Kiki's Delivery Service
|
Our Price: $51.40 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $18.71 (click here) Category: DVD See more DVD releases |
|---|
Canada
Movie Reviews of Kiki's Delivery Service
Movie Review: DVD Review
Summary: 5 Stars
Kiki's Delivery Service is another masterwork in the canon of the greatest animation director in the world, Hayao Miyazaki. Disney's DVD presentation gives the picture an absolutely beautiful transfer, but is extremely spare in terms of extras. The film is a wonderful family film filled with innocence and charm. Someone said cynicism is the death of art and Kiki is a breath of fresh air to the cynical sarcasm of today's entertainment. The only drawback to the film is that some might find the film a ridiculous fantasy in regard to our violent modern world. As a college student I have found it hard to sell a film to my peer that concerns a teenage witch delivering gifts to friendly townspeople. Much of my generation will be turned off by the content. Even fans of Miyazaki might be put off in the difference between Kiki and Mononoke or Spirited Away. Others including myself love the film and continue to be touched by the universal feelings and details that Miyazaki evokes.Picture quality on the DVD release is amazing. The gorgeous print of Miyazaki's breathtaking animation makes this one of the best looking DVDs in my collection. It has to be seen to be believed. The picture's aspect ratio is kept in 1:85:1, giving limited black for small tv users.
I'm not a sound expert but it sounded just fine. I don't have a home theater set-up, so I can't judge the audio. The Japanese track is vastly superior if only for the original Japanese version of the catching opening and the extremely different vocal performance of Jiji. This track is not in 5.1. The english dub features several celebrities and is fine, but stick with the Japanese. I guess there is Spanish, but I don't remember it being an option on the storyboard disc. The menu design is annoying in that you cannot switch the audio or subs on the fly. You have to go back to the menu and then resume play. Yellow subs are within the frame, not in black. This is good for widescreen tvs, but on my regular tv, it tends to blend with the image and cover stuff.
Extras is the weak spot on the disc. Lasseter's intros were cool the first time I heard one, but get tiring after more than one Miyazaki film. The film starts with Lasseter's comment if you change to Japanese and select "resume film" to start. The english cast interviews are nothing special, accept for a brief appearance of Toshio Suzuki and a very very young and cute Kirsten Dunst. Be sure to pause and catch the Jiji robe she wears in one scene!
I didn't finish watching the Japanese trailers, they run one after another, mostly clips with limited Japanese ad flair. Disc Two only has the storyboarding of the whole film with both soundtracks. The storyboards are more completely drawn then other Miyasaki films, but you cannot switch angles to a film comparison which made the Spirited Away disc interesting.
A total masterpiece of animation, Disney's disc has a mind blowing picture transfer with limited extras.
Highly recomended.
Movie Review: Pure magic
Summary: 5 Stars
According to tradition, when a witch turns thirteen, she must venture out on her own and try to make her way in the world. So Kiki leaves her home in the country with her black cat Jiji for the big city. But what can a young witch with no special skills do to find her place?
KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE, originally released in 1989, is a charming story told with gorgeous animation and art. It was the first film by Hayao Miyazaki that I saw, and it's still my favorite. I love spending time with the characters in the city, which although a bustling place, retains its village-like atmosphere. I always enjoy revisiting it.
Although all Miyazaki films are generally suitable for the whole family, I'd recommend this (as well as MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO) for younger viewers especially, as it is not frightening or as intense (or as heavily-themed) as PRINCESS MONONOKE or HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE, for example.
The film appears on the DVD in both the original Japanese language, and an English dialogue version. The English dub is fairly well-done (with voices provided by Kirsten Dunst, Phil Hartman, Debbie Reynolds, Matthew Lawrence and Janeane Garofalo) but for some reason the American producers felt the need to add an obscene amount of extra dialogue for Jiji (the late Hartman's role.) Apparently they thought American audiences couldn't bear scenes where people weren't talking, so the character is saddled with a lot of gratuitous commentary which is intended to be humorous but isn't. I call it Disney sidekick syndrome. It's very distracting, and the film suffers for it. I don't blame the actor - he was just doing his job - but for this reason I don't recommend watching the movie in English.
Apart from that, this is a rather nice package. There is a "Behind the Microphone" feature with Dunst, Hartman and Lawrence, original Japanese trailers, previews for other Studio Ghibli, Disney and Pixar films, and an introduction by Pixar's John Lasseter. The film is presented in widescreen enhanced for 16x9 television sets. The English soundtrack is in 5.1 stereo. The Japanese is in standard stereo, but the world is so alive you won't notice. The second disc contains the storyboards for the entire film and you can watch them with the Japanese or English soundtrack. I don't think I'd ever view the whole thing from start to finish, but it is interesting to poke around in.
This is a beautiful, magical film, with wholesome lessons for the kids (if you're concerned about that sort of thing) that should delight anyone who appreciates the art of animation. Five stars for the original movie, maybe one less for the slightly less than wonderful English version. From someone who has watched a lot of animation, Japanese and otherwise, I can't recommend this film highly enough.
Movie Review: There's magic in the air with Kiki's delivery service!
Summary: 5 Stars
One of the fortuitous results of "Spirited Away" ("Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi") winning the Oscar for Best Animated Film for the great anime director Hayao Miyazaki is that his other works are becoming readily available on DVD in the United States as well. A case in point is "Kiki's Delivery Service" ("Majo no takkyubin," literarlly "The Witch's Express Mail"), which tells the story of Kiki O'Connell (voice by Kirsten Dunst), a young witch who has turned 13 and has to go off on her own for a year of training, accompanied only by her black cat Gigi (voiced by Phil Hartman). "Training" is actually a misnomer, because what Kiki does is get on her broomstick, fly off towards the ocean and finds a beautiful European styled city that does not have a witch. Instead of serving some sort of formal apprenticeship to an older witch, Kiki has to survive on her own, and when she helps Osono (Tress MacNeille) return a pacifier to a customer who left I behind at the bakery, she stumbles upon a job that will help her earn her way. What makes "Kiki's Delivery Service" work is that fact that everybody in the city accepts Kiki's presence. It has been years since the city had a witch, and the police think she has to obey the rules just like everybody else and not cause accidents flying around on her broomstick, but everybody accepts Kiki at face value and offers her encouragement and support. Included in this group would be Ursula (Janeane Garofalo), an artist living in the forest, Madame (Debbie Reynolds) and her housekeeper Bertha (Edie McClurg), a couple of old ladies who take a liking to the young witch, and especially Tombo (Matthew Lawrence), a young boy who would like to fly just like Kiki. Ultimately "Kiki's Delivery Service" is not about what others think about Kiki but rather what she thinks about herself, especially when she starts confronting the doubts of adolescence that could ground a young witch who starts doubting herself.
True, this film suffers in comparison to "Spirited Away," but then that is going to be true of most animated films. The important thing is that "Kiki's Delivery Serivces" represents Miyazaki's vivid imagination and his painstaking attention to detail and insistence on putting in as much into each frame of animation as possible. The result is not great, but utterly charming, which is high praise given what most animation is like even today where computers are doing too much of the heavy lifting. Note: I am not sure if this was Phil Hartman's last work before his death, but it should be noted that his Gigi has a lot more lines than in the original Japanese version (you will notice this and other changes when you watch the film with subtitles instead of the dubbed track, which, of course, is something you always want to do with anime at some point while watching the film again).
Movie Review: Adorable, Sweet, and Fun. A Movie for the Entire Family
Summary: 5 Stars
KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE is a wonderful family film. My entire family - my husband, 11-year old daughter, 3-year old daughter, and me - all absolutely love Kiki. We have watched it many, many times, and it is still as fresh and cute and captivating as it was the first time.
KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE is the story of a 13-year old witch-in-training (voiced by Kirsten Dunst), who, in the tradition of her people, must leave home for a year, and make her own way in the world. She must find a new city and provide it a service. Her mother, whose talent is potion making, serves her city as a sort of cross between a pharmacist and a doctor. Kiki leaves her family at midnight on a beautiful, warm night with just her broom, her cat Jiji (voiced by Phil Hartman), and father's transistor radio. Once Kiki finds the perfect city, she settles right in to help. Since she has no special gift other than flying by use of her broom, she naturally sets up a delivery service, delivering packages and messages all over town.
Kiki learns about many things over the course of the year: responsibility, how to support herself, trust, belief in herself, loyalty, friendship, and even a first crush. She slowly finds her own way, learning and growing as she goes. By the end she is stronger, more sure of herself, and settled in her new community. She has made a life, through learning life's lessons.
Myazaki's animation is, as always, simply delightful. The rich textures and delicate details bring his characters to life. It is the little nuances that draw you in: the way the wind tousles Kiki's hair, the expressions on Jiji's face, the depth of the background scenery. The pallet is soft and lovely. The entire film is quite gorgeous.
As I said earlier, my entire family is enthralled by Kiki's coming of age story; none more so than my youngest daughter. For Halloween last year (2007), she wanted to be a witch. I asked her if she wanted to be a witch like the one in the Little Einsteins' Hansel and Gretel episode or one like Kiki. "I want to be Kiki, Mommy! I want to be Kiki!!!" She was very definite on that point. So she had a black dress, red shoes, a red hair bow, a small broom, and a stuffed Jiji (ordered from Japan!). She was so excited and so cute. I think the impression that KIKI'S DELIVERY SERVICE made on a then 2 year old speaks volumes. This quiet, simple story of learning to be happy with and to trust in yourself is timeless and appeals to all ages and generations.
Movie Review: Quite the charming tale!
Summary: 5 Stars
Ever since I first saw this film in 1998 I've fallen in love with it! I didn't really think that a story about a girl's experiences as a delivery girl wouldn't be that exciting, but after I found out that this was directed by Hayao Miyazaki and produced at Studio Ghibli, I thought 'What the heck; it must be good'. And indeed it was.The beautiful and cute 13-year old girl, Kiki, runs a delivery service by using her magical power to fly after she leaves her home to train for a year with her cat, Gigi. The setup is similiar to the novel of the same name(which is now available in america), but the events that occur are quite different. For instance, Kiki never loses her power in the novel, nor does the blimp scenario ever happen in the novel either.
But that doesn't keep this movie from being a good film. Hayao Miyazaki usually takes different stories and molds them into a different sort, sometimes making them better. This is one of those cases, in my opinion. As for the DVD, it includes the japanese version(finally!), which has its' differences from the english one. Namely, the music. There are long moments of silence, which work really well in some parts. Though Disney went and added some new musical pieces and piano solos. They even REPLACED some of the old music too! The only thing they added that I liked was the music that was put in when Kiki goes into a forest in search of the cat toy. It made the atmosphere more mysterious.
I enjoyed listening to Disney's newly added songs to the opening and ending credits, though I love the japanese ones better. As for the voice acting, I thought all of the English voices were good. Though I'm a bit mixed on the new direction gave to Gigi's character. I'm fond of the sarcastic, witty Gigi that Phil Hartmen portrays, but then again I also like the japanese 'feminine' sounding voice too. 'Tis a tradition in most animes to give the sidekick animal character that sortof voice (ala Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, etc.). I loved Kirsten Dunst as Kiki's voice; she managed to sound just about as cute and bubbly as the original. Ursula sounded OK, but it would've been nice if Disney gave her a lighter, sweeter sounding voice like in the japanese version.
Either way, I suggest you get this DVD if you love anime, or a good story. Adults CAN enjoy this as well as kids, if they have an open mind about it. Heck, the superb animation is enough of a reason to see this. That, and Kiki herself. ;)