VHS Videos: Kiki's Delivery Service Video

Average Rating:

Rating: - A Breezy Adventurous Ride
Kiki's Delivery Service, by my favorite anime creator Hayao Miyazaki, is excellent and perfect for carrying a hidden message underneath the light weight action and drama. Kiki is a thirteen year old witch-in-training. As is customs, she is sent to live by herself in a city. Kiki chooses a delightful European city bustling with buzz. She makes an impression on the townfolk by blowing in with a broomstick, along with her wisecracking cat, Gigi. She searches for a job, and finds one as a delivery girl for a local bakery. Kiki encounters what all teenagers go through: insecurity, loneliness, boredom, and eventually loses her greatest talent--flying. From that experience, she learns from a former struggling artist that you need to do what you love from the heart.
Voice acting is brilliant. Kirsten Dunst sounds believable as Kiki, and Phil Hartman is hilarious as Gigi. Unlike other animes, the voices aren't too squeaky or sound really stupid.
Also, there is a great message, as I mentioned earlier, underneath this movie. There are wonderful role models and rememberable characters that will stay in your heart, whether you like it, or not.

With only her pet cat coming with her, Kiki's adventure provides girls and boys with a positive message about having confidence in oneself. Kiki meets new friends when she arrives in her new town where she must figure out what kind of work she can do that people need. She creates a magical delivery service (bringing things fast by broom), and faces the kind of real-life ups and downs we can all relate to. Best of all, Kiki finds out that people love her for just for who she is, even when she's not feeling her best.

The cinematography in this film is first-rate, and the easy-going pace of the story is a real treat. There aren't any real villains in this film, and so watching this movie is a lot like taking a relaxing vacation.