2023 Blind Spot Series: Kiki's Delivery Service

 

Based on the novel by Eiko Kadono, Majo no Takkyubin (Kiki’s Delivery Service) is the story of a young witch who moves to a new town during a mandatory one-year moment to be independent as she struggles to fit in while using her magic to support herself. Written and directed for the screen by Hayao Miyazaki, the animated fantasy film explores a young girl trying to find herself in a new environment as well as meeting a young boy with aspirations to be a pilot. Featuring the voices of Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, and Kappei Yamaguchi. Majo no Takkyubin is a majestic and heartfelt film from Hayao Miyazaki.

Set in the 1950s, the film revolves around a 13-year old witch who decides to move to a new town during a one-year mandatory period of independence to find herself where she uses her magic to be a delivery girl for a local bakery. It is a film with a simple premise that plays into this young girl who is trying to find her place in the world while befriending a few locals including a young boy who wants to be a pilot. It plays into this young girl who decides to do her mandatory one-year journey of independence in her training to become a witch as her mother lends her a broom while the titular character (Minami Takayama) is joined by her pet black cat in Jiji (Rei Sakuma) who can talk to her as they travel to a port town. Hayao Miyazaki’s screenplay is largely straightforward in its narrative as it explores a world for this young girl who is trying to make a living while maintaining her training but she also sees a world where there is a lot happening including girls in her age groups who go to parties and have fun in a world that feels like years removed from war. Still, Kiki has to cope with a world that is new and modern despite her ability to deliver things to people until changes in and around her life start to impact her while she ponders if she could still continue being a witch.

Miyazaki’s direction is rich in its imagery from the attention to detail he puts in towards the fictional port city of Koriko to the sense of realism and imagination he puts in towards the world that Kiki would encounter. Aided by supervising animators Yoshifumi Kondo, Shinji Otsuka, and Katsuya Kondo, who would also serve as the character designer, Miyazaki’s approach to the animation with its two-dimensional, hand-drawn style has this element of wonderment in how Kiki would encounter her new world along with the people she meets. The usage of wide and medium shots allows the city of Koriko to be a character in the film while Miyazaki would also allow the latter to play into some intimate moments in the film that also include close-ups such as Kiki’s encounter with an artist in the forest in Ursula (Minami Takayama) along with an old lady (Haruko Kato) whom she helps bake a pie with an old stone oven.

With the aid of cinematographer Shigeo Sugimura in terms of the lighting for some scenes set at night and in the rain along with production designer Hiroshi Ono for the look of Koriko. Miyazaki does play into this world that is vibrant and moving towards a postwar world that includes a dirigible that Tombo (Kappei Yamaguchi) is interested in as it’s about to launch. It would play into the film’s third act as it relates to Kiki’s own revelations about herself as she contends with being someone that wants to socialize with people in her age group but also wanting to support herself and to be a witch. Yet, Miyazaki would maintain this sense of fantasy in a world that is realistic as the two would converge in this climax as it plays into a young girl who is trying to find her purpose in life. Overall, Miyazaki crafts a rapturous and intoxicating film about a young witch who tries to find herself by becoming a delivery girl through magic.

Editor Takeshi Seyama does amazing work with the film’s editing in the way it plays into some of the suspense and drama with some jump-cuts and other rhythmic cutting as it adds to the sense of whimsy throughout the film. Sound mixer Shuji Inoue does superb work with the sound in the way certain objects sound as well as sound effects for the way Kiki would fly on her broom. The film’s music by Joe Hisaishi is incredible for its mixture of folk and orchestral music that play into the sense of wonderment that Kiki encounters as well as songs that add to the beauty of the film.

The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small voice roles from Keiko Kagimoto as the granddaughter of the Madame, Hiroko Seki as the Madame’s maid, Koichi Miura and Mieko Nobusawa as Kiki’s parents, and Koichi Yamadera as Osono’s husband Fukuo who helps her in a lot of the baking for their bakery. Haruko Kato is fantastic as the voice of the Madame as an old woman who asks Kiki to deliver a pie to her granddaughter’s birthday party only to not be ready because she can’t fix an electric oven only to be saved by a rarely-used stone oven that Kiki knows how to use. Kappei Yamaguchi is excellent as the voice of Tombo as a young boy who befriends Kiki as he is fascinated by her while showing her his love for flying through a propeller he created with his bike in his hopes to be a pilot.

Keiko Toda is brilliant as Osono as the pregnant bakery owner who allows Kiki to live in a room at the bakery while giving her advice about life and such. Rei Sakuma is amazing as the black cat Jiji who is able to talk to Kiki while also helping her out in her deliveries and falling in love with a neighbor cat. Finally, there’s Minami Takayama in an incredible dual-voice performance as the titular character and the young artist Ursula. In the latter, Takayama brings a sense of maturity into this young artist that is still trying to find her own voice as she gets inspiration from Kiki while also helping Kiki to find herself. In the titular role, Takayama brings that sense of innocence and whimsy into the character but also some angst as this young girl that is determined to be a delivery girl although the temptation of being with kids her own age come into play as it adds to this conflict that she needs to find balance for.

Majo no Takkyubin is a spectacular film from Hayao Miyazaki. Armed with gorgeous animation, wondrous visuals, a compelling story of growing up, and a majestic music soundtrack. The film is a rich coming-of-age film set in a fictional world filled with wonder as well as exploring a young girl trying to find herself as a witch. In the end, Majo no Takkyubin is a tremendous film from Hayao Miyazaki.

Hayao Miyazaki Films: (The Castle of Cagliostro) – (Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind) – (Castle in the Sky) – My Neighbor Totoro - (Porco Rosso) – (Princess Mononoke) – Spirited Away - (Howl’s Moving Castle) – (Ponyo) – The Wind Rises - (The Boy and the Heron)

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