In the world of animation, few filmmakers are as critically acclaimed and beloved as Hayao Miyazaki. One of the legendary founders of Studio Ghibli, he has produced many beautifully animated, emotionally deep, and brilliant animated films over the past four decades. Whether it's epic fantasy films like The Valley of the Wind and Princess Mononoke, more kid-friendly films like My Neighbor Totoro and Ponyo on the Cliff, or dramatic works like The Wind Rises, each of Miyazaki's films shows fresh energy, perspective, and a pure love of storytelling.
The 1989 film The Witch Home Delivery Service is one of Miyazaki's most famous and critically acclaimed works. The film follows a young witch named Kiki who leaves home at the age of 13 and embarks on a year-long journey of self-discovery. This adventure takes her to a beautiful port city overlooking the sea. She meets all sorts of people; Some people are not very friendly to her, but some welcome her with open arms. She uses a broomstick to run a courier service to share her joy with the people of the city.
"The Witch Courier Service" is one of Miyazaki's happiest and most cozy works, but the film is not full of good vibes from beginning to end. Against the backdrop of a cheerful story, the director also incorporates important themes such as burnout and the importance of maintaining good mental health. These factors add important meaning to the film and are the core reason why the film has been so popular for many years.
Here's how Miyazaki intertwines these themes with the happy story of The Witch Courier Service:
Kiki was very motivated at first
When watching "The Witch Home Delivery Service", one thing is clear: Kiki likes to be a witch. The magic brought her great joy, and she actively wanted to share it with as many people as possible. In the film, she can't wait to go solo and explore the world outside of her hometown. She thinks that leaving alone is her first true test as a witch; She wants to leave her childhood behind and embrace the infinite possibilities of living her life as an adult.
Soon after her departure, Kiki begins to realize that not everyone is as happy and kind as she is. While searching for her own city, she meets another young witch who is about to finish her year's practice, and the latter quickly discourages Kiki's excitement. She told Kiki to turn off the radio, without giving Kiki any nice words or kind advice; Throughout the exchange, she was speaking to Kiki in a condescending tone. Kiki didn't let this ruin her mood, though, even after the conversation was over, she immediately found herself trapped in the storm.
When she arrives in the port city, Kiki is overwhelmed with excitement. She loves the sea view, she finds all the new new friends she strangers are funny, and she doesn't get too upset when they ignore her or refuse to help her. Soon, she befriends the bakery's owner, Mrs. Sona, and she offers Kiki a place to stay, in exchange for which Kiki can help out at the shop.
Kiki then started her courier service, delivering Sona's baked goods to customers and even providing them with birthday gifts, letters, or any other special delivery service that customers might ask for. She loves her new job and feels inspired to finally find her specialty.
She lost her magic
However, after running a courier service in the city for a while, the negative feedback from many people started to make her uncomfortable. Some girls her age were reluctant to accept her, and some of the people she provided services were ungrateful for her efforts. Despite all the joy and positivity she does to bring to the world, many of the people she deals with still have a bad attitude towards her.
A typical example of this is when Kiki is about to deliver herring made by an old grandmother to her granddaughter. After helping Grandma bake food and complete a series of household chores, Kiki realizes that if she doesn't hurry up, she won't be able to catch her friend Dragonfly's party. So she flew directly through a heavy and cold rainstorm and delivered the pie to her granddaughter as fast as she could, but the granddaughter answered the door, saying that she hated the pie made by her grandmother, and then slammed the door in front of Kiki. To make matters worse, Kiki thinks it's too late for Dragonfly's party, and even if she does, her clothes are soaking wet and she can't go at all. Then, on top of that, she got a bad cold due to bad weather.
As a result of these negative emotions, Kiki began to lose her positive attitude and outlook on life. She begins to become hostile to Dragonfly and his friends, and begins to see delivery as a job she doesn't want to do, and no longer feels as happy as she used to. Kiki begins to become depressed, and her magic becomes weaker and weaker, which in turn makes her lose her optimism even more.
She can't talk to her black cat Gigi anymore, and she frustrates herself trying to force herself to fly, only to accidentally break her broomstick. Kiki was desperate, she didn't know what to do. Since she was still in the witch cultivation stage, the weakening of her magic power made her worry that she would never be able to truly become a witch.
Strong support
In the face of all this, Kiki has made close friends here to provide her with support and encouragement. Sona asks her to work more in the store and stop making deliveries, and despite Kiki's dismissive comments about Dragonfly, Dragonfly continues to work hard to cultivate their friendship. However, the strongest support came from an artist named Urusla, who had helped Kiki on her first long-distance delivery. Urus comes to town to visit Kiki and brings a much-needed change to Kiki.
Urusla brings a lot of positive energy and passion to Kiki's life, and Urusla invites Kiki to live in her residence outside the city for a while, which makes Kiki's life even better. She gives Kiki a chance to rest and get away from the stresses of life. The two then embark on a fun road trip back to Urusla's hut, filled with the joy, excitement, and humor Kiki felt when she first arrived in the city.
While spending time with Ulusla, the artist talks to Kiki about motivation and burnout, telling her that it's normal for you to get bored after a while, even if it's something you usually enjoy doing. Whether it's creating art or running a delivery service, when you turn your passion into work, the stress of work permeates your love for that thing.
Through this chat, Kiki realizes that this is not her predicament alone. She began to realize that finding the opportunity and motivation to do something often becomes a challenge, but that doesn't mean it's not worth doing. She learned to put herself and her well-being first, and that meant taking breaks to recharge her batteries when necessary. Kiki regains her confidence and magic and saves the dragonfly from a dying blimp accident in time.
These themes are the cornerstones of the popularity of The Witch Courier Service. Hayao Miyazaki pointed out the trade-offs between turning passion into motivation and burnout after work, and conveyed these ideas to the audience with great emotion.
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