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A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
Kirsten Dunst:Kiki
Majo no takkyûbin(1989) known as Kiki's Delivery Service features such a character in Kiki, a thirteen year old witch whom is made to leave home and find a new city in which to hone her skills.
The trials and liberations of independence await Kiki in the town she chooses to live. But for the most part Kiki seems to be able to find a generous benefactor to help her overcome obstacles without resorting to her natural powers. Her helpfulness earns her a lodging at a bakery where Kiki quickly resolves to start a delivery service. When she almost botches her first errand she relies on the kindness of a cabin dwelling artist who has found the toy black cat Kiki had dropped. And later a sleepy eyed St Bernard helps her exchange it with her black cat Jiji, who had been pretending to be a toy in the recipient's house. Because Kiki meets with friendliness from everyone; the film avoids confronting the lurking menace the big town would normally pose for a thirteen year old girl. Rather, the unimaginative conclusion of the film seems to be that friendliness always benefits it's patrons.
After Kiki promises a boy she meets to attend a party with him, she spends her entire day helping an old woman prepare a herring pie for her granddaughter and misses the appointment. This is around the time Kiki begins to lose her magical powers. But this is a rare reminder that Kiki is supposed to be a training witch, and the film never explains how Kiki loses her magical powers and how she subsequently regains them at a conveniently helpful interval in the story.
Due to Hayao Miyazaki's spirited direction the film rarely loses its magical spark. Nonetheless; also the writer of the film, Miyazaki takes many thoughtful detours from the fundamental themes underlying the story. After seeing this film, a viewer may still wonder why those people seemed to be so undisturbed by the sight of an adolescent witch zooming across their town on a broomstick. One may also ask why Kiki decides to start a delivery service instead of sticking to her avowed mission to train to be a witch. Unfortunately, Kiki's Delivery Service leaves these and many more questions unanswered. Fortunately we can fill in the blanks with our imaginations.
What sets Kiki's Delivery Service apart from many of Miyazaki's other works is the personal, rather than epic, nature of the story. It wonderfully captures the daily life of an aspiring 13-year-old girl moving into the life of a bustling town. While there is plenty to please the thrill-seeking adventurous spirit, the film's real beauty lies in its ability to portray the more introverted aspects of life. Most Western animated cinema centers around loud, pop-influenced music and a bad-guy-fighting action-oriented plot, but Kiki's Delivery Service has a charming and understated musical score, and lacks a traditional antagonist. Life isn't all excitement and fighting bad guys; something that this film seems to get across more so than any Disney, Pixar, Fox, or other Western animated film I've ever seen. In fact, the doldrums of life are what form the heart of this film.
Majo no takkyûbin is a masterpiece, and Kiki's search for the heart within herself is a tale that adults may appreciate more than their children. Indeed, Kiki is one of the most appealing characters that Miyazaki ever brought to life, which is certainly saying something. One of Miyazaki's great talents is in never be belittling his audience, and with this fantastic story he proves this point once again.
''Well, well, well... hello kitty.''
10/10
