The husband of Osono, the lady who runs the bakery, paces around, restless. He soon spots a familiar face and rushes towards the back of the bakery. When that familiar face he sees — the young witch Kiki and her cat Jiji — touches down from her broom from the sky, she immediately sees a sign, all in front for everyone to see:
She then opens the door and hugs him for creating the sign, finishing off a moment that’s memorable for me.
There are a lot of standout moments in Kiki’s Delivery Service. Let’s revisit some of them, through the eyes of the people who enjoyed them tremendously.
Kiki Finds Her Place
As Kiki leaves her parents and friends to begin her journey to become a witch, she has much to figure out at the start of the film — namely, where will she go? Where would she stay? What type of skill would she use to make it on her own? After she and Jiji go south via train, she arrives at a city by the sea. This stuck out to German freelance illustrator and designer Liya, who saw the film in her teens. “The harbor, busy markets, the bakery and narrow streets all so close to the sea always felt nostalgic and comfortable to me,” she said.
But while there were some oohs and ahhs, Kiki quickly learns the people there don’t quite care she’s a witch. Feeling unsettled, she thinks she may have to go somewhere else until an opportunity finally arrived: helping Osono deliver a pacifier a customer left at her store…by flying!
That moment is what stood out for Gladys Angala, Producer at Manga Planet. It was about 15 years ago when she saw Kiki for the first time thanks to a friend, and the film remains one of her favorites due to scenes like that. “It’s the moment she realized there is something she can do.” Gladys adds it’s that small moment that made Kiki understand a few things:
- Her one skill, flying.
- That even this small act can help contribute to the betterment of society.
And, ultimately, the launch of her business: a delivery service!
Kiki Meets Work Life Reality
Kiki ends up befriending Osono thanks to that moment and finds a place to stay. She realizes her one skill, finds a place to live, and begins her delivery service business. What could go wrong?
Well as it turns out, a lot. While Kiki initially finds this idea to be exciting, actually doing it is not. Not only does she run into people she doesn’t like, she encounters unexpected challenges on her delivery runs (such as being attacked by crows or flying in a torrential downpour) that begin to wear on her enthusiasm. There’s one moment during this that illustrator and apparel designer Nina Matsumoto brought up that might just happen to be an experience people can relate to:
“Kiki is bored at work behind the bakery counter, quietly watching people walk by and waiting for a customer.”
Yep, not too long after we see her thanking Osono’s husband for creating the sign, we see her feeling weary inside the bakery. For Nina, who first saw what ultimately became her favorite Ghibil film as a child, that stood out to her a lot. “It’s a short scene but really captures the crushing mundanity of holding a job like that.” At that moment, Kiki begins to learn that working for something where the money isn’t coming in can lead to lots of worrying about her future…and only eating pancakes every day. “It sums up the theme of the movie pretty well, about how she’s forced to grow up so fast.”
Interestingly, Nina also mentioned how the scene of Kiki at the bakery was used as a poster in Japan. It also had some accompanying text with it:
“There are times when I feel down, but I’m doing fine.”
“Such a somber way to advertise the film, but so relatable,” she added.
Kiki Experiences Burnout
After all these moments occur, Kiki gets sick, feels tired, and eventually discovers she can’t fly. She tries and tries, and tries…until she can’t try anymore. No seriously, she ends up breaking her broom. With her one skill suddenly leaving her, she begins losing her confidence. “Kiki is so eager to do well at her job of being a witch that she pushes herself beyond her own capabilities,” says SEGA and Atlus PR Specialist Zack Reese, who watched the Kiki dub growing up back in the late 90’s. “This poor work-life balance starts to erode her overall attitude and ambition.”
That’s when Ursula, a painter, appears again. Kiki met Ursula in a forest while attempting to complete her first delivery service, where things didn’t go quite right. However, the two meet, Ursula helps Kiki solve a problem, and from there Kiki makes a deal where she’ll return to help her out. Instead though, Ursula leaves her forest and meets Kiki in the city. After a conversation, Ursula asks Kiki to go to her cabin for a bit.
For writer and developer Aaron Margolin, who first saw this film when he was 5 years old, this is one of the many moments that stood out for him.
“Kiki is at her lowest point,” he says, and with losing her connection to flying, doubly so. “What she feels makes her special, what makes her feel fulfilled, was from her. No theme is greater in the film than that of Kiki’s sense of self-importance, be it in appearance, wealth, or ability.” But after being with Ursula, she discovers something that just about everyone has to deal with: burnout.
“Ursula, just like Kiki, lived for her craft and painted nonstop until one day, for some reason, she just couldn’t paint anymore,” said Aaron. This is when Kiki, who may only be 13 years old, begins to understand what’s going on. “Talk to any artist who has done the same: be they designers, animators, illustrators, etc and I assure you they have experienced the same phenomenon.” And in particular, for young creators who might be forced to move too fast. As Aaron mentions, everyone, no matter how passionate, has this happen. For creatives, it’s a constant that is a challenge to overcome.
Kiki and Ursula’s interaction continues to stick out to Chic Pixel founder and PR at The Japan Foundation (Sydney), Anne Lee. Since first viewing it as a child Anne has looked to re-watch it nearly every year, and Ursula mentoring Kiki during this time still remains a favorite for her. “Ursula and Kiki serve as sources of inspiration and guidance for me even now,” she added.
So, just as Ursula has experienced not painting for a period of time, what advice would she give Kiki to overcome not being able to fly?
“Stop trying. Take long walks. Look at scenery. Doze off at noon. Don’t even think about flying. And then, pretty soon, you’ll be flying again.”
“I think we can all relate to this journey Kiki goes through and how important it is to take a break every now and then,” mentioned Zack as he reflects on what Kiki experiences.
And as Aaron adds, sometimes you need to “wait and ‘find the right inspiration.'”
“The world has a way of pushing young people to move too quickly and adhere to its definition of ‘worth.’ Miyazaki’s message at this moment of Kiki’s is that sometimes it’s important to slow down, wait, and let yourself find your own style.”
Kiki Starts Finding Her Style
From that moment on, Kiki aims to improve her health. And on that path to doing so, she meets the Madame once again. That was her customer where everything that could go wrong (The Madame forgets to let Kiki know her clock is 10 minutes slow; it rains; the Madame’s Granddaughter is not happy about getting a pie) went wrong, aside from the delivery being completed. But the Madame surprises Kiki with a gift, which shows her that she is valued, and there are people who value her service.
From there, one major event happens where the special things she can do occurs, and yeah, her passion comes back. Flying comes back. And the Spirit of Freedom is in dire need of maintenance. But throughout her journey, she ends up having to grow up fast in order to become a witch.
So in other words Ursula was right when, as the two went to bed, they had this conversation:
“So you really think I’ll fly again?” – Kiki
“Sure! You just have to wait for the right inspiration to come along.” – Ursula
Which, eventually, leads to one young witch getting back on a broom and uplifting many viewers for decades.
