Viewed – 10 August 2013 Television

This is one of Studio Ghibli’s films that always seems to get mentioned as a favorite.  Kiki has just turned 13 and as all young witches must leave home for a year to complete their witch training … Kiki chooses to set off for the city, with her wise-cracking black cat Jiji along for the ride.

As with many Ghibli movies, this is a charming experience filled with impressive, hand-drawn animation and plenty of quirky characters.  Kiki herself is a likable, feisty young girl voiced well by Kirsten Dunst, and other characters like a love-struck boy and a pregnant bakery owner are all very entertaining.  The clearly European themed city is also rather gorgeous.

For this kind of material, it is a bit long and sags in the middle slightly.  Also apart from the ending, it seemed to cry out for more menace and a villain of some sort … which we don’t get.  Instead the movie opts for simple feel-good storytelling with that age-old believe in yourself message.  Not exactly a bad thing.

I enjoyed it overall, but apart from the animation and fun characters, I felt there was much more potential here.

Verdict: 3 /5

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