Reel Matt

This blog started as my movie marathon — watching a movie a day for a whole year — and has continued as a place for me to write reviews about movies, TV, and various other items.

About

Blog

Oscar Predictions

Projects

This is still a work in progress as I migrate from my old platform at Tumblr. For now, you can still access the whole backlog of posts there at http://reelmatt.tumblr.com

Kiki's Delivery Service

Film #283

THE PLOT

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.

Year 1, Day 287

BEFORE: Day three of my Miyazaki chain and that means it’s time for Kiki’s Delivery Service. The two previous films have been quite different (and yet very similar) so I’m quite interested to see how Kiki’s Delivery Service fits into the mix.

AFTER: One good, one bad, and now one okay film. Miyazaki continues on with a distinct look and is fairly similar story-wise. The differentiating factors between these three films so far seems to be the characters and how relatable they are. In Kiki’s Delivery Service the character’s weren’t as distant as they were in My Neighbor Totoro but they also weren’t as easy to click with as Castle in the Sky.

The biggest strength in all of Miyazaki’s films so far is that they’ve provided a certain level of intrigue, something that’s caught my attention. Something that makes the film unique and stands out from other, more typical, animated films that I’ve seen. Kiki’s Delivery Service looks much the same with a fairly flat canvas (in terms of outlines and color separation) and feels very much the same in terms of tone. There’s that lighthearted aspect to it - following Kiki (Kirsten Dunst) finding her skill - as well as a darker element - a teenage girl leaving her family for a year and dealing with the harshness of a city. And yet again the visuals are a good match. Recently there were reports that there would be a live-action remake, and I’m a bit skeptical. I feel a lot of the appeal lies with the animation. It gives it a certain fantastical element to the film that’s quite nice.

I feel as if I’m rambling a bit and not making much sense so ill try to start concluding my thoughts so you can go on your way. Compared to yesterday, I found myself much more invested in Kiki and her journey and that’s what made this film more enjoyable. There wasn’t really a conflict or substantial growth (there was growth, just not what I’d consider major) but that’s ok because Kiki can carry the story. But despite this the overall entertainment wasn’t quite there. It was nice and fun to watch but there wasn’t anything that really had me hooked or will stick with me after a few weeks. I still haven’t given up on this chain yet and am expecting more greatness from the films to come.

RATING: 3 out of 5