Kiki's Delivery Service

**Kiki's Delivery Service** is a 1989 drama coming of age anime movie.  It was written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki,

   musically composed by Joe Hisaishi, cinematography by Shigeo Sugimura, edited by Takeshi Seyama, produced by Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, and distributed by Toei Company.

## Plot

It is traditional for 13-year-old witches to leave home for a year on the night of a full moon to pursue their skill through training. Thirteen-year-old trainee witch Kiki leaves home with her familiar spirit, a talking black cat named Jiji. She flies on her broomstick to the port city of Koriko. While trying to find somewhere to live, Kiki is pursued by Tombo, a geeky boy obsessed with aviation who admires her flying ability.

In exchange for accommodation, Kiki helps Osono, the kindly and heavily pregnant owner of a bakery. She opens a "Witch Delivery Business", delivering goods by broomstick. Her first delivery goes badly; she is caught in wind and loses the black cat toy she is supposed to deliver. Jiji pretends to be the toy until Kiki can retrieve the real item. She finds it in the home of a young painter, Ursula, who repairs and returns it to Kiki so she can complete the delivery and rescue Jiji.

Kiki accepts a party invitation from Tombo, but is delayed by her work and, exhausted, falls ill. When she recovers, Osono clandestinely arranges for Kiki to see Tombo again by assigning her a delivery addressed to him. After Kiki apologizes for missing the party, Tombo takes her for a test ride on the flying machine he is working on fashioned from a bicycle. Kiki warms to Tombo but is intimidated by his friends, and walks home.

Kiki becomes depressed and discovers she can no longer understand Jiji, who has befriended a pretty white cat. She has also lost her flying ability and is forced to suspend her delivery business. Kiki has a surprise visit from Ursula, who determines that Kiki's crisis is a form of artist's block. Ursula suggests that if Kiki can find a new purpose, she will regain her powers.

While Kiki is visiting a customer, she witnesses an airship accident on television which leaves Tombo hanging from one of the drifting vessel's mooring lines. Kiki regains her flying power and manages to rescue him. She regains her confidence, resumes her delivery service, and writes a letter home saying that she and Jiji are happy.

## Why It Rocks

1. A heartwarming, gorgeously-rendered tale of a young witch discovering her place in the world.
2. Amazing coming of age story.
3. Excellent animation.
4. Great soundtrack.
5. Very appealing art style and character designs.
6. Good voice acting in both sub and dub.

## Reception

*Kiki's Delivery Service* premiered on July 29, 1989 in Japanese theaters. The total distribution receipts were ¥2,170,000,000[51][52] (US$18,000,000). The film proved to be a financial success and was the highest-grossing film in Japan in 1989.[53] The Japanese DVD was the best selling anime DVD for February 7, 2001.[54]

Buena Vista Home Video's VHS release became the 8th-most-rented title at Blockbuster stores during its first week of availability.[55] This video release also sold over a million copies.[56]

On September 4, 1998, *Entertainment Weekly* rated it as Video of the Year, and on September 12, 1998, it was the first video release to be reviewed as a normal film on *Siskel and Ebert* rather than on the "Video Pick of the Week" section.[55] Gene Siskel of the *Chicago Tribune* and Roger Ebert of the *Chicago Sun-Times* gave it "two thumbs up"[53][57] and Ebert went on to rank it as one of the best animated films of 1989.[58] The film ranked #12 on *Wizard's Anime* Magazine's list of the "Top 50 Anime released in North America".[59]Other reviews were very positive as well. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, *Kiki's Delivery Service* has a score of 97% based on 29 reviews with an average rating of 7.8/10, the website's consensus reads, "*Kiki's Delivery Service* is a heartwarming, gorgeously-rendered tale of a young witch discovering her place in the world."[60] The conservative Christian group Concerned Women for America boycotted *Kiki's Delivery Service* screenings[61] and released a press release on February 5, 1998, titled "Disney Reverts to Witchcraft in Japanese Animation".[62] Calling for a boycott of The Walt Disney Company, the group said the company "is still not family friendly, but continues to have a darker agenda".[63][64]