Majo no Takkyūbinn (Kiki's Delivery Service)
1989
***½
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Cast: Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi, Keiko Toda, Kōichi Yamadera, Kōichi Miura, Mieko Nobusawa
13-year-old witch Kiki follows the traditions and leaves home for a year. With the help of her flying broom, she sets up a delivery service in a coastal city, but independent life is no bed of roses. Hayao Miyazaki's follow-up to My Neighbour Totoro is based on Eiko Kadono's 1985 novel. A Western film about a teenager who moves on her own would probably tell a scary and cautionary tale. Studio Ghibli's animation is filled with wonderful, unexpected innocence. Kiki is a lovely character, and her venture into adulthood is sad, funny and moving, even if the slow-paced story doesn't seem to amount to much.
