Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) Majo no takkyûbin (original title)

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writers:

Eiko Kadono (novel)
Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay)

Release Date:

29 July 1989 (Japan)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Family | Fantasy

Tagline:

I was feeling blue, but I'm better now.

Plot:

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.

Plot Keywords:

Witch | Talking Cat | Cat | Broom | Courier Service

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Minami Takayama	...	Kiki / Ursula (voice)
Rei Sakuma	...	Jiji (voice)
Kappei Yamaguchi	...	Tombo (voice)
Keiko Toda	...	Osono (voice)
Mieko Nobusawa	...	Kokiri, Kiki no haha (voice)
Kôichi Miura	...	Okino, Kiki no chichi (voice)
Haruko Kato	...	Rô-fujin (voice)
Hiroko Seki	...	Barsa (voice)
Yuriko Fuchizaki	...	Ketto (voice)
Kôichi Yamadera	...	Bakery worker, policeman (voice)
Kikuko Inoue	...	Beautiful designer girl (voice)
Yûko Kobayashi	...	Young sempai witch (voice)
Mika Doi	...	Ketto's mother (voice)
Takaya Hashi	...	Ketto's father (voice)
Chika Sakamoto	...	Baby (voice)
Toshiko Asai	...	(voice)
Yoshiko Kamei	...	(voice)
Hiroko Maruyama	...	(voice)
Shinpachi Tsuji	...	(voice)
Yûko Maruyama	...	(voice)
Masa Saitô	...	(voice)
Yûko Tsuga	...	(voice)
Akio Ôtsuka	...	(voice)
Tomomichi Nishimura	...	(voice)
Kirsten Dunst	...	Kiki (voice: English version)
Kath Soucie	...	Kiki's Mother (voice: English version)
Debbie Reynolds	...	Madame (voice: English version)
Jeff Bennett	...	Kiki's Father (voice: English version)
Phil Hartman	...	Jiji (voice: English version)
Tress MacNeille	...	Osono (voice: English version)
Edie McClurg	...	Bertha (voice: English version)
Debi Derryberry	...	Young Senior Witch (voice: English version)
Matthew Lawrence	...	Tombo (voice: English version)
Janeane Garofalo	...	Ursula (voice: English version)
Corey Burton	...	Radio Announcer (voice: English version)
Pamela Adlon	...	Ket (voice: English version) (as Pamela Segall)
Eddie Frierson	...	(voice: English version)
Sherry Lynn	...	(voice: English version)
Matt K. Miller	...	(voice: English version)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
June Angela	...	(voice: English version)
Lewis Arquette	...	(voice: English version)
John DeMita	...	(voice: English version)
Fay DeWitt	...	(voice: English version)
Julia Fletcher	...	Ket's Aunt, Ket's Mother (voice: English version) (as Julia DeMita)
Susan Hickman	...	(voice: English version)
John Hostetter	...	Dirigible Captain (voice: English version)
Scott Menville	...	(voice: English version)

Directed by
Hayao Miyazaki

Writing credits
Eiko Kadono		(novel)
Hayao Miyazaki		(screenplay)

Produced by
Hayao Miyazaki	....	producer
Todd Olsson	....	co-producer (english version)
Jane Schonberger	....	executive producer
Jane Schonberger	....	producer (US version)
Toshio Suzuki	....	associate producer
Morihisa Takagi	....	executive producer
Eiko Tanaka	....	line producer
Yasuyoshi Tokuma	....	executive producer
Mikihiko Tsuzuki	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Joe Hisaishi

Cinematography by
Shigeo Sugimura

Film Editing by
Takeshi Seyama

Production Design by
Hinoshi Ono

Art Direction by
Hiroshi Ohno

Production Management
Eiko Tanaka	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sunao Katabuchi	....	assistant director

Art Department
Yuriko Katayama	....	color designer
Michiyo Yasuda	....	color designer

Sound Department
Naoko Asari	....	recording supervisor
Shuji Inoue	....	sound
Norio Kobayashi	....	sound effects assistant
William Komar	....	sound effects editor: US version (as Bill Komar)
Hironori Ono	....	sound effects assistant
Kazutoshi Satou	....	sound effects
Ernie Sheesley	....	sound: US version
Shoichi Tamaasa	....	sound recording assistant
James Twomey	....	adr recordist
Danny van Spreuwel	....	adr recordist: Dutch version
Fujio Yamada	....	dialogue editor

Special Effects by
Kaoru Tanifuji	....	special effects

Animation Department
Midori Chiba	....	background artist
Kazuo Ebisawa	....	background artist
Masaaki Endo	....	key animator
Atsuko Fukushima	....	key animator
Makiko Futaki	....	key animator
Yoshiyuki Hane	....	key animator
Akiko Hasegawa	....	key animator
Yuji Ikehata	....	background artist
Toshiyuki Inoue	....	key animator
Yutaka Itô	....	background artist
Megumi Kagawa	....	key animator (as Ai Kagawa)
Yoshinori Kanada	....	key animator
Hidetoshi Kaneko	....	background artist
Kiyoko Kanno	....	background artist
Kenji Kashiyama	....	background artist
Toshio Kawaguchi	....	key animator
Kazuhiro Kinoshita	....	background artist
Katsuya Kondô	....	character designer
Katsuya Kondô	....	supervising animator
Yoshifumi Kondô	....	supervising animator
Miyuki Kudo	....	background artist
Satoshi Kuroda	....	background artist
Yuko Matsuura	....	background artist
Toshiharu Mizutani	....	background artist
Kôji Morimoto	....	key animator (as Kouji Morimoto)
Hiroyuki Morita	....	inbetween animator
Noriko Moritomo	....	key animator
Kyouko Naganawa	....	background artist
Yoko Nagashima	....	background artist
Toshiya Niidome	....	key animator
Kazuo Oga	....	background artist
Kumiko Ohno	....	background artist
Kiyomi Ota	....	background artist
Shinji Otsuka	....	supervising animator
Yoshiharu Sato	....	key animator
Masahiro Sekino	....	key animator
Sachiko Sugino	....	key animator
Yasuko Tachiki	....	animation checker
Hitomi Tateno	....	animation checker
Ken Tokushige	....	background artist
Chie Uratani	....	key animator
Hiroshi Watanabe	....	key animator
Hirômi Yamakawa	....	key animator
Natsuyo Yasuda	....	key animator
Atsuko Ôtani	....	key animator

Casting Department
Jack Fletcher	....	voice casting: English version

Editorial Department
Hiroshi Adachi	....	assistant editor

Music Department
June Angela	....	soloist
Yumi Matsutôya	....	composer: song "Rouge no dengon" (as Arai Yumi)
Yumi Matsutôya	....	composer: theme song "Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta-nara" (as Arai Yumi)
Isao Takahata	....	musical director

Other crew
Jack Fletcher	....	adaptor: English version
Jack Fletcher	....	dialogue director: English version
Eric Garcia	....	production coordinator
Kaoru Mano	....	titles
Akira Michikawa	....	titles
Hideo Ogata	....	planner
John Semper	....	adaptor: English version
Iwao Setô	....	planner
Noriko Takaya	....	harmony process
Tatsumi Yamashita	....	planner

Production Companies

• Nibariki
• Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV)
• Studio Ghibli
• Tokuma Shoten

Distributors

• Gkids (2011) (USA) (theatrical)
• Sonet Film (2007) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (1998) (USA) (VHS)
• Cinema Mondo (2007) (Finland) (all media)
• Optimum Releasing (2006) (UK) (DVD)
• RUSCICO (2008) (Russia) (all media)
• Studio Ghibli (2010) (USA) (DVD)
• Toei Company
• Universum Film (UFA) (2006) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Anime Torotoro  animation assistance
• DOGA Productions  animation assistance
• Domusha  animation assistance
• IM Studio  ink and paint support studio
• Kyoto Animation  ink and paint support studio
• Nakamura Production  animation assistance
• Oh Production  animation assistance
• Ryu Production  ink and paint support studio
• Screen Music Studios (SMS)  dialogue recording facilities (US version)
• Studio Fantasia  ink and paint support studio
• Studio Hibari  animation assistance
• Studio Killy  ink and paint support studio
• Studio Muku  animation assistance
• Studio OZ  ink and paint support studio
• Toy House  ink and paint support studio
• Trace Studio M  ink and paint support studio

Also Known As:

"Majo no takkyûbin" - Japan (original title)
"Witch's Special Express Delivery" - International (English title) (literal title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:Atp | Canada:G | France:U | USA:G | UK:U | Spain:T | Australia:G | Switzerland:0 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:7 (canton of Vaud) | Finland:K-3 | Germany:o.Al. | Ireland:G | South Korea:All | Sweden:Btl | Denmark:A

Company:

Nibariki

Trivia:

The story takes place in an alternative 1950's Europe where WWI and WWII never happened. Hayao Miyazaki has been quoted saying that the fictional city of Kokiro has one side on the shores of the Mediterranean, and the other on the Baltic Sea.

Goofs:

Incorrectly regarded as goofs: The four-engined biplane (more precisely, sesquiplane) that Kiki sees during the opening credits is a real aircraft, the Handley-Page HP42. Eight of these planes - the first four-engined aircraft ever built - were commissioned during the 1930s; later they were converted to military use, and all were destroyed by 1941. But since this movie - according to director Hayao Miyazaki - takes place in a world where World War II never happened, it's plausible that the HP42 would still be in civilian service.

Quotes:

Jiji:You'd think they'd never seen a girl and a cat on a broom before.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Robot Chicken: Atta Toy (#1.13)" (2005)

The greatest movie ever made

Kiki's Delivery Service is my favorite move. I have seen it at least 10 times and I laughed and cried each time. The animation by Hayao Miyazaki is wonderful, as always. The flying scenes and scenery of the generic European city are totally convincing. I think I really got a feeling of what it would be like to fly in on a broom over and through a European city. In each city scene, I feel like it is some place I have visited in my trips to Europe.

What I really appreciate about this movie is the simplicity of the characters and the plot. There are no robots, no psychotic megalomaniacs, no monsters, no superheros, no bratty smarty kids that are smarter than adults, no evil moron adults, and no fight scenes. No one is kidnapped or seriously injured. Even though the movie a about a witch, the only supernatural acts in the movie are Kiki flying on a broom and talking to her cat.

The movie is about a young girl witch who leaves home with her cat Jiji, moves to a new town, and starts a delivery service. In her business she has some adventures and meets mostly nice people who help her out. In the process she meets a boy named Tombo. Tombo does not have any special powers. He is just a nerdy guy who is trying to build a bicycle that can fly. Tombo gets in to some trouble and Kiki helps him out.

That sounds very dull, but by avoiding the supernatural and monsters, the story is much more easy to relate to. It is a story about leaving home and starting anew, meeting people, helping people, and have people help you when you get into trouble. It is very upbeat, even when things look bleak, they work out with a little help from friends. I liked Tombo's problems trying to be friends with Kiki because they seem like the problems people really have. One of the most beautiful scenes in the movie is Tombo silently waiting in the rain for Kiki who never shows up.

This movie is full of silent beauty. When the baker's wife invites Kiki to move in above the bakery, you get the impression that the gruff but silent husband does not care for Kiki. But in a later scene you see that he has baked a loaf of bread shaped like a girl riding a broom and mounted it in the bakery window. Nothing is ever said about it, but you see how he appreciates her.

I have both the dubbed and subtitled version of the movie. They are both great. This movie is one of the best dubbed I have seen. The dubbed version has a lighter, funnier tone because of the wise-cracking Jiji. I felt I could appreciate the animation better in the dubbed version because I did not have to focus on reading the subtitles. In general the voice acting in the dubbed version is excellent. The subtitled version is also the letterbox version, so you get to see the full beauty of the animation. In some of the flying scenes, Jiji is humorously complaining about the flying conditions in the dubbed version, where the subtitled version lets you silently appreciate the beauty of flying. Due to licensing problems the dubbed and subtitled versions have different theme songs. I think both songs are great. I recommend getting both versions.