Synopsis
Kiki is a 13-year-old girl witch, and in accordance to the traditions of the witches in training, she is to set out and find a place to call her own and spend a year alone. She along with her black cat Jiji, find a seaside town where she finds her place as a courier service after helping out a baker’s wife. But as she further integrates into the community trouble suddenly arises for her.
The Good
Like with all other Miyazaki films, the art is a visual pleasure with its simplicity and attention to detail. This most especially applies to the expressions of the characters and the execution of the flying scenes which Miyazaki is known to do with an aspect of his films. The way that the film slows down and takes in its background also creates a high appreciation for the setting and effort placed into the imagery of the island.
Another positive point to the film is the plot. The way that it introduces this fascinating world where witches seem somewhat the norm and that they have a type of tradition of leaving home to find their own gives off a very solid world building. It gave a solid execution and easy to follow flow that was maintained for the most part but the highlight of the film is the development and presentation of Kiki’s inner conflict.
From the way she was portrayed to the tone set from the background, it felt as if several arcs were created and finished in the development of the protagonist and it didn’t give a chaotic feel whatsoever, by far this is one of the most serene films in the Ghibli lineup.
The Bad
The most prominent issue with the film lies in the final portion of the film where Kiki sets off to save her friend and in turn finds her ability to fly again. Looking at the entirety of the film and how it set itself up, the third part came off as rather off-tangent. Here we have for the majority half of the film, a serene but in depth story looking at the journey of a young witch in finding a place to call her own like all other witches before her.
From her arrival in a new city to her struggles in relearning how to fly, we were being placed on tale of a personal journey then poof, an action/rescue sequence is slotted in. While it may have brought in some excitement and tension, the last portion could have been handled better.
Other less than stellar points of the film are mostly nitpicks including the lack of outer conflict and the lack of actual magical learning being done by Kiki in comparison to what was shown in the beginning.
Conclusion
That it still held the familiar and enjoyable art style of Miyazaki and presented well-done flying scenes is the first thing that should be appreciated in the film. The plot had a great flow until the final half bt gave a solid world building. The character development is also a plus but the film could have been a bit more with added magic and some more conflict outside of the internal one set for the protagonist
Rating:7.5/10