Cinematic Point Of View

I went to see Hayao Miyazaki‘s “Kiki’s Delivery Service” at the theater for the 2025 Ghibli Fest last night. I’ve watched it countless times over the years in English and this was the first time for me in Japanese.

I love Kirsten Dunst‘s “KiKi and Phil Hartman‘s Jiji in the English version. I think the Studio Ghibli dubs are all excellent, but I think was won over by the the gentleness of the original Japanese voice actors, Minami Takayama (Kiki) and Rei Sakuma (Jiji). This isn’t a surprise though. The less campy Jiji brings a completely different vibe to the whole relationship between Kiki and her cat. It’s sweet.

In case you’re unfamiliar with the story, Kiki’s Delivery Service tells the story of a young witch, Kiki, who leaves home to find her place in the world and settles into a seaside town, along with her little black cat Jiji, and starts a delivery service.

It’s a film about independence, responsibility, friendship, and accepting yourself in the world. For a film about witches and a talking cat, it’s surprisingly realistic in its portrayal of feelings of growing up.

There is a great scene where Kiki is invited to go hang with some new friends and she declines and goes home and just feels like crap for no good reason. She mentions how she sometimes gets new friends and then suddenly doesn’t want to hang out with them. It’s a real and relatable feeling for that age (or any age really) and I imagine it would be a comfort to see portrayed as a kid.

Kiki’s Delivery Service is one of those Miyazaki movies that I’ve always loved, but it’s never sat at the top of my list. Sitting on the 2nd row and watching it in its original language gave me a renewed appreciation for it.

I love how the whole thing just flows to its own rhythm. There are a ton of really quiet moments with almost no sound or music. It’s fantastic. I love all the choices that they make throughout.

There is another scene where Kiki crashes on her friend Tombo’s airplane bike and she has to walk home. It’s a scene they could have easily cut away from and shown her just opening the door to her apartment. Instead, they show her slowly making her way home, playfully walking along stretches of the coastal highway. I love it.

From the cast of sincere and thoughtful characters to the filmmaking choices to the Joe Hisaishi soundtrack to the slice-of-life flow of the story, there are so many little choices in Kiki Delivery Service that make it special and leave you feeling good.

What do you think about Kiki’s Delivery Service? I’d love to hear your point of view.