April 30, 2014
Hey guys, Ernest here again and I'm here with yet another Studio Ghibli film! This one is personally one of my favourites because of how easily one can relate to the characters. So without any further ado, let's move onto the movie: Kiki's Delivery Service!!
Kiki's Delivery Service is a Japanese animated fantasy adventure film written, directed and produced by Hayao Miyazaki. The film revolves around Kiki, a young witch coming into her own as she goes to live alone for a year in the big city. Accompanied only by her talking cat Jiji, she discovers that life in the big city is very different to life in a quiet town and that she must adjust, all the while supporting herself and making new friends. Miyazaki himself says that the movie touches on the gulf that exists between independence and reliance in contemporary Japanese girls. The town of Koriko is based on both Visby, an island town in Gotland, Sweden and Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, but the film is set in an idealised trouble-free northern Europe.
Kiki, still being a young witch, discovers that she lacks most of the skills most witches can use, and that the only skill she is somewhat proficient with is flying on her broom. In order to support herself, Kiki markets this talent to use as a delivery service at Gütiokipänja Bakery, a bakery owned by Osono and her husband Fukuo. She comes into contact with a lot of people while on deliveries; including Tombo, a local boy who is crazy about aviation; Madame, an old wealthy woman who lives alone with her maid Barsa, and Ursula, a young painter who lives in the forest. Even though Kiki's life is more smooth since she has the delivery service and the company of her friends, she still has trouble fitting in with most of the city children, culminating in a bout of depression that deprives her of her powers, including the ability to talk to Jiji. With the help of her friend Ursula though, Kiki is able to regain her powers in a clutch time situation.
Story: 10/10
The coming of age and time for independence comes in everyone's lives, big or small. That is what makes this story so easy to relate to. Kiki's journey is not smooth, nor is it incredibly rough, mirroring a lot of the challenges that people face in our world, including the adjustment to independent life, belonging in new foreign places, and finding a purpose so we can work towards our goals. The supporting cast of Kiki's friends also work well here, enhancing Kiki's story rather than taking the spotlight, making for a balanced film that is both funny and serious as the situation demands. The incorporation of witches and magic in a city life also allows a nice contrast between this film and other witch related films which tend to be limited to rural towns that are far away from urban centres. I also liked the complication of the story being a bout of depression and loss of purpose as I feel that many people face this on an everyday basis. Sure, we might not have magic to bail us out on a broomstick, but watching this film has always inspired me to continue to pursue my goals.
Animation: 9.5/10
I feel the animation for Kiki's Delivery Service is of the high standard that Studio Ghibli has continued to bring to it's audience. Released only a year after My Neighbour Totoro, the storyboard for Kiki's Delivery service was completed by Hayao Miyazaki himself. Being that modern animation techniques had not been developed yet, I feel the animation is fairly modern for the era that it was released in. Furthermore, seeing the towns that "Koriko" was modeled on, I can understand the attention spent on the smaller details such as the types of buildings and styles of architecture in the animation.
Music: 9.5/10
Kiki's Delivery Service has a different musical feel to the other Studio Ghibli films we've covered so far in that there is a more modern opening song with a jazzy feel and lyrics. Furthermore, there is a more modern pop vibe. Being that the city Kiki stays in is a port city, the music kind of has that coastal city vibe too. A personal favourite of mine that I've featured down below in the customary video section is "A Town with An Ocean View", performed by Joe Hisaishi and his team. However, the lighter musical vibe does not take away from the music's delivery as all the background music for scenes that make the other films perfect is just as present in Kiki's Delivery Service. Being that it is less of a serious film than Castle in the Sky, there is a lighter tone to much of the music, although not to the level of My Neighbour Totoro. As with the other films, the musical accompaniment to scene types are very appropriate, silly and weird sounds for comedic scenes, and somber music during Kiki's bout of depression. Another overall great effort by Joe Hisaishi and his team!
Overall: 10/10
Kiki's Delivery Service nets a 10/10 in my opinion, simply because of how easily the story and it's characters can be related to. Full of relevant themes that reach even today's society such as belonging, maturity, growth and independence, as well as the importance of making the right friends, the film is an absolute gem. Supported by the high standards of Studio Ghibli's trademark animation style and orchestra, Kiki's Delivery Service delivers yet another great animation for the ages. A personal favourite of mine, I highly recommend watching it!
Why not soak in the sounds of this beautiful song from the film, "A Town with an Ocean View"?
