Film Forum

Japan, 1989
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki
Subtitled version starring Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Keiko Toda, Kappei Yamaguchi
English version starring Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, Tress MacNeille, Janeane Garofalo
Approx. 103 min.

“Leaving home at 13 to find her way in the world, plucky witch Kiki heads for a nearby port town with her cat Jiji and sets up a broomstick delivery company that’s an instant hit with the locals. So far, so sweet-but-predictable – if we were in Disney’s world, that’d be the extent of Kiki’s personal growth, and that’d be fine. But this is Miyazaki’s world, where things go a little deeper. So, following a bout of illness, Kiki struggles with depression, loses her powers and must search for a new purpose in life. As a story about how hard it is to make your own way in the world, Kiki’s Delivery Service is truthful and scalpel-sharp. That it manages all this while remaining consistently funny, optimistic and exciting – even for little ones – is a mark of Miyazaki’s genius.” – Tom Huddleston, Time Out

Presented with support from The Ada Katz Fund for Literature in Film and The Reginald S. Reinhardt, Ling-Makekau Fund for Asia-Pacific Films

Reviews

“Much of Kiki’s charm comes from Miyazaki’s understated approach to the material… [he] leads the audience into the story with unobtrusive grace. Only Miyazaki would open a film with a girl quietly lying amid flowers, listening to the radio; only Miyazaki could make such a low-key beginning work.”
– IndieWire