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Kiki's Delivery Service Actor: Minami Takayama Director: Hayao Miyazaki Number of Items: 2 Picture Format: Anamorphic Widescreen Format: Animated, Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby Audience Rating: G (General Audience) Running Time: 105 minutes Studio: Walt Disney Home Video Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 Region Code: 1 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2003-04-15 Buy from Amazon |
 "4.5 stars: very good, but not Miyazaki's best"I must agree with several other reviewers who take stars away from "Kiki's Delivery Service". Without a doubt, it is not Miyazaki's best (to this day, among the ones I have seen, that honor goes to "Spirited Away"). Perhaps it's not a coincidence given that it is an adaptation, instead of an original script written by him, as it is usual with him. However, this movie is far from bad. Indeed, it's just a tad less fantastic than most of his other classics, and it doesn't deal with ghosts or spirits, nor does it deal with the traditional environmental topic, which is so common in his movies. This is the story of a young witch (Kiki) who turned 13, which meant that her time to leave her parents' home had arrived, so that she could get trained. She finds the place of her dreams in a sea town which reminds every bit of small city by the French Riviera. There she wins the hearts of the townpeople and finds great uses for her magical talents. As with other Miyazaki movies, the music by Joe Hisaishi is fantastic and the animated landscapes are breathtaking. While not his best work, I still loved it and I give it 4.5 stars.  "Charming"I got Kiki as part of the Miyazaki 6 pack offering and left it for last. I was put off by the idea of making a witch a heroine. As a Christian I don't believe in playing footsies with the demonic spirit world. But I like Miyazaki and gave it a try. It was a pleasant surprise to find that Kiki is a witch in name only, i.e. she flies on a broom. However in every other way this film belongs to the realm of light. Unlike Harry Potter which is suffused with evil, Kiki is a delightfully innocent story, touching and uplifting. Highly recommended. "Kiki the Witch.....here ye come"What can i say, Hayao Miyazaki mastery did it again with Kiki's Delivery Service. This is such a charming film where the characters are so adoring that you want everything to go well with Kiki, who still learning the craft while living in a new town delivering food for the town folks. But noOooooOOoooOOOoo, things do get in her way like her being sick from a delivery in the rain.....aaawwWwWwWWww so cute. I won't give the story away but i just loOoOoovvvee watching this movie. I cry sooOoOoOOooOoo much too....like you didnt know it was coming LOL. Watch the visual here. Look closely at the cobberstones and tell me if they don't look enthentic. Look at the cool sky and the breezy wind blowing....it look so much like the real things. I can feel the wind by watching it blow. The colors are blended so well in making this movie that major kudos goes to the coloring cel department. This is not pokeman we are talking here...its better, much much better. Anyways, this is a must watch if you enjoy animation at its best. I would recommend renting this for the kids and the kids in all of us. Kiki will thank you too :) "One of the best children's films I've ever seen"I was first introduced to the work of Hayao Miyazaki three years ago, when Spirited Away came to my local cinema as an "arthouse" feature. I instantly fell in love with his complex and believable characters and his grand animation style, and I've been a devoted fan ever since, having now seen six of the director's films. Kiki's Delivery Service just happens to be one of my all-time favorite films. I waited a while to see it, dismissing it as a "pedestrian" Miyazaki film - I thought a G-rated film for teenage girls couldn't possibly have the gravity and realism of his more epic features. I was most pleasantly surprised, therefore, when I finally purchased the DVD, brought it home, and watched it. KIKI is a beautiful motion picture in every sense. The animation is stunning, as Miyazaki's animation almost always is; and the characters are as convincing and real as those in a Dostoevsky novel, and much more charming to boot. Kiki is a well-adjusted and intelligent, but average-looking and never sappily cute, thirteen-year-old girl, easy to sympathize with, and watching her grow through experiencing independence is a joy. The attention to detail is nothing short of astonishing - the opening sequence with the wind gently blowing through the grass shows an awareness and love of nature; and we see perfect reflections in little rain puddles. The story is just as real and engaging: like "Spirited Away," it is a film about surviving on your own and believing in yourself, which is such a nice change from the "fight the bad guys and rid the world of evil" plot that plagues so many American children's films. The film's only real flaw isn't in the feature itself, but in the translation. I first watched it in subtitled Japanese - the actors give lots of nuance to their characters, and we are able to appreciate the quiet moments in life as well as the more active ones. The subtitles aren't as accurate as they could be - I distinctly heard the word "koohii" ("coffee") when the subtitles said "hot cocoa" - but they sure beat the dubbed version. This edition, like the other Disney/Ghibli films, suffers from Disney's apparent need to fill every moment of the film with dialogue. The character of Jiji, Kiki's faithful black cat, is changed completely, from meek and soft-spoken to obnoxiously chatty. His added dialogue is neither cute nor funny - just plain annoying. None of the English-language voices had any sort of subtlety, but Phil Hartman as Jiji was probably the worst offender. At the risk of sounding like an utter snob, I will admit that I only got through about half of the dub before turning it off. However, I will also admit that the dub is more than acceptable for younger audiences who don't know Japanese and won't be able to appreciate a subtitlted version. But that is a minor complaint, really; for Kiki's Delivery Service is gorgeous to look at no matter what language you choose, and the story is the same. If you have young ones, this is a must-have; and if you are able to appreciate simplicity, beauty, and the slower-paced moments in life, then you will absolutely love it. "Pure magic"According to tradition, when a witch turns thirteen, she must venture out on her own and try to make her way in the world. So Kiki leaves her home in the country with her black cat Jiji for the big city. But what can a young witch with no special skills do to find her place? KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, originally released in 1989, is a charming story told with gorgeous animation and art. It was the first film by Hayao Miyazaki that I saw, and it's still my favorite. I love spending time with the characters in the city, which although a bustling place, retains its village-like atmosphere. I always enjoy revisiting it. Although all Miyazaki films are generally suitable for the whole family, I'd recommend this (as well as MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO) for younger viewers especially, as it is not frightening or as intense (or as heavily-themed) as PRINCESS MONONOKE or HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE, for example. The film appears on the DVD in both the original Japanese language, and an English dialogue version. The English dub is fairly well-done (with voices provided by Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, Debbie Reynolds, Matthew Lawrence and Janeane Garofalo) but for some reason the American producers felt the need to add an obscene amount of extra dialogue for Jiji (the late Hartman's role.) Apparently they thought American audiences couldn't bear scenes where people weren't talking, so the character is saddled with a lot of gratuitous commentary which is intended to be humorous but isn't. I call it Disney sidekick syndrome. It's very distracting, and the film suffers for it. I don't blame the actor - he was just doing his job - but for this reason I don't recommend watching the movie in English. Apart from that, this is a rather nice package. There is a "Behind the Microphone" feature with Dunst, Hartman and Lawrence, original Japanese trailers, previews for other Studio Ghibli, Disney and Pixar films, and an introduction by Pixar's John Lasseter. The film is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16x9 television sets. The English soundtrack is in 5.1 stereo. The Japanese is in standard stereo, but the world is so alive you won't notice. The second disc contains the storyboards for the entire film and you can watch them with the Japanese or English soundtrack. I don't think I'd ever view the whole thing from start to finish, but it is interesting to poke around in. This is a beautiful, magical film, with wholesome lessons for the kids (if you're concerned about that sort of thing) that should delight anyone who appreciates the art of animation. Five stars for the original movie, maybe one less for the slightly less than wonderful English version. From someone who has watched a lot of animation, Japanese and otherwise, I can't recommend this film highly enough. |
