Rating: 
Summary: Gentle family fare
Review: Kiki, a 13-year-old witch, leaves home with her black cat, Jiji, to carry out her apprenticeship, which consists of living on her own for a year. She settles down in a picturesque seaside village, makes some friends, starts her own delivery service, and learns the true nature of her power. This wonderful family film features no violence or conflict between characters, yet there isn't a dull moment in it. Kiki's struggle with herself provides plenty of drama, and the flying scenes provide the excitement. Writer/director Hayao Miyazaki has crafted something special.
Rating: 
Summary: Pretty good
Review: I wasn't going to watch this movie..until the child i was babysitting fell asleep on me and i had no choice..(since i couldnt move) ANYWAY..it actually kept me entertained for the most part and is a really cute movie.
Rating:
Summary: You may think this is a movie for kids, but you're wrong!
Review: I know it is aimed for youger kids, but still it's great for all ages.
I think the newer version of this movie is better than the older one, which I rented and immmediatley liked. I was probely 10 when I rented it and I still love it.
I think this version's box is alot cooler, and thhe behind the scene's documentary is great.
This movie about a girl named Kiki. When she turns 13, she and cat Jiji{ I don't know why but they spelled like this in the movie, and Gigi on the box. Or maybe it was vice-versa}, must leave their house for a year so Kiki can train as a witch. And she begins a delivery service. I would advice people to {at least} rent this movie. And if you like it, you would not regret buying it, whether you're an anime fan.
Rating:
Summary: A gentle masterpiece, lovable characters
Review: This is a special film - touching, sweet, exciting, endearing. Kiki, voiced by a young Kirsten Dunst, is one of the most engaging characters of all film. She is one tough witch. Not evil, not the slightest, but tough because she is strong-willed, determined and honorable. She is a great role model for any young girl, and any older guy like me, too.I've watched this DVD four times in about a month, and it still brings roars of laughters and a stream of tears. The black cat, Gigi, is a brilliant counter to Kiki's sweetness. Voiced by the late Phil Hartman, Gigi is bored and reserved, a cat after all. But he is also just a little wise. The great director, Hayao Miyazaki, conceived this film with almost no direct conflict, and yet there is real tension. Kiki sets out to become an adult and overcomes obstacles. The lack of classic cartoon violence is notable -- there's a absolutely wonderful scene between Gigi the black cat and Jeff the old dog. In any other cartoon, they tear each other up. In this film, a wonderful thing happens. Many wonderful things happen in Kiki. I highly recommend it for people of all ages.
Rating:
Summary: my favorite Miyazaki
Review: A Film by Hayao Miyazaki As great as some of his other works are, this is probably my favorite of all the Miyazaki films that I've seen. It is one of the simplest stories, but I think that Miyazaki tells it extremely well. This animated movie is about a young witch who must move to another town to practice her craft as a solo apprentice witch. Kiki (Kirsten Dunst) is turning 13 years old, and it is a tradition that when a witch turns thirteen she must go out on her own to practice in another city. She takes along her cat Jiji (Phil Hartman) and flies off on her broom to find a city by the ocean. After seeing a little bit of the town and interacting with some townspeople, Kiki doesn't know where to go or what special skill she has. All she can do is fly on her broom. In exchange for minimal help around the bakery, Kiki is taken in by a kind woman named Osono (Tress MacNeille). While living with Osono, Kiki decides that since her one skill seems to be flying on her broom she should open a delivery service. She does, and runs it out of Osono's home and bakery. Kiki's Delivery Service is a beautiful, gentle movie about a young girl trying to find her place in the world as well as trying to figure out who she is as a witch and as a person. As I mentioned earlier, this is my favorite of all the Miyazaki films I've seen. It is just an easy going movie that is a lot of fun to watch, and is very engaging. All of the English voice acting is fantastic. I don't know if this movie is as technically proficient as Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke, but it is a very enjoyable movie to watch.
Rating:
Summary: A great story, but watch it in Japanese, not English.
Review: This is a great story, but I definitely prefer to watch it in Japanese with English subtitles. There are subtle changes in the story between the two versions, and after watching the Japanese version, I find that I can't stand Phil Hartman's sarcastic Jiji. The English version has been "dumbed down" for American audiences, and Jiji is just one example. In the Japanese version, there is less "mood music" to tell the audience how they are supposed to feel, and the beauty of the animation is allowed to stand on its own. It's clear that American audiences have little tolerance for silence, but believe me, many scenes in this movie are much better without the added noise. The addition of English language credits (and text, as in the scene where Kiki's parents read her letter) to the DVD was poorly done, and these parts of the movie are noticeably fuzzy and lacking in contrast. It seems like Disney was in a rush to get this movie to American audiences, and did a mediocre job in everything. It's a good movie, and well worth watching in either version. Still, it would be generous to give the English language version 4 stars, but the original Japanese version easily deserves 5 stars.
Rating:
Summary: Witches, life, and well a few lessons in between
Review: This was a good anime story wise, it seemed a little bland to beign with but it got better as time in it progressed. There was no magic but she did fly on a broom. It was also extremely cool to see that the towns people were accepting of a witch coming of age. When so many people in the world are afraid of us. This film has great promise, and I kinda don't like that Disney was associated with it making but eh what can I say. This is definatly a movie I would share with friends and family!
Rating:
Summary: Absolutely Amazing!
Review: Miyazaki's films never disappointed me, this one is not an exception. The movie, like Totoro, is a heartwarming one, it does not involve war, fighting, ghosts, whatsoever, which may be a disturbance to the hardcore war movie fans... but learning to appreciate different types of movies is important This movie is released in Japan in 1989, a fairly old film if you ask me, but the drawings are no where near the line of "old", the background is amazingly detailed, every brick on the roof is drawn with care and attention, which tells you how much work Miyazaki has put into this film. The characters' facial expressions are reflected perfectly with the animation, even without the voice acting, you can tell how they are feeling by looking at their faces. The story adds fantasy into reality, in an instrial world where cars and planes dominate, there are still witches and magics, which are believed to exist during the 16th century... this is past vs. present, magic vs. science scenario, but with Miyazaki's imagination, these seemingly contradicting factors melt and fuse together, giving the audience an experience they never had before... the story presents themes related to stepping into adolescence, living in a new environment independently, making new friends with a sincere heart, etc. As an environmentalist, Miyazaki also portrays the problem with polution caused by factories and car exhaustions in many parts of the film, which is a message people should understand. The voice acting in the US version is great, some anime fans that prefer original Japanese soundtracks may find the English dub sucked, but keep in mind that English and Japanese are two different languages, you cannot simply expect something in Japanese to be fully translated into English, plus with the cultural differences, what is presented in the Japanese version may not be understood by the western audiences, so a few comments and lines added into the movie in the English dub don't hurt the overall storyline. From what I heard and experienced, I can tell the voice actors in the US version have put their feelings and emotions into the film, unlike some dull dubbings such as Gundam Wing. After all, Disney does not want to ruin its reputation.
Rating:
Summary: Kiki and jiji
Review: i REALY LOVE THIS MOVIE BECAUSE IT PROVES THAT EVERYONE HAS A DREAM ABOUT BEING ALL THAT THEY CAN BE AND i REALLY LIKE HER BLACK CAT JIJI AND i HOPE TO GET A FULL BLACK CAT AND BE ABLE TO FEEL LIKE A WITCH.
Rating: 
Summary: Japanese language track with subtitles better than English
Review: First off, I would like to say that I give the Japanese track 5 stars. It is heart-warming and would be great for kids - provided that they could keep up with the subtitles, of course - and adults. However, I gave the DVD three stars because when Disney dubbed this, they decided to change the dialogue more than was necessary to match the lip-flaps. Jiji the cat became more sarcastic and negative. Disney added many lines for him where there weren't any in the original, which did not add anything to the movie and made him seem more unpleasant. Many of the minor characters also became ruder. A truck driver yells angrily at Kiki when he said nothing in Japanese, and a little boy calls a present he gets "dumb." The kid was a bit annoying in the original, but he's really a brat in the English-dubbed version. I'm not a parent, but I know that many parents would show this to their kids. The changes don't make the movie terribly unpleasant, my 12-year-old sister enjoyed it, but I find it rather irresponsible of Disney to purposely change a movie to be less kid-friendly and happy than it was originally, especially when the movie is targeted at kids.
|
