Kiki's Delivery Service

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki · 1989 · 102 min · Studio Ghibli · back in cinemas in 4K

The setup

Kiki, a young witch, leaves home with her talking cat, Jiji, and flies to Koriko, a port city. To earn her keep she takes work with Osono, who runs a bakery, and Kiki's one skill, flying, becomes her business: a delivery service. A boy named Tombo, obsessed with flight, follows her around. Miyazaki adapted the film from Eiko Kadono's 1985 novel, and it opened in Japan on 29 July 1989.

Nothing here is a quest for a throne or a villain to be beaten. The film is about the first stretch of being responsible for yourself, which is a smaller subject than most animated features dare and a bigger one than most of them manage.

What works

Critics keep returning to the same strength: character over plot. Variety's Ken Eisner called it a "thoroughly delightful tale" that is "stronger on character and texture than on plot", and that is the bargain the film offers. Its pleasures are texture: a seaside city that Empire describes as modelled on mid-century Europe, and vivid colour throughout. Empire praised its "Disney-style warmth without the songs and schmaltz", which is a fair description of how a film can be sweet without being syrupy.

touching without being mawkish, and complex without being complicated

Gary Green, The Quietus

Green's point is that the appeal lies in Kiki's choices rather than the size of the stakes. Time Out's Tom Huddleston went further, giving it five stars and reading the film's middle stretch as a candid account of how hard it is to find your footing, one that stays funny and hopeful. This review will not say more about where the story goes; the film is better met without a map.

The music is by Joe Hisaishi, and the opening and closing songs are by Yumi Matsutoya, credited as Yumi Arai. Miyazaki also reworked Kadono's episodic novel, adding dramatic stakes to explore the gulf between independence and reliance in teenage girls. Kadono herself was reportedly unhappy with the changes and nearly stopped the project before agreeing to continue.

What doesn't

Little goes wrong, and critics have found little to argue with: Metacritic lists 15 positive reviews and none mixed or negative. The quibbles are about taste and about versions. Green dislikes how the Disney English dub turns Jiji into a wisecracking sidekick, which he feels flattens some of the film's cultural specificity. If you can choose, the subtitled version avoids that argument entirely. And anyone who needs a clear antagonist and a climax with explosions will find the pace slow, even if it is never dull.

Who it's for

Children who are ready for a calm film, and adults who remember the year they first lived alone. It is a good first Miyazaki and an easy one to revisit. It suits a quiet evening better than a party.

Score: four and a half out of five. The half point off is for the film's own modesty: it is a small, perfectly kept thing rather than a staggering one.

Where to watch

Studio Ghibli's catalogue in the UK and Ireland is now handled by GKIDS, and Kiki's Delivery Service returned to cinemas there in IMAX from 21 August 2026 and in 4K more widely from 28 August, according to Filmhounds. Availability varies by country, and whether it is still playing near you depends on your local cinema, so check listings. For the critics quoted above, see Empire, Time Out, The Quietus, Filmhounds and the Metacritic round-up.