Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki’s Delivery Service (Majo no Takkyūbin) was first brought to the screen in 1989 by the famous Studio Ghibli. The movie was written and directed by one of their most famous, Hayao Miyazaki. Kiki’s delivery service became extremely famous when Studio Ghibli made their deal with Walt Disney Studios in 1997. Kiki’s Delivery Service was one of the first movies that was released due to the deal and was very influential in bringing enjoyable anime movies to the masses.

Synopsis

Kiki’s Delivery Service is about a 13 year-old witch. Kiki lives in a small village with her mother, a sometimes-successful herbalist. According to witch tradition, Kiki must leave her family to go to a new town and live on her own for a year. If she does this, she will be considered a full witch. Kiki grabs her broom, and her faithful cat Jiji, who she can talk to, and heads for a new town.

Kiki and Jiji end up in Koriko, a quaint seaside village. She soon realizes that she will need to earn money, and opens up a delivery service. She figures that because she can fly, she will be able to run a delivery service with ease. She comes up against problems, though, and realizes that it is not quite as easy as she believed it would be.

In the midst of her loneliness and homesickness, Kiki meets Tombo. At first Kiki thinks tombo is ridiculous, but slowly she begins to warm to him. Tombo has a huge love of flying, which is right up Kiki’s alley. As time passes the two come to care for each other. It also happens that Kiki starts to ignore her powers and they eventually disappear. Kiki is distraught, but luckily her friend, Ursula, helps her find her inspiration to do magic again. It is when Tombo winds up in trouble and Kiki is the only one that can help him, though, that she finds the ability to be a true witch. After saving Tombo, Kiki finds herself a celebrity in her new little town, and also finds that she is truly at home.

Voices

• Kiki – Kirsten Dunst
• Tombo Kopoli – Matthew Lawrence
• Jiji – Phil Hartman
• Ursula – Janeane Garofalo
• Madame Oku-sama – Debbie Reynolds

Misc Info

Kiki’s Delivery Service was, sadly, the last voice performance that Phil Hartman did before he was murdered. In the end credits, there is a tribute for him.

Characters

• Kiki – A teenaged witch that is learning to fully use her powers and must spend a year on her own to do so.

• Jiji – Kiki’s pet cat. He and Kiki have a close bond and can speak and understand one another.

• Tombo Kopoli – Kiki’s first friend in her new town. He loves flying and at first is obsessed with Kiki because she can fly.

• Osono – She runs the bakery that Kiki works as a delivery person for. She is the first one in town to show Kiki any kindness.

• Ursula – An older artist that befriends Kiki and becomes the source of finding her inspiration when she loses her magical abilities.