Kiki's Delivery Service

Kiki's Delivery Service (魔女の宅急便 Majo no Takkyūbin) is a 1989 Japanese animated fantasy film written, produced and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is based on the 1985 novel of the same name by Eiko Kadono. The film was released on July 22, 1989, and won the Animage Anime Grand Prix prize.

Synopsis

When an apprentice witch turns thirteen, she must leave her home in order to hone her craft. Although Kiki's sole talent is broom-flying, she sets out for adventure with her cat Jiji. They settle in a charming seaside town, where Kiki establishes her own delivery service. As Kiki learns to balance independence with responsibility, her kind heart wins her many new friends in this coming-of-age tale.

Dubbing History

Kiki's Delivery Service was originally dubbed in 1990 and produced by Carl Macek of Streamline Pictures at the request of Tokuma Shoten for Japan Airlines' international flights. Kiki was portrayed by voice actress Lisa Michelson, who also voiced Satuski in the Streamline Dub of My Neighbor Totoro. This dub would not be released until 1996, when it was released as part of a Japanese Studio Ghibli Laserdisc Box Set.

The movie was later redubbed by Disney using an all-star cast; making it the first Studio Ghibli film released under the partnership between The Walt Disney Company and Studio Ghibli; Disney recorded an English dub in 1997, which premiered theatrically in the United States at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 23, 1998. It was released on home video in the U.S. on September 1, 1998.

Disney's English dub contained some changes (outlined below), approved by Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli. Releases since 2010 have been changed; many elements have reverted more towards the original Japanese version.

Cast

Image	Character	Seiyū	Dub Actor
Image	Character	Seiyū	Streamline Dub	Buena Vista Dub
	Kiki	Minami Takayama	Lisa Michelson	Kirsten Dunst
	Koppori Tombo	Kappei Yamaguchi	Eddie Frierson	Matthew Lawrence
	Jiji	Rei Sakuma	Kerrigan Mahan	Phil Hartman
	Osono	Keiko Toda	Alexandra Kenworthy	Tress MacNeille
	Ursula	Minami Takayama	Edie Mirman	Janeane Garofalo
	Kokiri (Kiki’s Mother)	Mieko Nobusawa	Barbara Goodson	Kath Soucie
	Okino (Kiki’s Father)	Kōichi Miura	John Dantona	Jeff Bennett
	Madame	Haruko Kato	Melanie MacQueen	Debbie Reynolds
	Barsa	Hiroko Seki	Edie Mirman	Edie McClurg
	Miss Dora	Shō Saitō	Diane Michelle	Fay Dewitt
	Ket	Yuriko Fuchizaki	Lara Cody	Pamela Adlon
	Clock Keeper	Tomomichi Nishimura	Gregory Snegoff	Lewis Arquette
	Fukuo	Kōichi Yamadera	Gregory Snegoff	John Hostetter
	Senior Witch	Yuko Kobayashi	Wendee Lee	Debi Derryberry
	Madame’s Granddaughter	Keiko Kagimoto	Wendee Lee	Sherry Lynn
	Maki	Kikuko Inoue	Lara Cody	Julia Fletcher
	Ket’s Mother	Mika Doi	Diane Michelle	Julia Fletcher
	Ket’s Father	Takaya Hashi	Steve Kramer	John DeMita

Additional Voices

Streamline

Lara Cody - Hometown Friend 1, Tombo's Friend 3
Barbara Goodson - Hometown Friend 2
Steve Kramer - Policeman, Street Sweeper
Wendee Lee - Hometown Adult 2
Carl Macek - Radio Announcer
Melanie MacQueen - Woman
Kerrigan Mahan - Driver 2
Dave Mallow - Tombo's Friend 1, Dirigible Captain
Diane Michelle - Tombo's Friend 2
Mike Reynolds - Hometown Adult 1, Ket's Grandmother
Gregory Snegoff - TV Newscaster, Kiki's 2nd Customer
Doug Stone - Bakery Customer 1, Driver 1, Hotel Receptionist

Buena Vista

June Angela
Jeff Bennett - Street Sweeper
Corey Burton - Radio Announcer
Eddie Frierson
Susan Hickman
John Hostetter - Dirigible Captain
Sherry Lynn
Scott Menville - Ursula's crows
Matthew Kermit Miller - Policeman, Receptionist

Notes

Disney's dub is the final role of comedian Phil Hartman before being murdered on May 28, 1998. The dub premiered only 5 days before his death; later releases are dedicated to his memory.
The depiction of the cat, Jiji, changed significantly in the Disney version. In the Japanese version Jiji is voiced by Rei Sakuma, while in the English version Jiji is voiced by Phil Hartman. In Japanese culture, cats are usually depicted with feminine voices, whereas in American culture their voices are more gender-specific.
- A number of Hartman's lines exist where Jiji simply says nothing in the original. Jiji's personality is notably different between the two versions, showing a more cynical and sarcastic attitude in the Disney English version as opposed to cautious and conscientious in the original Japanese. Later releases by Disney remove these ad-libs so as to be closer to the original Japanese version.
In the original Japanese script, Kiki loses her ability to communicate with Jiji permanently, but the Disney version adds a line that implies that she is once again able to understand him at the end of the film. Miyazaki has said that Jiji is the immature side of Kiki, and this implies that Kiki, by the end of the original Japanese version, has matured beyond talking to her cat.
More minor changes in Disney's dub to appeal to the different teenage habits of the day include Kiki drinking hot chocolate instead of coffee and referring to "cute boys" instead of to "the disco".

Video Releases

Distributor	Year	Dub	Region	Country
Tokuma Shoten	1996	Streamline	NTSC	Japan
Buena Vista Home Entertainment	1998	Disney	NTSC	United States
	2003		1 NTSC	United States
	2003		2 PAL	United Kingdom
Optimum Releasing	2006		2 PAL	United Kingdom
Buena Vista Home Entertainment	2010		1 NTSC	United States
Optimum Releasing	2013		B DVB-T	United Kingdom
Buena Vista Home Entertainment	2014		A DVB-T	United States
GKIDS	2017		A DVB-T	United States