Kiki's Delivery Service
In exchange for accommodation, Kiki helps Osono, the kindly owner of a bakery. She opens a business delivering goods by broomstick - the "Witch Delivery Service". Her first delivery goes badly; she is caught in wind and loses the black cat toy she is supposed to deliver. Jiji pretends to be the toy until Kiki can retrieve the real item. She finds it in the home of a young painter, Ursula, who repairs and returns it to Kiki so she can complete the delivery and rescue Jiji.
Kiki's Delivery Service
Kiki accepts a party invitation from Tombo, but is delayed by her work and, exhausted, falls ill. When she recovers, Osono clandestinely arranges for Kiki to see Tombo again by assigning her a delivery addressed to him. After Kiki apologizes for missing the party, Tombo takes her for a test ride on the flying machine he is working on fashioned from a bicycle. Kiki warms to Tombo but is intimidated by his friends, and walks home.
Kiki becomes depressed and discovers she can no longer understand Jiji, who has befriended a pretty white cat. She has also lost her flying ability and is forced to suspend her delivery business. Kiki has a surprise visit from Ursula, who determines that Kiki's crisis is a form of artist's block. Ursula suggests that if Kiki can find a new purpose, she will regain her powers.
While Kiki is visiting a customer, she witnesses an airship accident on television. A strong gust leaves Tombo hanging in mid-air. Kiki regains her flying power and manages to rescue him. She regains her confidence, resumes her delivery service, and writes a letter home saying that she and Jiji are happy.
Unfortunately, her first delivery goes badly as she is caught by a strong gust of wind and loses the black cat toy she is supposed to deliver. The toy fell on a crow's nest. As Kiki attempts to retrieve the toy, she gets attacked by crows, thinking she is trying to steal their eggs. Jiji laments how far the standing of witches have fallen and that crows used to be their retainers. Since Jiji looks so similar to the toy cat, Kiki comes up with the idea of having him pretend to be the toy until she can find the real one. While at the young boy's house, Jiji is under the watchful eye of the family dog, Jeff.
Kiki falls into a slump, as customers for her delivery service slows to a trickle and she spends much of her time watching the store. Kiki reluctantly accepts a party invitation from Tombo and his friends from the Aviation Club. She arrives at the home of her next delivery appointment, an elderly Madame who had been trying to make a herring and pumpkin potpie for her granddaughter's birthday. When the electric oven doesn't work, Kiki offers Madame and Barsa help with her wood-burning oven in order to make the treat and helps with chores around the house while it bakes. Madame quickly remembers that her clock runs a few minutes slow which makes Kiki realize she will be late for Tombo's party. The Potpie is ready so Kiki rushes off to deliver it. On route, it begins to rain heavily as she delivers the potpie for Madame's granddaughter. When she arrives to the young girl's house, Kiki is stunned when the girl expresses her loathing of the potpie but accepts the gift reluctantly and shuts the door, Kiki makes her way home in silence through the rain. Exhausted from the journey, soaking wet from the rain, and having missed the party, Kiki soon falls ill with a fever.
When she recovers, Osono clandestinely arranges for Kiki to see Tombo again by assigning her a delivery addressed to him. After Kiki apologizes for missing the party, Tombo shows off the new dirigible that arrived in town for repairs. He takes her for a test ride on the flying machine he is working on fashioned from a bicycle. Kiki warms up to Tombo but is intimidated by his petty friends, who seem to look down at her. Upset, she walks home in defeat, despite Tombo trying to be kind.
Kiki becomes depressed especially when discovers she can no longer understand Jiji, who has befriended a pretty white cat living next door. Realizing she can no longer understand him, Kiki realizes that she is also losing her flying ability and witch powers especially since she broke her broom. Because of what's happened, Kiki is forced to suspend her delivery business until she gets back her flying powers. She also tells Tombo over the phone she won't see him anymore out of sadness, Osono becomes worried about her. Kiki has a surprise visit from Ursula at the bakery, who after hearing what happened determines that Kiki's crisis is a form of artist's block and offers her time away at her cabin in order to relax. There, Kiki sees that Ursula was working on her latest painting that it was inspired by her encounter with Kiki. The two spend time out by the lake, have dinner, and talk. Later that night, Ursula talks about how she had gone through a similar situation. She explains how she started drawing when she was about Kiki's age, she loved painting so much she would end up falling asleep at her esile. Then one day she was unable to paint as her work had become copies of someone else's work and she too fell into a slump. That was then she realized that she had to find her own style in art, which she did and Kiki had inspired her latest work. She suggests that if Kiki can find a new purpose in life, she will regain her powers.
The following morning, Kiki heads back to town, Osono tells Kiki over the phone that Barsa and Madame have a delivery for Kiki that they want her to come get. Madame personally wanted to thank Kiki for her hard work when she was last at the house and presents a cake she had in gratitude. At the same time, the television reports that the dirigible "The Spirit of Freedom" is set to depart. As the "Seahorse Band" and crowd bid the airship farewell, a sudden gale dislodges the airship's moors and is blown off course, with Tombo hanging from the rope under the airship. The airship flies through town, the police car that was attached to a rope falls into the pool and soon manages to crash into the clock tower and is suspended above the town plaza. Kiki then witnesses the Tombo hanging from one of the drifting vessel's mooring lines.
As the radio reports that the helium within the dirigible is not likely to explode, Kiki takes a street sweeper's push-broom and regains her flying power and flies towards Tombo. The airship gets caught in the town's clock tower and a buliding across from it. Tombo however, is still in danger as he continues to hang onto the rope under the ship. Kiki flies as fast as she can and, after some initial struggling with keeping the broom in place, manages to rescue Tombo as he slips and falls. During the celebration, Kiki rejoins with Jiji who hops on her shoulder and Kiki smiles happy to have him back. She regains her confidence, resumes her delivery service. She also joins the aviation club and has not only made lots of friends but also has become a celebrity to many, Osono gave birth to a healthy baby and Jiji has become the father of four kittens. The story ends when Kiki writes a letter home saying that she and Jiji are happy and doing great with her witch skills.
In KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, Kiki (voiced by Minami Takayama in the original version and Kirsten Dunst in the English dub) follows family tradition and settles down for a year in a foreign city to serve as the 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 (Kappei Yamaguchi/Matthew Lawrence), 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 (Minami Takayama/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.
From the legendary Hayao Miyazaki comes the beloved story of a resourceful young witch who uses her broom to create a delivery service, only to lose her gift of flight in a moment of self-doubt. It is tradition for all young witches to leave their families on the night of a full moon and set out into the wide world to learn their craft. When that night comes for Kiki, she embarks on her life journey with her chatty black cat, Jiji, landing the next morning in a sea-side village, where a bakery owner hires her to make deliveries.
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From the legendary Studio Ghibli, creators of Spirited Away and Ponyo, and Academy Award-winning director Hayao Miyazaki, comes the beloved coming-of-age story of a resourceful young witch who uses her broom to create a delivery service, only to lose her gift of flight in a moment of self-doubt.
Kiki's Delivery Service is a 1989 film that follows Kiki, a young witch who travels on her own once she turns 13 to independently learn how to use her magic. When she arrives in the small town of Koriko, she opens up a delivery service where she flies packages to people on her broomstick. Kiki's Delivery Service is a wonderfully made relatable coming-of-age film that has likable characters and a fascinating message about growing up, overworking yourself, and dealing with burnout. It's not underrated by any means, as it has certainly developed a hefty following, but this charming film is often overlooked compared to other Miyazaki films. Nevertheless, it's still one of Miyazaki's absolute best, and one fan has shared a fascinating glimpse at what Kiki's job would look like had it taken place in the more modern world.
Artist SirMazarin shared an incredible piece of Kiki fan art on the r/Ghibli Reddit that shows the young witch's delivery service in a more modern time period. She looks similar to a modern-day delivery driver with an automated signature tablet on her hip and a mailperson windbreaker to help keep her warm in the skies. Instead of her iconic broom, she's made an upgrade to a propeller Roomba that's more intense but makes it where "AU Kiki can deliver at high speed." However, to keep Jiji safe, she's acquired a backpack that has a container to keep him from falling out. It's all brought together with red cat ear headphones that Kiki uses to keep in touch with the ground below while giving a unique take on her iconic red bow. Take a look at SirMazarin's incredible artwork here! 041b061a72