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Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)
Kiki's Delivery Service is a 1989 Japanese animated fantasy film written, produced, and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, based on Eiko Kadono's 1985 novel Kiki's Delivery Service. Animated by Studio Ghibli, the film stars Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi, and Keiko Toda. The story follows Kiki (Takayama), a young witch who moves to the port city of Koriko with her cat Jiji (Sakuma) and starts a flying…
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki · Shot by Jūrō Sugimura · Cut by Takeshi Seyama · Music by Joe Hisaishi · 103 min
How it was made
- Miyazaki was originally only meant to produce the film, with Sunao Katabuchi set to direct as his debut; Miyazaki took over as director himself after growing dissatisfied with the first script draft and reworking the story substantially.
- Miyazaki researched the film's Scandinavian-style setting using photographs from an earlier trip to Visby and Stockholm, taken while unsuccessfully trying to secure the rights to adapt Pippi Longstocking; the city of Koriko's architecture also draws on Amsterdam, Paris and San Francisco.
- Author Eiko Kadono was unhappy with how far Miyazaki's script diverged from her episodic novel, and the project nearly stalled at the screenplay stage until Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki visited her home and invited her to see the studio.
- The film expanded from a planned 60-minute television special into a 102-minute feature once Miyazaki had finished storyboarding and scripting it.
- With a budget of ¥800 million, it was one of the most expensive anime productions of its time, comparable to Akira and Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise.
Behind the scenes
Elsewhere
More by Hayao Miyazaki
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