Headscratchers / Kiki's Delivery Service

• It always struck me as completely nonsensical that Kiki regains her ability to fly but not to talk to her own familiar. I get that they were trying to insert a Growing Up Sucks thing into it, but it just strikes me as inconsistent/violating the rules of their own setting.
  • Furthermore, this idea that witches-in-training need to be able to talk to their familiar, but full witches don't is a bit odd. Furthermore, if it's common that witches cease to understand their familiar when they get powerful enough, why is Kiki shocked that this has happened? Surely her mother explained the major steps in this process before Kiki left!
    • I never gathered that Kiki completely lost her ability to talk to Jiji. When he jumps on her shoulder at the very end of the movie, it's obvious Phil Hartman does the 'me-YOW!', where when she couldn't understand Jiji before he sounded like a real cat and made cat mewls. I saw it as Jiji able to understand and talk to her, but he was just making a joke that time, and we just didn't get to hear from him again after that.
    • ^Agreed.
    • In the dub, Phil Hartman also had Jiji say "Kiki, can you hear me?" before he jumps on her shoulder and meows. In the Japanese version, it was just another regular "meow" but they decided to change that for the dub probably because it made more sense and because the whole losing her ability to communicate with her cat wasn't in the original book to begin with.
    • In-universe logic is secondary to storytelling in Hayao Miyazaki movies. In this case, Miyazaki is delivering An Aesop about how in order to grow up, you have to leave behind the familiar things of your childhood. So the radio stops speaking Japanese, Kiki loses her mom's broom, and she can't understand Jiji anymore. Jiji represents Kiki's childish self, so her inability to understand him after regaining her flying powers is symbolic of her having grown up. I think the 1998 Disney dub restored Kiki's ability to understand Jiji in order to give American kids a happier ending.
    • Why only kids? Adults can want a happy ending too, you know. True Art Is Angsty is often parodied for a reason.
    • It's not even an in universe inconsistency if you think about it. We never see adults talking to cats, so who's to say that witches don't lose their ability to talk to cats when they grow up? In response to the second troper: it's common for girls to go through menstruation and still be shocked. Losing the ability to speak to a close friend is a pretty hard thing whether you knew it was coming or not.
    • How many different English dubs ARE there? In my original VHS of the movie, it was always Phil Hartman making the meows, even when they couldn't communicate. Now I have the special edition DVD and not only does Jiji sound like a regular cat AFTER she gets her powers back, but they also cut out a lot of his Deadpan Snarker lines. SO CONFUSING.
    • There are three. Streamline did a dub not long after the movie came out. This script was used for the subtitles on the Disney releases. Disney re-dubbed it in 1998 for a DVD release, with some new music and lots of extra dialog from Jiji. This dub was then edited to be closer to the Japanese original for the 2010 rerelease.
    • At the end of the story, can Kiki still understand Jiji? Original book: Yes (she never loses this in the first place.) Miyazaki's script: No. Streamline dub: No. Disney 1998: Yes. Disney 2010: No. Can this get more confusing? NO!
    • So Disney, in making a change to the dub, actually brought the movie closer to the source material?
    • Miyazaki's statements aside, the mere fact that Jiji doesn't talk to Kiki in the final scene isn't proof that he can't. In fact, Jiji never talks to Kiki when others are present - only when they are alone.
    • One of the things that makes this so confusing is Kiki's response when she loses her powers. When she first discovers that she can't talk to Jiji, Kiki's first reaction (apart from shock) is to hop on her broom and check if that's not working either. So apparently the talking-to-Jiji magic is basically the same stuff as the flying-on-broomsticks magic, and if you lose one you can expect to lose the other. Sure enough, Kiki discovers that her flight magic is very weak. So at the end of the film, when she gets her flight magic back, you'd logically expect that she gets her talking-to-Jiji magic back too. But in some versions of the film, Jiji doesn't talk at the end. So what gives? Are there two separate ways for a witch to lose her familiar-communication powers? (The first being a general loss of magic, and the second being personal maturity?)
    • A prior troper referenced a Word of God statement by Miyazaki, where he apparently claimed that Kiki can't talk to Jiji anymore because she's growing up. (It's symbolic of emotional maturity or something.) But if Miyazaki ever did say that, then this is a Flip-Flop of God. In the documentary "The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness" (filmed in 2013), a staffer asks Miyazaki why Jiji doesn't speak at the end. Miyazaki doesn't say anything about magic or maturity or symbolism. Instead, he just responds that Jiji had nothing particular to say at the moment, and that people don't always need to talk to each other. Depending on your viewpoint, this either clears everything up or else it just adds to the pile of confusion. (The fact that a Ghibli staffer asked the question shows that this has been a long-running mystery for many.)
  • He's talking to the cameras.
  • My understanding of the final scene is that Jiji not talking isn't because Kiki has changed, but because he has. While living in the town, he's grown up to be more like a regular cat, and now he has a mate and kids on the way. So his role is not that of a witch's familiar anymore, he's become a cat of his own, and he starts acting like cats normally do. Cats are independent creatures, and while he will still remain friends with Kiki, now that she can't talk to him, Kiki can't order him around anymore, like she did in the beginning of the movie when she made Jiji pretend to be a toy cat. So in a way you could say their friendship has matured to a point where Kiki has to treat him like he really is, a cat, not an underling.
    • This references the "personal maturity" idea discussed earlier. But even if Kiki's relationship with Jiji has changed, why should that mean they can't talk to each other? Seems like a cruel bit of magic, if mutual respect somehow precludes communication. And anyway, they were always best friends. Jiji goes along with the toy-cat idea because he wants to be helpful, not because he's an "underling". And what does it mean to "treat Jiji as he really is"? He's a cat, sure, but he's a talking cat. He has thoughts and feelings just like a person. Ending all communication with him doesn't seem respectful; it just seems sad. So personally, I prefer the idea that they can still talk to each other when the movie ends. The earlier non-communication was simply a temporary problem, caused by Kiki's loss of magic.
    • Technically, Miyazaki doesn't really have the authority to be declared Word of God in this case. While he did direct the movie, he has no ties to the film's source material whatsoever, and therefore should not be able to make determinations about the themes of the book/movie. His interpretation, and the one that people continuously espouse, is merely that: Interpretation. Logically, Kiki gets the ability to talk to Jiji back, as per the book, because it makes sense; rather than being a shoehorned message that doesn't really fit the context of the film.
    • It 'is' interesting to note that Jiji's behavior changes, too. Like, it's not just Kiki. It's also him. His expressions become less anthropomorphic, he starts spending all of his time with Lilly, and he stops showing any concern for Kiki at all. In fact, right before she realizes that their means of communication have fallen apart, she's trying to vent to him about her day, and he just wanders away as if he doesn't know or doesn't care what she's saying. I think we're looking at a case of two friends who've simply grown in very different directions — which absolutely 'is' a part of growing up. You know, it plays out through the veil of magic and lore and everything, but the metaphor is clear. Kiki has her job and her friends and a city where she's thriving. Jiji has his mate and his kids. They've gone their separate ways. They don't need each other anymore.
    • While Kiki and Jiji are no longer as co-dependent as they once were, they've clearly still got a strong bond. Significantly, in the very last scene of the film, Jiji runs to Kiki after she rescues Tombo and meows like a regular cat. It's subtle and brief, but watch Kiki's expression: while she briefly looks disappointed that she still can't understand him despite regaining her powers and confidence, she seems to accept it and nuzzles him affectionately. And of course, during the credits Kiki flies around with Jiji and one of his kittens. While Jiji and Kiki are no longer bonded at the hip and follow their own paths, they still care deeply for each other and remain in each others' lives - which is exactly what happens to many childhood friends who grow apart.
• Why do so many people randomly wink at Jiji for no reason? Asano, Asano's husband, Ursula. Is this some weird in-joke?
  • Maybe they're just showing awareness that he's sentient, as opposed to a regular cat?
  • In Real Life, when cats wink at you, they do so as a sign that they trust you. They're just trying to gain Jiji's trust.
• Is there an actual reason Kiki is so mean to Tombo at first? I don't really see him doing much that warrants her being so rude.
  • At that point, Kiki had just had the run-in with the traffic cop. She's scared that she'll screw up her training and she'll have to go home or something. She's also embarrassed. But she's too disoriented to communicate any of that directly, so she just gets mad instead. Some people do that. Kiki makes a similar mistake when Tombo invites her to come along with his friends in the car (just after the bicycle scene). She feels awkward around these other people, but rather than just saying so she simply walks away without explanation. She's not very good at communicating negative feelings.
  • Also, Kiki's from a rural village and may genuinely be slightly shocked that a boy would speak to her without an introduction.
  • Kiki tells him that he's offended her, and instead of apologising, he insults her - calling her old-fashioned. She asks him to leave her alone - he keeps following her until she actually physically escapes. He's a nice boy, but he needs to think about others' feelings instead of just charging in and doing whatever he wants.
  • That's probably just a coverup. To me it's not so much that she's insulted or offended by Tombo or even dislikes him as much as, mentioned above, she's really just embarrassed that she's made a fool of herself by trying to make a good "impression" on the public. That and she was ignored by passersby and, yes, had the incident with the cop. So I think she was just frustrated. Yeah, I do think it also has something to do with her not being used to being in the city where people sometimes try to be friendly without knowing one's name, but mostly she's just embarrassed and doesn't want to talk about it. And so she misunderstands Tombo because of all that. It's nothing to really do with him, it's just her own humiliation from the incident in the street that she's really annoyed about and she unfairly blames him for that. It's only after she gets to know him does she acknowledge that she was wrong about him.
• The thing that made no sense to me is that Kiki never discovers any special skill. We learn early on that all witches can fly on brooms and that she needs to discover her magical talent and use it in their new town. For instance her mother is an herbalist and the witch she runs into is a fortune teller. Does anyone else think that we should've seen some hints of what she can do besides riding a broom, and not very well?
  • Keep in mind, Kiki only just started her training. She spent most of the movie getting settle into the town, finding a job, and coming to terms with everything. She probably would go on to figure out her magical talent after things settled.
  • This drifts into Wild Mass Guessing territory, but it seems to me that Kiki's world is a setting where the magic is slowly going away due to whatever reason (lack of faith, witches marrying mundanes for lack of wizards, the rise of technology replacing the need for magic, etc.). Kiki's mother might be able to make potions, but she's not very good at it, as she causes them to explode at the slightest emotional disturbance. The fact that Kiki herself seems to have no explicit talent besides flight and a cat familiar (with whom she loses the ability to communicate, even!) might be a portent that in one more generation, there'll be no more magic at all.
    • By what standard are you judging Kiki's mom? Sure, the potion explodes, but then she fixes it with ease.
    • I don't agree with the WMG above, but at least in the Japanese version she explicitly says that she had to do the potion all over again as even the vial she was using cracked both times when the potion exploded.
  • They're expected to learn magic in their daily life.
  • I figured her special skill was flying expertise - sure, all witches can fly, but Kiki runs a flying courier business, is the darling of the aviation club, performs an airborne rescue from an airship... that's some extraordinary specialisation!
  • I'm pretty sure her talent is getting people what they need.
  • Hard to speculate on Miyazaki's intention, but "sometimes you don't have an extraordinary talent, just ordinary ones: and those are enough" is a possible lesson from the film. The majority of people aren't The Chosen One and have to come to terms with that fact.
    • I would agree with the above. Maybe she'll develop a special talent eventually. Maybe she won't. Either way, right now, she's doing good things in the world with nothing but the common skill of flight, and there's no reason that shouldn't be enough.
  • In the book Kiki returns home after her training year to learn potions from her mother, though she does eventually return to Koriko. She even brings one of the Bells her mom hung in the trees around her house as a present for Tombo.
• Maybe this was just me not paying attention, but it never was clear to me: is Kiki able to go back home to continue learning (since her mother makes a point saying Kiki has a lot to learn, as can be expected from a young witch of 13) after the one-year-training or is she obligated to remain in her city/town of choice? Yeah we see that aloof (I didn't really find her that snobbish or similar, though I did watch the Japanese version so the dubs can be different) witch going home who says her thing is fortunetelling, but what if the young witch in training discovers a talent she KNOWS her mother doesn't have? Especially since though not all cities have a resident witch, it is implied those that DO only have ONE full-on trained witch?
  • In the dub, Jiji's exact line when they first explore the city is "But there may be some witches living here already." He says "witches", in the plural. (In the original Japanese, it's probably ambiguous, because the language doesn't have plural nouns.) So apparently it is possible to have more than one witch in a single city. And there's no mention of different rules for "witches whose talent matches their mother's talent" vs. witches who are more unique. I'm pretty sure the rule is that you have to stay away for a year, and after that you can choose for yourself where you want to live. You can stay where you are, or go home, or even find a new town entirely. And even the "stay away for one year" rule is more of a guideline; Kiki's dad mentions that she can actually come home whenever she wants to. (Though Kiki says that would make her a "failure".)
    • The Japanese subs Jiji specifically tells Kiki not to get attached to the town until they figure out if there's other witches first (implying that if there are they won't be able to stay) and she asks the man in the clock tower if there are any other Witcher living there. Before leaving her hometown it's also mentioned by her mother that Witches in training must live in a town with no other witches for a year so they learn to be independent and stand on their own. Nothing is said regarding fully trained witches living together. As in the book, she can eventually return after her one year in solitude. The whole thing seems to be more of a rite of passage they go through on their own but they can come back home than a "kids must be self sufficient by X age" as they do in America, more like experiencing a year abroad like a lot of students go through. Kiki's departure all of a sudden and her family and friends being ok with her leaving also seems to confirm that the expectation is that she'll be back once her year is up.
  • In the book Kiki does go home after her training year to get additional training from her mother before returning to Koriko to expand her business,
• Does Kiki's mom have a cat? Did she ever have a cat? Maybe some witches simply don't have cats, for some reason? (We'll probably never know, but I felt like asking.)
  • I presumed Jiji had also been Kiki’s mom cat (though now that I think, he isn’t old enough for that. Or maybe witches' cats live longer than other cats, you know, magic and all). Going by some of the theories above in this page about how Jiji stopped talking to Kiki as a metaphor for growing up etc, it could be that Kiki’s mom also had a cat during her youth, which stopped talking when she grew older and eventually just left/passed away, or even left Jiji in its place; and now the cat’s family is Jiji. As for witches always having cats... well the only other witch we meet (Kiki's mom aside) has one, and Bertha also exclaims once she meets Kiki, "Broom and black cat! Just like my mother told me!". So if it's not obligatory, it certainly seems to be a matter of tradition for witches in this setting to have cats as their companions.
  • Again, in the book Kiki's mom did indeed have a cat, named Meimei.
  • Regular house cats live to be about 15 years. It is said in the book that Jiji is the same age as Kiki (13) so if it's normal for witches to be paired with a cat since they're babies, it could be inferred that her mom's cat has passed away of old age (no cat is known to have lived to his 30s and she must be to have a 13 year old daughter).
• Maybe this was explained in the novel the film is based on, which wouldn't be surprising because Howl's Moving Castle was a film where most of the problems came from various things being left out from its novel, but why didn't Kiki call her mom after she lost her powers? From how Kiki reacts to losing them, it's completely blindsiding and she doesn't know what to do. Why didn't she call her mom to ask what to do next? I get it, she's moved away for a year to train, which also doesn't make sense, but this is the kind of film where that part is just something you roll with, but why didn't she call her mom to ask why that happened? You think she would because she's 12 and doesn't know everything.
  • Kiki had no way of contacting her, and she barely had time to write a letter. Since she was living on her own, it is very likely that she wanted to make it in life without her parent’s help.
  • She's also been unable to use her powers for just a couple of days by the time of the blimp incident. You could argue that she's trying to fix her problems on her own rather than run to her mom at the first sign of trouble. The whole point of living alone is that she must fend for herself even when dealing with her supernatural problems, so it would be counterproductive for her to run to her mom for help before trying to fix things herself.

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