Club Ghibli #5 - Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

[Diddy]

I bestowed the power of selection to our dear sister @Queen of the Bells 🔔 and asked her to follow her heart to our next Ghibli delight. As it is written, so it shall be done.

So LET'S HAVE A KIKI with "Kiki's Delivery Service", or “魔女の宅急便” (lit. Witch Delivery Service)

One of the more beloved Ghibli movies has long had a large following in the US, with it being the first Ghibli dub to make it over there in the late 90s. It, of course, did great business back in Japan, becoming the biggest grossing film of 1989 and critical plaudits (also 98% on Rotten Tomatoes).

We join young witch Kiki as she comes of age, and fearlessly decides to leave home to make something of herself in the world. In the bustling port city of Koriko we follow her trials, tribulations and possible sapphic undertones in her new environment, along with her companion cat Jiji.

 

[Diddy]

Oops, forgot to harass everyone - Also please watch my latest Youtube, it's flopping hard thanks
@Christian @Gangsta Baby @cheap lousy jiva @COBsus of Nazareth @Haiku @BlitzenGiraffe🎄 @Ludolph @KindaCool @Queen of the Bells 🔔 @Holly @PranceRJN @DingDong Beverley On High @You Butter Watch Out @Mats @big rondeer @HerSereneHighnessAnniFrid

 

[Lucille]

Well this was… cute!



The city was beautiful and the urban dirigible disaster in the third act was not what I thought was coming! Shoutout to the grandma who got off on terror.

It was an enjoyable watch despite/maybe because of the lack of action, and was a nice bit of pleasant escapism from the HELL we’re living in.

 

[Lucille]

Is there much more to add!?! I eagerly await others thoughts!

 

[Peekaboo]

My favourite film of all time, I think. It's a TOSS UP between this and Cabaret when I want to be cheered up. It speaks to me on so many levels!

I'm not going to write a whole ESSAY on it, but I'd like to share some DISCUSSION POINTS that make me ADORE this film.

- It's essentially a film about how a little part of you dies when you leave childhood and your cat STOPS SPEAKING TO YOU, but that if you look really hard inside yourself you can still find that feeling
- How Miyazaki manages to get FLYING ACTION SEQUENCES even in this film
- Love the heavy COPENHAGEN VIBE they're going for with this town
- The fact that the film kind of fails the reverse Bechdel test is All the important characters are WOMEN and no one wastes a second talking about BOYS
- The only boy in it is SWEET and SUPPORTIVE and the KNIGHT IN DISTRESS. Just perfect.
- In fact, there's a whole LESBONIC READING of this film (the witches that live together and the painter that takes TEEN GIRLS into her woods cabin to get INSPIRED ) and how it really is about a girl coming to terms with being a LEZZER
- The whole sequence in the cabin where Kiki confesses her fears is WONDERFUL. The little speech about being true to oneself instead of trying to copy someone else's style. Also, "we fly with our spirit"
- I love that, when Kiki gets her flying powers back, they're kinda shit She's lost her raw talent, but it will always stay with her in whatever botched form

 

[Peekaboo]

Is there much more to add!?! I eagerly await others thoughts!

Did you watch it dubbed? I get the feeling you may have as many of the best things in this film are REWRITTEN in the English script! Also Jiji NEVER TALKS TO KIKI AGAIN AFTER HE STOPS even though they added some lines in the American dub RUINING THE WHOLE POINT OF THE FILM!!!

 

[Diddy]

Is there much more to add!?! I eagerly await others thoughts!

Lucy saying “I think we are all done here” and Peeka cracks his knuckles

 

[Diddy]

Btw while there are a few eyeballs here, if you need a Christmas movie, I HIGHLY recommend Tokyo Godfathers which has just been put on Netflix.

It is NOT anything to do with the mafia FYI.

 

[Diddy]

@Peekaboo I think Kiki is based on an actual city in Sweden - Gotland. Plus a pinch of Stockholm too. My friend went there with his family

I love that in a lot of anime, there are real locations you can check out

 

[Lucille]

Not that it matters but the painting was awful.

 

[Lucille]

Yes I watched the dubbed version, I was very happy when the cat spoke again and my heart would’ve BROKE if he didn’t

 

[Peekaboo]

Not that it matters but the painting was awful.

It's a real painting made by special needs children from a Japanese school.

 

[Diddy]

It's a real painting made by special needs children from a Japanese school.

Oh no wonder then

 

[Lucille]

It's a real painting made by special needs children from a Japanese school.

STOP IT!

 

[Peekaboo]

It's true

 

[Lucille]

OMG

 

[Soldi]

Poor ableist Lucy

 

[Diddy]

I’m sure fussy old Miyazaki determined to make everything perfect, saw the painting that had to be included and went
Possibly with a nosebleed

 

[Saltwater]

Just watched this. Overall i think this is a lot simpler than Laputa or Spirited Away and therefore accessible to any age of viewers. Apart from the coming of age theme and the believe in yourself that is felt through, i think the film also repeatedly conveys the message that it's ok to let people/cats go and respect their choices if that's what makes them happy and full even if you'll miss them terribly. Although there were many times that i've worried about Kiki my fears were never confirmed and the whole universe of the film was full of kindness and nobility throughout. There were also many funny moments that i thoroughly enjoyed and every character was loveable (well except the mean rich girls). The animation is grabbing you from the start, and the ocean town is gorgeous in a way that i guess is very familiar to all of us. It reminded me of several past vacations to similar looking towns. Kiki's kindness and sense of justice and the kindness of everyone she met and the companionship of Jiji made me want to snuggle and cuddle my cat throughout. But it also made me feel guilty for neutering her at the end with those scenes that Jiji had babies with that other cat. But yes this is another 10 for Studio Diddy.

 

[Diddy]

I really DID mean to do another one of these earlier, but it'll have a wait a BIT more. I did watch it last night, thought to follow

I cried twice

 

[Diddy]

RIGHT
Well as I said I cried twice - once at the start when the dad was hugging her as she was going to leave. I wonder why I felt so moved by that scene - What can I possibly relate to about having to tell your parents you are suddenly going to leave and move far away to try a new job in a strange new town, with basically only one skill, and be lonely except for a few homosexuals? The fact that the parents just accept it was lovely, and made me wish I'd that had experience.

Kiki is lovable, God these characters are all so wonderful. I mean if it had been a western movie Kiki would be a whiny bitch. Instead, as usual it's a lot more pragmatic about growing up.
I didn't really get why she was always such a cunt to Tombo though.

Scenery - STUN
Music - STUN
Subtitles - SHIT - I watch with the japanese voices and english subtitles but they were WAY off. I'm not talking nuances, they were just saying totally separate things several times! It's not even a lost in translation thing.

The supporting characters were great, the baking mama, her beefy daddy, the sweet old lady, BERTHA wanking off over blimp crashes, Tombo wiggling his sweet can in her face

Oh and the second time I cried was when Kiki rescues him from the BLIMP CRASH - I don't know why, something about everyone celebrating was just so Japanese and touching and corny and lovely. WHY was there a blimp crash?

I admit my attention did wane a little bit, I was a bit restless to get other things done, and I HAVE seen this loads of times, but by the end I was back on board.

 

[Saltwater]

I've said it again but I think letting people go and put yourself a little further back so they can grow is central to the movie.
There's a nobility in doing so, and these characters are doing it so naturally cause they're exactly so noble and humble in their core.

 

[HerSereneHighnessAnniFrid]

OMG @Peekaboo I love your analysis - but will throw my thruppence in to add no particular value other than: I LOVE THIS FILM WITH ALL MY HEART. It could only ever be a 10!

For me, Kiki is the most balanced Ghibli film and I think its relative simplicity is what makes it so special and affecting. Whenever I get a cold, I watch Kiki. Whenever I lose hope or confidence, I watch Kiki. Whenever I need to cry but not kill myself (Fireflies), KIKI!

It’s the most restoring Ghibli film as it doesn’t stray too far into the magical or fantastical - it keeps its feet firmly on the ground. She is by far my favourite heroine because her witchcraft isn’t the thing that makes her valuable: she is hard working, quietly determined, independent, adventurous and really, really nice. She loves helping people. I also love that she is so accepting of being a witch, and that she knows she just has to ‘go’ to find out what this means. On her way, she makes the mistake of trying to do as much as she can by herself or taking too much on, and then ends up getting sick.

And for obvious reasons the baker’s husband is an absolute joy in every scene. My favourite incidental moments are the character insights you get with him twirling the bread trays, making the bread logo for Kiki, and winking at Jiji. It’s like he’s mastered his own little version of witchcraft in being a baker - he is so content in life and really knows who he is. Plus he is SO BEEFY he screams bara fantasy, what a gorgeous HUNK and he’s into a curvier lass. Love it.

 

[Diddy]

Plus he is SO BEEFY he screams bara fantasy, what a gorgeous HUNK and he’s into a curvier lass. Love it.

EVERYTHING YOU SAID BUT I ESPECIALLY SCREAMED AT THIS

 

[Diddy]

I’m happy but I really didn’t think this film would be the one to really flip everyone’s wigs

Hard to follow up on that, but dear sister Haiku has picked the next one. Maybe I should just do Earthsea now as a sacrifice

 

[Beverley]

Watched this tonight, finally - my first every Ghibli film. It was really, really lovely. Charming, funny and aesthetically beautiful.

 

[Diddy]

Watched this tonight, finally - my first every Ghibli film. It was really, really lovely. Charming, funny and aesthetically beautiful.

Your first one? I’ve been hassling you forever well, you made it
Spirited away or Only Yesterday next!

 

[Beverley]

Your first one? I’ve been hassling you forever well, you made it
Spirited away or Only Yesterday next!

I planned to watch them all over Christmas with my brother, and somehow we only managed one - the day we went back to work.