released 10 feb 05 / last mod 01 jun 07 / greg goebel / public domain
* At the beginning of Hayao Miyazaki's animated movie KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, we meet Kiki, an adolescent witch in a world that looks like some sort of quaint small European country, with an odd mix of prewar and postwar technology. Witches and sorcerers are respected elements of this society, providing many useful services to the public, and part of the tradition of the witches is for the youngsters to go out in the world and perform a period of service.
Kiki's skills are limited, but she goes to the city and uses the only real talent she has, riding a broomstick, to set up a delivery service, meeting a lot of people and some fun boys in the course of her business. KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE follows her through her adventures.
There's not much more to the story than that, but it's really about as much as is needed. KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE is an amicable, well-crafted movie for kids that adults can still enjoy, coming across as something like a 1950s / early 1960s Euro movie for kids, and showing a lot of influence of the famous European TINTIN comic series. It also showcases Miyazaki's unique artwork style, and his fascination with flying machines (which I just happen to share).
This movie is not in a league with later Miyazaki heavyweights such as PRINCESS MONONOKE or SPIRITED AWAY in terms of production, and certainly does not have the deft but definitely serious parables of his later works. However, KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE still remains a colorful, cheery, first-class production for its time, and if it's really just for fun -- well, it definitely succeeds in being fun. Highly recommended.