Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7888 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-02-27
• Rating: Universal, suitable for all
• Formats: Animated, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 104 minutes

Customer Reviews

Touching story, plush animation and lovely music
One of the loveliest of Studio Ghibli's films. It's a gentle film, very pleasing for children, but there is still something sinister going on in the subtext. One of the old ladies looks and sounds suspiciously like a proper Miyazaki witch (see Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle). It is when Kiki visits her that her powers start to ebb away. Only on her second visit to do they return. On the surface, though, the ebb and flow of Kiki's powers is determined by her levels of self-cofidence and self-belief.

Kiki never reaches the heights of Totoro, Princess Mononoke or Spirited Away, but the touching coming-of-age story, plush animation and lovely music make it more than a solid offering from director Miyazaki.

A broom, a blimp, and a cute sarcastic cat!
This isn't the strongest of Ghibli fare, but maybe that's because studio Ghibli have produced some absolutely corking films. The cat Jiji, and Kiki herself are great characters, but I didn't warm as much to the others.

The story tells of how the 13 year old witch Kiki comes of age and leaves her home to spend a year away. I don't think "the city" is ever given a name, but it certainly looks like a European city. Here she finds a place to stay and gets herself an admirer.

The film is as stunning as you'd expect from a Ghibli film, in fact, this is the most impressive Ghibli film I've seen - visually speaking. I felt that the film set up characters but never utilised them as well as it could have done (the spoilt child being the most obvious). But I still very much enjoyed the film. It has an innocent charm which warms the hackles and a pleasant soundtrack.

The film deals with the isolation and the feeling of being an outsider. Kiki is a strong young woman, but essentially still a vulnerable child. The final dramatic scenes in the film test Kiki's self confidence and cement her relationship with a local boy. I think children of around Kiki's age will get a lot from this film as they may be able to identify with her feeling of never quite fitting in, the way she sees herself as ugly compared to how she views others. As an audience we see that wearing fancy frocks does not make the person a good one, it's an old cliché but the "real beauty is on the inside" ethos is presented in this film without being too obvious or preachy about it.

In a nutshell: I'd give this film 3.5 stars if I could, but on balance I'll give it 4 as the aesthetics are far superior to those of many other animated films, and although I didn't enjoy it as much as other Ghibli films I can see that others could get a lot from it. This initially appeared as only `average', but on reflection, maybe it is something that bit special.

Kiki's delivery service
Kiki's delivery service is another charming and warm film from the excellent studio Ghibli. It follows a witch as she tries to go it alone in the wider world and looks at the friends she makes and the adventures she has. It isn't as surreal as other Ghibli films, such as 'Spirited Away' or 'Porco Rosso', but it does have the usual high class animation. Even scenes without any major benefit to the story are rendered so beautifully that every second of the film is a delight to watch. This film would be great for kids as it's light to watch and not overly long, yet it has more than enough to delight an adult audience as well. I am biased, in that I adore Ghibli films, but this is a superb film to while away your time with and a joy to behold. Highly recommended.