Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
★★★½ — Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
By 1989, Studio Ghibli was already building a reputation for animated films that felt unlike anything coming out of the West. Hayao Miyazaki had been refining his craft for years, and Kiki's Delivery Service arrived hot on the heels of My Neighbor Totoro, released just the previous year. Where that film leaned into rural Japan and childhood wonder, Kiki's Delivery Service pushed the studio toward something a little more grounded in the everyday. Based on the 1985 novel by Eiko Kadono, the film follows Kiki, a thirteen-year-old witch who must spend a year living independently in a new town as part of her coming-of-age tradition. She sets herself up as a delivery girl, using her broomstick as her one genuine skill, and tries to find her footing among strangers. The premise sounds slight, and in some ways that is entirely the point. Miyazaki was drawn to a story about quiet resilience rather than grand heroism, something you can see running through much of his work from this period.
The production sits firmly within the Miyazaki house style of the late eighties, co-produced by Nibariki and Tokuma Shoten alongside Studio Ghibli. Miyazaki himself adapted the screenplay, and his fingerprints are all over the film's unhurried pacing and its warm, European-flavoured coastal setting. The fictional port city of Koriko draws on a mixture of Scandinavian and Mediterranean influences, a world that feels lived-in and sun-lit in equal measure. Composer Joe Hisaishi, Miyazaki's long-standing musical collaborator (the two had already worked together on Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and Castle in the Sky), returned to provide the score, and his contribution here is typically polished. The film runs at 103 minutes, which for a family animation feels relaxed rather than rushed, a deliberate choice that shapes the whole viewing experience.
The Japanese voice cast is led by Minami Takayama as Kiki, whose performance gives the character a believable mix of eagerness and vulnerability. Rei Sakuma voices Jiji, Kiki's sardonic black cat and constant companion, and the bickering between the two provides most of the film's lighter comic touches. Kappei Yamaguchi appears as Tombo, the aviation-obsessed local boy who takes an interest in Kiki, while Keiko Toda and Mieko Nobusawa round out the supporting ensemble. It is a warm, well-matched cast, though as with many Ghibli productions, the world-building and visual storytelling carry at least as much weight as the performances. For viewers coming to this after something like Howl's Moving Castle, the tonal difference is immediately noticeable. This is a gentler, less plot-driven film, and it makes no apologies for that.
No question: the look and sound of this film are pure magic. The sun-drenched seaside town, the soft watercolor skies, Kiki soaring on her broom at golden hour, it’s all breathtaking. And Joe Hisaishi’s score is as usual absolute perfection. I could live in this soundtrack. The story, though. It’s… fine. Sweet, gentle, and full of quiet moments, but not exactly packed with drama or stakes. It’s a coming-of-age tale about finding your confidence (which is lovely!) but unfolds like a very calm Sunday afternoon. If you’re expecting adventure, prepare for a lot of baking, flying, and mild self-doubt. That said, my daughter loved it, totally charmed by Kiki and Jiji’s bickering. And honestly, that counts for a lot. A beautiful, calming watch, not Ghibli’s deepest, but one of its most soothing.
I think that balance between beauty and restraint is really what defines Kiki's Delivery Service for me. It is not trying to be the most dramatic or emotionally gutting thing Miyazaki ever made, and perhaps that is precisely why it lingers the way it does. There is something to be said for a film that trusts its audience to sit with small moments without constantly raising the stakes. My daughter's reaction says everything, really. Sometimes a film does not need to shake you to stay with you. It just needs to be good company.
Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 1989 | Watched: 2025-07-23
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for Kiki's Delivery Service (1989) on YouTube
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: Netflix · Netflix Kids · Netflix Standard with Ads
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Stream: HBO Max Amazon Channel · HBO Max
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · Fandango At Home
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · Fandango At Home
Physical: Amazon US
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Related on Movies With Macca
More from Hayao Miyazaki: Castle in the Sky (1986) · Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) · My Neighbor Totoro (1988) · Howl's Moving Castle (2004)
More from Japan: Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025) · Blue (1993) · The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959)
More from the 1980s: Nightmare City (1980) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Style Wars (1983) · Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980)
More animation: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025)
More family: Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Wonder (2017) · Kirikou and the Wild Beasts (2005) · Anastasia (1997)
