Kiki's Delivery Service - NR

A mystical, positive take on girls' coming of age.

Rating: NR for Not Rated Studio: Buena Vista Home Entertainment Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Debbie Reynolds, Phil Hartman Running Time: 105 minutes Release Date: 04/15/2003 Genre: Family and Kids

Common Sense Note

Parents should know this film shows a 13-year-old girl coming of age and coping with the accompanying loss of self-esteem (in this case magical powers). She has much support and weathers the transition well, however.

Families who watch this video may want to discuss Kiki's character. How does she compare to other characters in animated movies? What -- or who -- helps her come to terms with her loss?

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Brian Camp

A coming-of-age tale about a 13-year-old witch, this English-dubbed version of one of Japan's most beloved animated features is rendered with imagination, whimsy, and heartfelt care.

Kiki (voiced by Kirsten Dunst) follows family tradition and settles for a year in a foreign city to serve as resident witch. She makes friends, finds room and board, and uses her broom-flying ability to launch a delivery service. A boy her age, the aviation buff Tombo (Matthew Laurence), develops a crush on her.

As she approaches puberty, Kiki begins to lose her powers. She strikes up a chance friendship with an older girl, the artist Ursula (Janeane Garofalo), who helps Kiki weather her loss of confidence. When a dirigible accident puts Tombo in danger, Kiki must summon up all of her powers to save her friend.

A huge box office hit in Japan, Kiki's Delivery Service is the first film by celebrated animator Hayao Miyazaki to become available in the U.S.; it's part of a deal struck between Disney and Miyazaki's studio. This English-dubbed version, released straight-to-video, benefits from well-cast celebrity voices, including Phil Hartman (as Kiki's wisecracking black cat Jiji) and Debbie Reynolds.

Kiki is set in a large European metropolis (an amalgam of Stockholm and other cities) in a time period suggesting the 1950s. The attention to detail, particularly in the scenes of Kiki flying over the city streets, rivals that of many a bigger-budgeted Disney feature. Such detail provides important background as small-town girl Kiki gradually acclimates herself to this new, bewildering environment.

The film also realistically treats Kiki's growing pains, as she copes with the twin problems of independence and peer group relations. This accounts, in part, for the film's enthusiastic reception by so many young viewers.

The Disney version's only serious flaw is the replacement of the Japanese original's delightful opening and closing songs with new, less catchy English-language ones.

Fans of this one should immediately seek out an earlier Miyazaki release in English; My Neighbor Totoro offers a gentle and lush tale of two sisters who move to the Japanese countryside and encounter a family of mythical forest creatures. Spirited Away also shows a young girl finding her way in a mystical and sometimes scary land.

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