I first took a look at “Kiki’s Delivery Service” when I reviewed a batch of Miyazaki films on DVD back in 2010. It’s a film my kids still enjoy, although it’s a bit lightweight as Miyazaki’s works go: It’s the story of a girl who must go out into the world and learn how to become a witch. She arrives in a faraway city and establishes a delivery service. She makes friends, goes through a crisis during which she loses her powers, and eventually saves the day for a friend in danger.
The bonus features have been ported over from that earlier DVD release, and a new three-minute piece called “Ursula’s Painting,” which delves into the inspiration for the film, has been thrown in. They’re all micro featurettes that run just two or three minutes and briefly cover specific topics, except “The Locations of Kiki,” which is nearly half an hour. A featurette about the film’s score runs about seven minutes.
If you’re a big Kiki fan, or you don’t own the film yet, this is a good release to pick up, but if you already have that 2010 DVD release, the question becomes whether the Blu-ray upgrade is worthwhile. While this edition also includes the film on DVD, none of the bonus features, except the John Lasseter introduction, are found on that disc.
