Kiki's Delivery Service

As a kid, whenever you heard the word witch, you probably thought of a wicked old hag with a long, crooked nose, boil infested green skin, wearing a long black robe and a pointed black hat. I used to as well, at least until my mother gave me a new VHS movie to watch when I was around the age of five or six. The movie looked like just any another cartoon from the cover, but when I popped it into the player and watched the first few minutes on my black 13-inch television, I was consumed by the story of Kiki immediately.

Kiki, a witch from the countryside, has finally come of age and must do as all witches do when they become thirteen, leave home for a new town and begin her year of training as a good witch. Kiki is a witch who has never really gotten to explore or test out her abilities, her mother never even had much time to show her how to create simple potions, though she makes up for her lack of knowledge with determination and ambition. One day, she overhears a radio weather forecast predicting clear skies and a full moon and decides that she will leave that night at midnight.

She soon finds the city of her dreams, a hustling and bustling town that is right beside the ocean, a drastic change from her small and quaint hometown. City life takes her by surprise and she doubts herself and wonders if it was a wise choice to leave home. When an opportunity makes itself clear though, Kiki jumps at the chance to prove herself. Osono, a kind and pregnant bakery owner, is amazed at Kiki's ability to fly and also at her good heart. She offers Kiki a place to stay and it is at that time when Kiki decides to make this new city her new home.

Kiki begins her delivery service, where she uses her broom to transport goods, and does her best to overcome all the obstacle that come her way, no matter how trivial or consequential they are.

Kiki's Delivery Service is another one of Hayo Miyazaki's hit movies that is sure to always entertain no matter how old or young you are. It's a movie about friendship, realizing that you're perfect the way you are, and never giving up, and it is sure to warm your heart every time you watch it.