Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

  • 100% of critics liked it
    (22 reviews)

  • 85% of users liked it
    (74,549 ratings)

Veteran animator Hayao Miyazaki directs this buoyant children's adventure yarn about a young witch striking out on her own. At her mother's behest, 13-year-old Kiki sets out on a year-long apprenticeship with her black cat in tow. With a shaky command of her broom, she ends up in a charming… More

In Theaters
Jul 29, 1989 Wide
Optimum Releasing

Critic Reviews

  • J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

    The characters are gently and warmly rendered, and a climactic action sequence involving an unmoored dirigible hints at the stately grandiosity of Miyazaki's masterpiece Howl's Moving Castle.

  • Ken Eisner, Variety

    Top-drawer kiddie fare for both fans of the exotic and mainstream family auds.

  • Andrew Osmond, Empire Magazine

    A terrific alternative to the diabetic's nightmare that is most of Disney's output, Kiki's Delivery Service takes pride of place in Miyazaki's exceptional body of work.

  • Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice

    A wonderful and enchanting animated film about a 13-year-old girl's initiation into adulthood through her adventures in a strange city.

  • Sean Axmaker, Seanax.com

    The magic of Kiki is the girl's sense of wonder in her new world, whether it's her soaring flight among the migrating geese or a bicycle ride... to see the dirigible.

Read all 17 critic reviews

See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

  • danny d


    even in the fantastical miyazaki gives us a realistic female character, something more true to life and down to earth than the princesses we normally get from animation with female leads. this film is a bit more reductionist than some of his better known films, and it moves a bit… More

  • Michael S


    The first film by Hayao Miyazaki that I saw. It's still his most purely enjoyable film and features one of his best heroines.

  • Christopher H


    Another Miyazaki classic. Who knew the day-to-day exploits of Kiki could be personal yet so epic. Kiki is one of Miyazaki's greatest characters and the animation brings her and the strange city she lives in to vivid life. I also really liked Kiki's talking cat who was… More

  • Michael E


    Its cute, entertaining, beautifully animated, and perfect for the entire film. Kirsten Dunst does a great job in her first film as Kiki, and Phil Hartman does a great and funny performance in one of his last roles as her cat Gigi

  • Anthony L


    I didn't love Kiki's delivery service as much as I thought I would. Hayao Miyazaki is a great director of animation but I much prefer the more fantastical and bizarre studio Ghibli films, this one seems a little tame in that sense. I still loved it though, particularly… More

Read all 20 featured audience ratings

Currently unavailable on Flixster

Also available on

Other Retailers

Not Available
Not Available
Not Available

Subscription Services

Not Available
Not Available
Not Available