409. Kiki’s Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便) (1989)

Starring: Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Running Time: 103 mins

Kiki’s Delivery Service is a Japanese film about a young witch who leaves home to be on her own, and after moving to a nearby town, she sets up a delivery service where she uses her flying broomstick to deliver and do good deeds around town.

This is one of the nicest, most pleasant films I’ve ever seen, with a feel-good, heartwarming story, the usual beautiful animation and delightful atmosphere, which made this film very entertaining to watch indeed.

I thought that the idea of this film was not only happy, but very interesting as well. It showed fantastically how hard it can be to settle into a new society (especially if you’re a witch), and this story showed how to conquer those difficulties, making it both happy and inspiring.

I also loved the characters in this film. Obviously, the cynical cat was great comedic value, but Kiki was presented as such a kind and happy person that it was so easy to support her all the way through, and as very little bad happened to her throughout, I ended up grinning from ear to ear for nearly an hour on end.

As with many other Studio Ghibli films, the story and atmosphere was extremely serene, making this film very relaxing to watch, with no tiring parts whatsoever. The only bad thing about this film was that it was at points so serene and quiet, that it did become just a little bit boring, as barely anything happens in terms of drama throughout the movie, but nonetheless, it’s a hugely entertaining and delightful film to watch on the whole, so that’s why it gets a 7.7 from me.