Kiki's Delivery Service (2014)

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:

Takashi Shimizu

Writers:

Eiko Kadono (based on the novel by), Satoko Okudera (screenplay)

Stars:

Tadanobu Asano, Rie Miyazawa, Minako Kotobuki

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tadanobu Asano	...	Ishi
Rie Miyazawa	...	Kiki's mother
Minako Kotobuki	...	Jiji the black cat (voice)
Machiko Ono	...	Osono
Fûka Koshiba	...	Kiki
Michitaka Tsutsui
Hiroshi Yamamoto	...	Fukuo
Miho Kanazawa
Misato Shimizu
Miki Hayashida
Ryohei Hirota

Storyline

A witch becomes one if at age thirteen she takes a mandatory one-year trip to find herself and perfect her skills. Kiki takes the trip and lands in a seaside town where she begins supporting herself and her black cat by offering a delivery service. The young witch is soon embroiled in a bakery, a wind mill, a zoo, teenage antics and a medical emergency. It is when she is most needed, however, that Kiki has to find the resolve to continue.

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Plot Keywords:

live action remake of anime | bakery | mother daughter relationship | cat | black cat | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Fantasy | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Connections

Remake of Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

User Reviews

Not as great as the original...but still strong

The original, animated version of Kiki's Delivery Service is so pitch-perfect that it doesn't seem possible that they'd dare come out with a live-action version.

Only rarely does a live-action version of an anime equal the original. With live-action, it's almost like trying to translate from one language to another; some of the actors are good (and others ordinary), and the story conveys only some of the wide- eyed wonder of the original. Fuka Koshiba has a petulant optimism (and a little brattiness) the fills out the title character; JiJi, the talking black cat could have played a bigger part of the movie. Fans of Japanese film will notice a few interesting casting choices - like Asano Tadanobu and Rie Miyazawa.

Ultimately, changing this to a live-action film makes it seem more suited for children (as opposed to the anime version, which is ageless).

That said, I enjoyed much of the film. It's a minor miracle that it's as good as it is.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [Japan]

Country:

Japan China

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

1 March 2014 (Japan)

Also Known As:

Kiki's Delivery Service

Filming Locations:

Shodoshima, Kagawa, Japan

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,254,030

Company Credits

Production Co:

Being, D.N. Dream Partners, Edko Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1