This article brought to you by Mercy Air
Article by Nathan Hurlbut
Japan’s Studio Ghibli is responsible for some of the most beloved animated movies of the past four decades. Titles like Spirited Away (2001), Princess Mononoke (1997), and My Neighbor Totoro (1988) remain worthy of revisiting to marvel at the quality of their imaginative storytelling and Ghibli’s distinctive animation style.
An early entry in their seminal canon is Kiki’s Delivery Service from 1989, and it remains a classic thirty years later. Along with the aforementioned Totoro released the year before, these films helped usher in the studio’s golden age and reveal to the world back in the late 1980’s that Ghibli was a force to be reckoned with.
The movie tells the story of a 13-year-old young witch named Kiki who, according to tradition, must leave her home to find her way in the world. Expected to discover an unfamiliar town in which to settle for an entire year, Kiki ends up in a big city where she quickly learns that life is drastically different from the rural home where she grew up.
Having no place to stay and becoming despondent, a chance occurrence helping bakery shopkeeper Osono return a pacifier to a distraught infant sparks an idea. Kiki is given a place to stay and a steady job at Osono’s bakery, while together they work to build a delivery service courtesy of Kiki’s broom-flying abilities. Kiki soon finds the responsibilities of real life in the big city has many unique challenges, and the pains of growing up soon become her constant companion as she makes her journey towards adulthood.
Unlike many animated movies in which characters live in an idealized bubble and take on overly cutesy characteristics, Kiki’s Delivery Service is more firmly grounded in real world qualities. Kiki is no adulterated young character that acts far beyond her years. Despite taking on responsibilities far greater than many young teenagers, she frequently acts very much like a 13-year-old. She makes the kind of mistakes that, through her own ingenuity and fortitude, prove to be life lessons, and help build her personal confidence in the process.
Along with these realistic qualities, the movie simultaneously possesses the fantastical elements that the art of animation itself makes possible. Kiki soaring through the skies atop her mother’s broom is visually breathtaking, and Kiki’s sense of wonder at it all mirrors our own. Meanwhile, later in the movie, a dirigible accident and subsequent rescue attempt by Kiki as she reclaims her flying abilities in fairly erratic fashion is rendered both viscerally thrilling and visually spectacular.
Even the most minor of characters here is given a rewarding attention to detail, transforming every one of the story’s participants into a fully realized individual. A fellow young witch that Kiki meets early in her journey may only appear onscreen for a few minutes, but makes a memorable impression with her snobbishly arrogant characteristics. This minor character works on many levels, as she foreshadows the challenges and attitudes Kiki will meet in the bigger cities, while also giving Kiki’s constant companion pet cat Jiji the opportunity for yet another amusing bit of commentary, this time loaded with unmistakable disdain.
It’s typical of how all the characters are drawn here with imaginative detail, whether its Osono’s pregnancy, or her friend Tombo’s interest in marrying biking and aviation. Even the unappreciative attitude her delivery recipients express when Kiki arrives with another package helps create a constantly surprising storyline that breathes life into the movie and makes it both engaging and enchanting.
Best of all, watching Kiki struggle with the demands of an independent life at such a young age proves to be a universal theme to which any viewer can relate. The movie’s artist character of Ursula proves to be an important mentor for Kiki, and their growing friendship allows Kiki to express her doubts and fears to an older role model while learning from Ursula’s own experiences. The way Kiki subsequently overcomes the obstacles in her own life isn’t sugarcoated either, and her resilience and determination prove to be a crucial ingredient to her coming-of-age story. It makes Kiki’s Delivery Service a moving tale of self-reliance and any adult can relate to and any young person can find inspiring.
Kiki’s Delivery Service is playing at the Regal San Bernardino & RPX Movie Theater in San Bernardino for four days only starting Sunday July 28th as part of their ongoing Ghibli Fest 2019 series. It is rated G.