Kiki's Delivery Service

So, guys, if you remember the last Ghibli movie review I did, My Neighbour Totoro, I mentioned how that film felt like a very relaxing movie that didn't have a whole lot going on but was still seen as really famous and I also mentioned how I personally wouldn't place it as one of my favourite Studio Ghibli movies despite how famous it is. For me, that kinda movie is this, Kiki's Delivery Service. A lot of what happens in the last movie happens here, but, in my opinion, it's done way better and, I'm not 100% sure about this, but I think this might be my favourite Studio Ghibli movie. It's so hard to explain but everything that happens in this movie just got me very emotionally and I absolutely adore this movie. I know other movies like Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle might be some other people's favourite Ghibli movie, but, for me, this is my favourite. It's hard to really explain, but, I've mentioned a lot already about how these movies usually don't have that much of interest really happening but they still keep that really engaging. And, in my opinion, this is the movie that does that the best. The first time I saw this, it filled me with so many emotions even though there really isn't that much going on, or, at the very least, it doesn't have anything that big about it, but, it's just the best way they could do this very smaller film. The movie is about a small girl named Kiki who's a witch and she's leaving home to find her own place and get a job. She and her cat Jiji fly off to a town where they find it hard to get accepted by the people, but she meets a lady named Osono who owns her own bread store and lets Kiki stay with her and Kiki decides to become a delivery girl with her flying for the shop. And that's really about it. It's mostly just following Kiki as she tries to adjust to being in this new town and doing these jobs and I think the film is all the better for it. Like I said, even though this is like a lot of other Ghibli movies where not that much is really happening, but there's something about it that's super engaging, there's just something about how this one does it in particular that made me really, really love it and make this film my favourite they've ever done. I guess the main thing I like is how they spend a lot of time in the town and you get to know it so well. I would say the animation helps with that because, as always, the film is really stunning, and the way they do this town is really gorgeous and makes going through it really relaxing. Actually, remember in My Neighbour Totoro, I mentioned how the film was a film that was really relaxing to watch? This one is the best one for that, I love when a movie can make me feel super relaxed from just watching the characters doing very mundane things, but they still have it very comforting to watch. But another big part of that is the characters themselves. I really, really love a lot of these characters. Kiki is very, very likeable, Jiji is pretty funny with his sarcastic sense of humour and a lot of the other characters like Osono, Tombo and Ursula are very likeable too. And just seeing them go through this town and living their lives is something I really love. I love that the film doesn't really have much of a structure to it. It doesn't feel like how a movie generally does with not really feeling like it's building to anything or there's any kinda pay-off. Sure, there is kind of a climax at the end, and I do like how they have it where it feels like Kiki is losing her powers and needs to be able think clearly in order to get them back and the way they do that is really interesting too with needing to save Tombo. But, before that, the regular stuff with the characters really does carry the movie for me. I love when Kiki helps that old lady bake something for her granddaughter and then when she doesn't like it, it's really rage inducing, and I love when Kiki meets Ursula for the first time and you see her passion for art and then when you see her again at the end when Kiki stays with her for a small while. And like I said, the animation really does make this town feel like a place you'd almost want to live in, but the animation also does other great stuff too like when she's flying around and gets blasted by the wind and how they do that is really impressive and amazing to watch, especially since this came out in 1989. And the English cast is absolutely flawless in this, they couldn't have done a better job. Kirsten Dunst is perfect as Kiki with the voice she's using that fits Kiki flawlessly, Phil Hartman is also perfect and funny as Jiji and others like Tress McNeille, Matthew Lawrence, Janeane Garofalo and Debbie Reynolds are all fantastic too. So again, I don't really know how to explain this, but even though this film does a lot of similar things to the other Ghibli movies with not anything crazy happening, it's just a very slow paced film where Kiki is trying to do well with this job and live her life, I just feel this movie is the one that does all of that to perfection better than the others and I love it for that. I just feel like this movie helped me understand more why people get so into these movies. I already kinda understood, but this one did it the best for me and made me adore these movies even more. And so, yeah, I would absolutely recommend checking this film out. Even you're not really a fan of this kind of movie, I would still say you should check this one out. So, that's my review for Kiki's Delivery Service. Thank you all for reading and please comment down below to tell me what you think.