Kiki’s Delivery Servicecame out 36 years ago, and it remains one ofStudio Ghibli’s best films, as well as being the highest-ratedHayao Miyazakifilm on Rotten Tomatoes. Miyazaki is known to draw from his own experience in his movies, with his most recent project,The Boy and the Heron,being hismost autobiographical projectto date.Kiki’s Delivery Serviceis also very much about Miyazaki, but in a different way– it serves as a metaphor for Miyazaki’s creative process.Kiki’s journey with her powers contains important wisdom that will resonate with artists in any medium.
In ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service,’ Kiki Experiences Burnout
Kiki’s Delivery Servicefollows a13-year-old witchnamed Kiki (Minami Takayama) who sets out on her own in search of a town to settle in and practice her craft, a requirement for young witches. Kiki and her cat Jiji (Rei Sakuma) fly on her mother’s broom to the town of Koriko, whichMiyazaki modeled after Stockholm. To support herself, she takes a job at a bakery owned by a kind couple named Osono (Keiko Toda)and Fukuo (Kōichi Yamadera) in exchange for a room. While she is settling into her new life as an independent witch, Kiki realizes that she can use her power of flight to start her own courier service and deliver goods to people quickly via her broom. One of the many things to love about this film is how itrealistically portrays being a self-starter and setting your life up as a creative professional. Kiki works two jobs, exhibiting an enterprising spirit.
Sometimes, we push ourselves too hard in pursuit of a dream. Towards the end of the film, Kiki burns out. Miyazaki hints that maybe Kiki needs to slow down when she flies through a storm one night and ends up being sick in bed the next day. Not long after, Kiki loses the ability to communicate with her cat, Jiji. Then, she discovers she can no longer get her broomstick to fly.The harder she tries, the more frustrated and worried she getsthat she has lost herwitch powersforever.
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‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’ Explores the Ups and Downs of Creativity
After she loses her powers, Kiki’s demeanor changes. She mopes about and struggles to eat. This is a deeply relatable phase for many creatives. Sometimes, no matter what we do, the spark just isn’t there. Kiki’s friend Ursula (also voiced by Takayama), who is a painter, comes to visit her and picks up on Kiki’s melancholy mood. Ursula invites Kiki to come stay with her in her cabin in the woods. Kiki explains her conundrum to Ursula, who then suggests that instead of continuing to struggle, Kiki should take a break and “take long walks, look at the view, doze off at noon. Don’t do anything.” Kiki listens to her friend, and it pays off. She gives her mind time to rest, and soon enough, she is back on the broomstick.
Kiki reminds artists that we must pace ourselves. In Kiki’s character arc, Miyazaki points out how important it is toaccept the inevitable periods of stagnation in creativity, rather than fighting them. Kiki’s changing relationship with her powers is also about self-doubt. The more pressure she puts on herself, the harder it is for her to succeed. Miyazaki’s movies contain universal themes that continue to hold important in our world —environmentalism, thecomplications of growing up, thedevastation of war— butKiki’s Delivery Serviceis Miyazaki’s most personal meditation on the life of an artist.
Kiki’s Delivery Service
A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service.
