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Kiki's Delivery Service

Encyclopedia : K : KI : KIK : Kiki's Delivery Service

is a 1989 anime film, produced, written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki .
The movie was based on Eiko Kadono's original story, Majo no Takkyūbin (published by Fukuinkan Shoten).

This animation depicts the gulf that exists between independence and self-reliance in the hopes and spirit of common Japanese teenage girls.

Contents

Plot

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Kiki is a 13 year-old witch in training. By tradition, it is time for Kiki to leave her home to spend a year alone in a new town to establish herself as a full witch. Kiki sets herself on her mother's broom with her closest companion, Jiji, a loquacious black cat. She flies off to a new life, but unfortunately has not inherited her mother's skills as a healer, nor developed any other magic skills, with the exception of flying -- and she is notoriously unskilled even at that. At her departure from home, she has trouble controlling her newly-inherited broom, and ricochets from the trees in her front yard. Wind bells in the trees chime, and one of the neighbors wistfully comments that he will miss the sound of the bells.

Kiki settles in the beautiful seaside island city of Korico, and after initially finding it difficult to adjust to the 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 has to deal with her loneliness, worries, and homesickness.

Having caught the eye of a local boy about her age, who has an interest in aviation and in Kiki herself, she at first rebuffs, then befriends him, and they begin to develop a normal boy-girl relationship.

As such relationships will do, this one becomes so important that it begins to affect her work, and in fact, she even loses her magic. Kiki learns about overcoming such obstacles with the help of a newfound friend, a young artist who gives some good advice about the kind of inspiration she needs to regain her magic.

Then comes a moment of deadly crisis, when the boy who is so important to her is accidentally lifted into the air in a dirigible accident. When she is his only hope of rescue, she finds the inspiration to regain her flying ability - thanks largely to her independence, self-reliance, and with encouragement and help from others.

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 her friend 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 broom.

Although the setting for the movie is never explicitly established, Studio Ghibli promotional material claims that it is based heavily on Stockholm, Sweden, and that parts of the architecture owe a debt to Ireland, Paris, San Francisco and Tokyo's Ginza district.

Aviators have commented that the flying-broom sequences are believable, consistent with the flying characteristics of an ultralight aircraft combined with a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, and are an accurate portrayal of how such an "aircraft" would handle. [[Citing sources citation needed]]

Spoilers end here.

Differences Between the English and Japanese Versions

Although the plot and much of the script was left intact, Disney's English dub of Kiki's Delivery Service contains some changes.There were occasional additions and embellishments to the musical score overlaying some of the previously silent sequences. Most of the extra pieces of music (provided by Paul Chihara) ranged from soft piano music to a string-plucked reindition of Edvard Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King. In addition, the replacement of the original opening and ending theme songs. The new songs, "Soaring" and "I'm Gonna Fly" were written and performed by Sydney Forest.

In terms of plot, the character of the cat Jiji has changed slightly. The Japanese version had Jiji speak in a more female-sounding voice, which is how the Japanese depict cats in their media. The American version had Jiji as a more distinct male voice, and gave him more of a wisecracking exterior. In the Japanese version, Jiji loses his ability to speak with Kiki but in the American version, an extra line is included that implies he is able to speak again.

More minor changes to appeal to the different demographics include Kiki drinking hot chocolate instead of coffee, and a line about disco is changed instead to about 'cute boys'. All changes were approved by Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.

Trivia

Credits

Cast

The movie stars the following actors (listed in English version/Japanese version format):

Awards

Musical

In 1993, a musical version of the show was produced. Yukio Ninagawa wrote the script and Kensuke Yokouchi (横内謙介 Yokouchi Kensuke) directed the show. The role of Kiki was originated by Youki Kudoh and the role of Tombo was originated by Akira Akasaka (赤坂晃 Akasaka Akira). He was replaced by Katsyuki Mori (森且行 Mori Katsuyuki) (of SMAP fame) within the year. There was a cast recording produced of the original cast and the show revived in 1995 and 1996.

External links


The Works of Hayao Miyazaki
Films
The Castle of Cagliostro | Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind | Castle in the Sky | My Neighbor Totoro | Kiki's Delivery Service | Porco Rosso | Princess Mononoke | Spirited Away | Howl's Moving Castle
TV series
Future Boy Conan | Lupin III
Manga
Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind | The Age of the Flying Boat
Misc.
On Your Mark


Studio Ghibli Films
Pre Ghibli Films
 (1968) • Puss 'n Boots (1969) • Flying Ghost Ship (1969) • Animal Treasure Island (1971) • Alibaba and the 40 Thieves (1971) • Yuki's Sun (1972) • Panda Go Panda (1972–1973) • Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro (1977) • Chie the Brat (1981) • Gauche the Cellist (1982) • Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)
Ghibli Films
Castle in the Sky (1986) • The Story of Yanagawa's Canals (1987) • My Neighbor Totoro (1988) • Grave of the Fireflies (1988) • Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) • Only Yesterday (1991) • Porco Rosso (1992) • Ocean Waves (1993) • Pom Poko (1994) • Whisper of the Heart (1995) • Princess Mononoke (1997) • My Neighbors the Yamadas (1999) • Spirited Away (2001) • The Cat Returns (2002) • Howl's Moving Castle (2004) • Tales from Earthsea (2006)
Studio Ghibli Shorts
The Sky-Colored Seed (1992) • Nandarou (1992) • On Your Mark (1995) • Ghiblies (2000) • Ghiblies Episode II (2002) • Mei and the Kittenbus (2003) • Koro's Big Day Out (2003) • The Whale Hunt (2003) • The Invention of Destruction in the Imaginary Machines (2004) • Imaginary Flying Machines (2004) •  (2004) • The Day I Harvested a Star (2006) • House-hunting (2006) • Monmon the Water Spider (2006) • The Night of Taneyamagahara (2006)
See also...
Masashi Andō • Hideaki Anno • Ghibli Museum • Mamoru Hosoda • Megumi Kagawa • Kazuo Komatsubara • Katsuya Kondō • Yoshifumi Kondō • Yoichi Kotabe • Goro Miyazaki • Hayao Miyazaki • Yoshiyuki Momose • Tomomi Mochizuki • Yasuji Mori • Hiroyuki Morita • Mamoru Oshii • Shinji Otsuka • Yasuo Ōtsuka • Toshio Suzuki • Isao Takahata • Kazuo Oga • Tsukasa Tannai • 


















 





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