Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki

Tradition dictates that at age thirteen a young witch should leave her home behind, in order to continue her training elsewhere.

For Kiki, it's an adventure that ends up being equal parts hard work; but she's headstrong when necessary, and with the help of her friend Jiji (a cat), she strives to make her mark.

With delicate pacing and timely underpinning it teaches us that each person has a purpose, even if they aren't aware of it or don't consider what they do to be anything special. 

If you dare to rise to a challenge, do your best for yourself and for others, like Kiki, then the rewards can more than equal the effort put in.

It's not action-packed and doesn't need a dramatic setting to be appreciated (you can watch it on a sunny day), but it's refreshingly sincere, and the attention to detail in environments is noteworthy, making the houses feel lived-in, which gives them a beauty all of their own.

There's a scene during the closing credits, so don't turn off too soon, if you want to see it.

NOTE: I've read that the R1 subtitles on many Ghibli films are dubtitles. After viewing the R2 (UK) disc in Japanese w/subs I went back and checked ten mins of the subs alongside the English language dub. While it doesn't mean they're a perfect translation of the original Japanese, they certainly weren't dubtitles and were a LOT better than what's spoken in English. A ten minute sample is just that, but it was all I could stand because the English Kiki was really awful. Perhaps Optimum Asia's (R2) subtitles are different than the R1 versions. I don't know.