Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

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.

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writers:

Eiko Kadono (novel), Hayao Miyazaki (screenplay)

Stars:

Kirsten Dunst, Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma

4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Minami Takayama	...	Kiki / Ursula (voice)
Rei Sakuma	...	Jiji (voice)
Kappei Yamaguchi	...	Tombo (voice)
Keiko Toda	...	Osono (voice)
Mieko Nobusawa	...	Kokiri - Kiki's Mother (voice)
Kôichi Miura	...	Okino - Kiki's Father (voice)
Haruko Katô	...	Rô-fujin (voice)
Hiroko Seki	...	Barsa (voice)
Yuriko Fuchizaki	...	Ketto (voice)
Kôichi Yamadera	...	Bakery Worker / Policeman (voice)
Kikuko Inoue	...	Maki (voice)
Yûko Kobayashi	...	Young Sempai Witch (voice)
Mika Doi	...	Ketto's Mother (voice)
Takaya Hashi	...	Ketto's Father (voice)
Chika Sakamoto	...	Baby (voice)

Storyline

This is the story of a young witch, named Kiki who is now 13 years old. But she is still a little green and plenty headstrong, but also resourceful, imaginative, and determined. With her trusty wisp of a talking cat named Jiji by her side she's ready to take on the world, or at least the quaintly European seaside village she's chosen as her new home.

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Plot Keywords:

witch | cat | studio ghibli | goodwill | magic | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Drama | Family | Fantasy

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Certificate:

G

Did You Know?

Trivia

During the production phase, Hayao Miyazaki and his artists traveled to Sweden to research for the film. The photographs they took of Stockholm and Visby, formed the basis of the fictional city of Koriko. The city also contains elements of Lisbon, Paris, San Francisco, and Milan.

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Goofs

The Disney dub refers several times to the airship as a "dirigible", which is correct, but also as a "blimp", which it isn't; it is a zeppelin, a rigid airship with an internal skeleton that holds it in shape, not a blimp, which is basically a big helium-inflated balloon held in shape by the helium.

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Quotes

Jiji: [after Kiki almost collides with an approaching bus while trying to make a good impression] Smooth. Very smooth. You definitely know how to make a good first impression.

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Crazy Credits

The denouement scenes of the film play out with the credits rolling ending with Kiki's parents reading a letter from her after the credits finish.

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Alternate Versions

The dialogue during a scene in which Kiki is given coffee changes the beverage to hot chocolate in the Disney release. (An earlier dub from Streamline also includes this change.)

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Connections

Referenced in Regular Show: Terror Tales of the Park V (2015)

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Soundtracks

Rouge no Dengon (Message of Rouge)
Performed by Yumi Matsutoya

User Reviews

A wonderful movie for all ages!

I kept hearing about how good this movie was, but I put off renting it for the longest time because I dismissed it as some dumb kid's film. Boy, was I wrong! This is a movie that appeals not only to kids, but to teens and adults as well. This is the kind of stuff Disney should be producing nowadays. I own my own copy now and whenever I pop it into my VCR, it always puts me in a good mood.

Details

Official Sites:

Disney's Official Site

Country:

Japan USA

Language:

Japanese English

Release Date:

20 December 1990 (USA)

Also Known As:

Kiki's Delivery Service

Box Office

Budget:

JPY800,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$352,556, 28 July 2019

Gross USA:

$1,004,057

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,151,019

Company Credits

Production Co:

Kiki's Delivery Service Production Committee, Nibariki, Nippon Television Network (NTV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1