Kiki’s Delivery Service
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki (宮崎 駿)
1989, 103 minutes
2013 DVD and Blu Ray Double Play edition – Japanese and English language also with English Subtitles
Review by Lucy Searles
Kiki’s Delivery Service is, for the first time, being released by Studio Canal in high definition Blu – Ray and DVD Double Play format which allows everyone to watch this magical tale in the fantastic high quality such a wonderfully animated film deserves. The story is based on a Japanese children’s book written in 1985 by Eiko Kadono (角野 栄子) and was adapted by the master of animation Hayao Miyazaki in 1989. Like his more well known animations Spirited Away and Ponyo, the English release benefits from a brilliant voice cast – including Kirsten Dunst as the character of the gutsy witch Kiki, which means that even for the anime purists, watching the English dubbed version of the film is highly enjoyable.
The plot of the film is quite simple and it feels like very little happens until about half way through, the first part of the film just focusing on young Kiki settling into a new town for her witch training. Leaving home at thirteen, as all young witches must, Kiki finds herself in a huge and unfamiliar town and must abandon all the callings of typical teenage life. Kiki longingly looks at beautiful dresses and shoes and enviously watches the young girls at parties and struggles to reconcile her new working life with her desires to be a teenager. The film really reflects what it feels like to be teenager and what it is like to grow up, showing someone trying to cover the gap of no longer being a child but not quite an adult yet. Kiki is always longing to be accepted by the town and by the people around her, and at first feels like she can’t. Its only as she starts meeting people and making friends who believe in her throughout the film that you see her coming to accept who and what she is.
There is still something captivating about the film, as you watch a young girl struggle to grow up and adapt to a new life, and how she triumphs and overcomes the difficulties she faces. The film is filled with feel good messages about life, and shows that through strength of spirit, good friends and hard work even the impossible can be accomplished. When the main drama of the film begins, you have already invested so much in Kiki that you feel personally connected to her struggles and find yourself cheering her on. The character of her little black cat Jiji is incredibly cute, although I must confess to preferring the Japanese voice of the cat rather than the English voice, his cute appearance is countered by his sarcastic and cynical nature, making him a perfect balance to the kind hearted Kiki. Jiji provides a lot of the comedy in the film, and has some fantastic one liners that are amusing for both adults and children.
The animation is, as to be expected from Studio Ghibli, fantastic. Beautiful views of the European looking seaside town that Kiki moves to, wonderful shots of the ocean and Kiki skimming above it. My personal favourite scenes are when Kiki is caught in the rain, the carefully changing colour of the dress and the image of the rain are incredibly realistic, and watching in the high definition provided by the blu ray really brings out the vibrant colours.
The special features on the new release are brilliant for die hard anime fans, with several discussing the voice recording, the storyline and the animation techniques used throughout the making of Kiki. A particularly lovely feature only available on the new release is the interview with the producer, who discusses what it was like to work with Miyazaki – an interview that many fans will no doubt be eager to hear. My particular favourite is the section Kiki and Jiji which examines the animation in drawing the two main characters – from their conception to the final product in the film and looks at how the two characters interact. Even the interactive DVD menus have a nice charm to them, with gentle background noises rather than overly repetitive music and sweet little animated broom sticks. Overall each new feature revealing the work behind the release is fascinating, but it is a shame there is nothing for the younger watchers of the dvd, as all the extras are in japanese with English subtitles. This, however, is a minor issue and overall the new features are a wonderful insight into the operating of the famous animation house.
For those less interested in the art form of anime itself some of the features may not seem very appealing, but the inclusion of both Ghibli and Kiki film trailers means there is something for those who are perhaps new to Miyazaki’s work. The film reel includes sneak peeks of new releases and the trailers of a few Ghibli classics which will without doubt inspire new watchers to join the Ghibli fan club.
Kiki’s Delivery Service is a great film for both adults and children, and this new release is a perfect addition to any Studio Ghibli fan’s collection. Available to own from the 1st July.