli films, including Princess Mononoke, I turned to Kiki's Delivery Service on the recommendation of someone who suggested it as "light-hearted" fun.
Being an eighteen-year-old male, I didn't think it would be much more than thata guilty pleasure to indulge in once in a while, something I could watch and then say, "Aw, what a cute film!" But Kiki's Delivery Service is so much more than "light-hearted fun." For one, it is a beautifully animated work of cinematic art, with Miyazaki's usual flair for gorgeous landscapes and astonishing detail.
As in his recent films Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away, Miyazaki's brush paints a beautiful world.There is not much to be said about the plot itself: Kiki is a 13-year-old witch who has just left home to begin a year of training on her own, and she moves to a seaside European town, befriends a husband and wife baker, and sets up a flying delivery service.What sets Kiki's Delivery Service apart from many of Miyazaki's other works is the personal, rather than epic, nature of the story.
In fact, the doldrums of life are what form the heart of this film, as Kiki finds that she begins to lose her witch's abilities and can no longer fly.Kiki's Delivery Service is a masterpiece, one of my all-time favorite films, and Kiki's search for the heart within herself is a tale that adults may appreciate more than their children.
Even though the movie a about a witch, the only supernatural acts in the movie are Kiki flying on a broom and talking to her cat.The movie is about a young girl witch who leaves home with her cat Jiji, moves to a new town, and starts a delivery service.
This may seem a rehash of the previous comments, but I only now got to see the Disney dubbed release.I owned a bootleg copy of Kiki while it was still in Japanese theaters; I fell in love with the movie after first seeing the spectacle of the dirigible crash near the tail end.
Though not as entertaining for real young children as Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro, pre-teens with a long attention span (nearly two hours) and who prefer pacing and atmosphere over flashing lights and singing characters will likely love this movie.
While the animation is amazing and the characters are colourful, the best thing about his films is that they have heart.Miyazaki's beautiful 'Majo no takkyûbin' tells the story of a young witch who travels to a new city in order to make it on her own.
Kiki, whose best and only skill is flying, ups broomstick and leaves for a coastal town, where she befriends a bakery owner who suggests she uses her talent to set up a delivery service for the townsfolk.In comparison to the 'blockbuster' animated films, "Kiki"'s pace is sedate, and for this reason younger viewers with a taste for frenetic action scenes and characters bursting spontaneously into song may well lose interest.
Instead of the paint-by-numbers heroes and villains of usual animation stock, the characters of "Kiki's Delivery Service", like all of Miyazaki's films, have a depth and realism rarely found elsewhere - they could, by all rights, be real people with genuine thoughts and feelings, dreams and fears.
For anyone looking for a light, charming and inoffensive piece of escapism, this is second to none.Whilst "Kiki's Delivery Service" cannot match the big-budget animated features for in-your-face visual impact, the film carries its own style; every scene bears intricately-rendered backgrounds bursting with colour and detail.
That said, Miyazaki's films strive to avoid the shortcuts often found in eastern animation, and the city streets bustle with activity in even the simplest of scenes.As to be expected from a Disney release, the voices of the characters are near spot-on; no easy task when considering that the English dialogue is dubbed onto an existing picture.
Likewise, the voices of the other characters feel and sound 'natural' - you would be hard pressed to tell that the film had been over-dubbed."Kiki's Delivery Service" is not a film that will ever be as recognised, as publicly lauded or as widely merchandised as the latest cinematic feature animation, but its quiet charm and genuine inspiration lend it a presence and credibility as a work of art as well as entertainment..
Its basic coming-of-age story coupled with Miyazaki's eye for detail and a hint of magic, make this movie fun for all ages.A must see for all those who think anime is merely giant robots destroying cities or sexy young ladies being ravaged by hideous monsters.
I did not want to leave the romantic magic seaside town that Kiki and her ironic talking black cat Jiji chose to stay, where everyone (well, almost) seems to respect, like, and to help to one another, where Kiki established reliable "Witch Express Delivery" using her flying skills and where "the things are sometimes difficult but she is fine".
While I have heard many refer to director Miyazaki as "the Japanese Disney", this isn't very accurate, as the style of his films is so very different from American animation--not better, not worse--just different.So overall, this is about as good as you'll get for an anime movie and it should appeal to all ages provided they are open-minded enough to give a foreign film a try..
It's a little strange to think that Disney would bring animation other than its own to American audiences, but that's what they did with Kiki's Delivery Service.
Kiki's Delivery Service is simply a beautiful film.The animation is amazing; bright, colorful, and affluent in life.
That alone signifies a great movie.Kiki's Delivery Service is an excellent movie for kids, but it's simple beauty and compelling story makes it suitable for any age or group.
I'm a huge (new) Miyazaki fan who has only seen English-dubbed versions of his films -- Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro, and now Kiki's Delivery Service.
I don't know whether the Japanese version has the cheesy introductory pop song, but then cheesy pop songs are a staple of anime anyway.I guess it's a double-standard that I, who would never dream of watching a dubbed version of a film by Kurosawa or Ozu, can enjoy the work of Miyazaki in such fashion.
While different from most anime I am a fan of, I still found Kiki's Delivery Service to be a good movie...
Take a look at Kiki's Delivery Service, whether in dubbed or subtitled format, because either way you'll get really nice animation, a fine story, and an hour and a half of entertainment..
I had recently gotten into anime, and despite the fact that this movie was dubbed (I knew that most films were better subtitled) and that it was also on the Disney Channel, I expected to be in bed at ten thirty.
That wouldn't have done it if it weren't for the perfectly drawn and conceptualized town, a beautiful setting that gives me that forlorn feeling that never will there be a time when bakeries are personal, when people will give you friendly directions, when you can get a job and boarding simply by offering to work for the establishment, when the streets and nicely painted homes are clean, when club parties require dressing nicely, when high technology is a dirigible, when girls wear dresses normally, when people laugh simply for the sheer joy of it, and when the world is absolutely perfect.
But there isn't really a lot of story or character to make a feature length film out of.I watched the English dub with Kirsten Dunst doing the voice of Kiki and the late, great Phil Hartman doing her talking cat Jiji.
I didn't see improvements or progress, it's the same faces and same animation as his other films, just with a different story or plot.I don't really know what else to say about this movie, it was alright.SilverRating: 6/10.
Kiki's Delivery Service is a good movie with a very nice and simple storyline and some beautiful animation.It certainly not Hayao Miyazaki's finest film,its a lot more childish and has no violence or strange and unusual characters like you would see in his other films,but its still a very enjoyable movie.The voice cast in the movie is perfect,my favourite character without a doubt being Jiji,Phil Hartman did a perfect job voicing this sarcastic cat,I really enjoyed his voice roles on the Simpsons,and he did a really great job in this as well,he wassd my favourite part of the film and I wish he was in it more.Kiki's Delivery Service is not as interesting or exciting as Hayao Miyazaki's other work,but its still a great movie for the whole family to enjoy.Tells the story of Kiki,a young witch whose job delivering bread is threathened when she loses her powers..
So, watch it subtitled if you can, otherwise I would take two or three stars off this film, as it is seriously impaired in the Disney version.So, beginning the review of the film with the Japanese voice acting, despite its rather silly title (Kiki's Delivery Service), this film is much more than a kiddie film.
Kiki's Delivery Service is not an epic like other Miyazaki films I've watched as of late, but has more in common with Totoro in that it's a smaller film about children.
Kiki is a coming of age film about a young witch who leaves home for her year of training.
The American dub is just fine, although very different in tone from the Japanese dub--but it contains a warm performance by the late Phil Hartman as Jiji the cat.What I really liked about the film was how realistically it portrayed little Kiki.
Hayao Miyazaki is a legend of Japanese animation and he has made many delightful films, including his coming-of-age fantasy Kiki's Delivery Service.Set in a world that is cross between Europe and America in both the 50s and 80s Kiki (Minami Takayama) is a 13-year-old witch who decides to complete her rite-of-passage that witches need to complete by leaving home for a year so she can become a fully fledged witch.
There is plenty verbal and visual humour to please all the family and has an engaging simple story about a girl who rushes to grow up but finds out the journey and reality is much harder then she imagined.Filled with excellent music and Miyazaki signature style and look Kiki's Delivery Service is a lovely little film for the whole family.
That film would be Hayao Miyazaki's adaptation of Kiki's Delivery Service, which was originally a children's novel by Eiko Kadono.
Although Kiki's Delivery Service isn't Miyazaki's deepest movie in terms of plot, it has a touching message, a relatable main character, and wonderful animation and voice acting.Following the aforementioned children's novel, Kiki's Delivery Service follows 13-year-old Kiki, a young witch living in a small village with her parents and her best friend, her cat Jiji.
Although Hartman's sarcastic, joking rendition of Jiji differentiates from the original Japanese script, Hartman manages to create the most memorable character of the whole movie.Kiki's Delivery Service is also full of simply beautiful animation.
Unlike Hayao Miyazaki's previous works, Kiki's Delivery Service has more of a European feel rather than a Japanese one.
Kiki's Delivery Service is a charming film by director Hayao Miyazaki, one of his best really.
And now I'm 20 years, I throw a new look at the movie, I am deeply touched by the story of a little girl Kiki who are struggling to live her own life.
Along the way she meets various different people, like baker woman Osono and her quiet husband, young artist woman Ursula and Tombo, inventor boy to whom flying is almost an obsession.Though "Kiki" has more plot than "Totoro" has, they are both the most delightful films Miyazaki has made for all families to watch.
I don't know how he has manages to capture such a good feeling to these animations, but I for one am brightened up by "Kiki" and I didn't see this movie till I was 17-18 year old.
Leading the way is Hayao Miyazaki, who is well known for his wonderful films, and this is no exception.Majo no takkyubin, or Kiki's Delivery Service, is an affectionate look at growing pains, responsibility and friendship, told through the eyes of a very kind and appealing witch.
I saw "Kiki's Delivery Service" for the first time on the Disney Channel, and fell in love - with the story, whose pace is perfect and whose events are natural progressions rather than overblown set pieces, and with the characters, who evoke sympathy and pride as they travel through the tale.
In the Disney-released American version, Kirsten Dunst voices the plucky young Kiki, leaving home at the age of 13 to hone a special skill for a year in accordance with the tradition of witches.
(This is the review I wrote a long time ago, when the English dub and the original Japanese version were listed seperately).Though not as entertaining for real young children as Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro, pre-teens with a long attention span (nearly two hours) and who prefer pacing and atmosphere over flashing lights and singing characters will likely love this movie.
Unlike most American films, the movie shows a girl realizing her own power as a person not chanting feel-good slogans ("I am not a victim" American Beauty) but through hard work and being herself.As part of her witch training, when Kiki turns thirteen she has to live away from home for a year.
Unlike most American films, the movie shows a girl realizing her own power as a person not chanting feel-good slogans ("I am not a victim" American Beauty) but through hard work and being herself.As part of her witch training, when Kiki turns thirteen she has to live away from home for a year.
The new Disney dub into English of the Miyazaki classic, _Majo no Takkyuubin_ (known as _Kiki's Delivery Service_ here in the US) is much, much better than most of the drivel one finds in most American video stores.
This film has a lot to offer people of all ages.Full of Miyazaki's trademark attention to detail, both in the visual and conceptual aspects of the film, Kiki's Delivery Service is a beautifully done portrayal of a young girl  struggling towards finding confidence and herself.The struggles that Kiki faces and the richness of the characters that she meets has kept me, my husband and my children (3&4) glued till the very end several times over.The question of how people/we define our own identity is a common one in Japanese animation -- do we define ourselves?
Kiki's Delivery Service is a very good film, and Disney did not dub it down for it's United States release.
No major lessons are learned and if anything this is the most Disney like of Miyazaki's films.I'd give the English dub a 3/10 and the Japanese version a 6.4/10.
It's an oft-told story, but in "Kiki's Delivery Service," Hayao Miyazaki tells it well.Kiki, a witch-in-training, is only thirteen when she sets out to make her way in life, but her situation will be familiar to anyone who's moved to a new city, or went off to college for the first time, or switched careers.
Kiki's story isn't just that of a child growing up, but of a human being moving from one stage of her life to the next, and that gives the film a universal appeal."Kiki's Delivery Service" isn't as awe-inspiring or powerful as some of Miyazaki's other work (specifically "Spirited Away" and "Princess Mononoke").
I recommend listening to "A Town With An Ocean View" online to get a sense of not only the score but for the tone of the film as a whole.Overall, Kiki's Delivery Service is a wonderful coming-of-age story about a girl finding herself in a strange place.
Hayao Miyazaki animated feature of a 13-old year witch leaving his parents and settling in a new town to form a (broom-based) delivery service is irresistible.
Hayao Miyazaki animated feature of a 13-old year witch leaving his parents and settling in a new town to form a (broom-based) delivery service is irresistible.
OVERALL: 8/10 STORY: 7/10 ANIMATION: 9/10 SOUND: 9/10 CHARACTER: 7/10 ENJOYMENT: 7/10Another Miyazaki's movie.
Hayao Miyazaki is like the Steven Spielberg of animated directors.The story to Kiki's Delivery Service is about a young witch striking out on her own.
Kiki's Delivery Service is another fantastic film by him the master of anime himself.The animation in this movie...now where do I even began with the animation.
All the characters in the film feel like people you could come across in real life and that makes this charming movie all the more special.
I especially like the personality of Kiki's cat JiJi.The animation is gorgeous in this film.
Even by today's standards this film is beautifully animated, and it has a very distinctive feel, as if I could look at a movie with this style and instantly know "Yep, that's a Miyazaki work right there." I could gush over the visuals alone for hours on end.The characters were great too.
Like I said with Nausicaa, Kiki's Delivery Service for me isn't quite a top 5 of my favourite Ghibli movies, it makes for a solid position in my top 10.
This may come as a surprise for people watching a movie that asks us to sympathize with, above all else, a 13-year-old witch, the titular Kiki (voiced in the dubbed American version of the film by Kirsten Dunst).The Japanese must have a radically different view of witches and witchcraft than Americans do, because this is one of the few animated films about witches that I can recall where we're asked to make this sort of emotional connection with them, much less have them be featured as the story's protagonists.