Kiki’s Delivery Service returns to theaters in a new way. The beloved Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli classic has been remastered in 4K and will be showing in IMAX theaters for the first time. The limited-time release offers audiences across select theaters in Canada and the United States the chance to watch and experience Miyazaki’s coming-of-age fantasy in a new, exciting way.
In Kiki’s Delivery Service, a young witch named Kiki leaves her family home on her thirteenth birthday to set out on her own for the first time. Leaving home for a year is a rite of passage and a part of the traditional training for a young witch. However, Kiki is not alone; her trusty, sarcastic black cat Jiji comes along for her year of independence. Kiki finds a seaside town to settle in and starts her flying delivery service to help support herself.
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Just as Kiki begins to navigate new friendships, responsibilities, and the complicated pressures of growing up, she loses her self-confidence and her ability to fly along with it. Now Kiki has to confront who she is without her magic.
The film is the perfect introduction to Hayao Miyazaki.
I, like most millennial anime nerds who were raised on Toonami, first encountered Hayao Miyazaki’s work through Toonami’s Month of Miyazaki event. That was when I first watched Kiki’s Delivery Service. At the time when I watched Kiki’s Delivery Service as a young teen, I thought the most magical thing about it was that Kiki was a witch who could fly.
However, now revisiting Kiki’s Delivery Service as an adult, I have come to realize the most powerful moment happens when she can’t fly anymore. The moment Kiki loses her ability to fly is one of the movie’s quietest scenes, yet also one of its most powerful.
When I was younger, watching Kiki go through this moment felt confusing and frustrating. Surely there must have been a secret villain casting a spell on her. When I realized there was no villain, I wondered, ‘Why couldn’t she just push herself harder?’
Kiki’s Delivery Service evolves as a story as we grow and revisit it.
Years later, I would watch the film again as an adult and realize that the moment Kiki can no longer fly feels painfully familiar. Kiki hasn’t lost her magic because she suddenly forgot how to be a witch. She has lost it because she is overwhelmed, exhausted, and struggling with something that many of us experience. Kiki was burnt out and depressed.
Kiki’s Delivery Service does not have a dramatic battle, no villain casting a spell, and no clear explanation for why her magic suddenly stops working. One day, she simply realizes that something inside her is broken and/or missing. When I had this realization as an adult, it was like I could see myself in Kiki.
Here is what Kiki’s Delivery Service has taught me about burnout, depression, and finding that spark for life again.
Burnout quietly creeps up on us.
One of the most impressive aspects of Kiki’s Delivery Service is how Miyazaki subtly conveys Kiki’s struggle. Kiki’s burnout is quiet; it is not this huge, explosive moment; instead, it just slowly creeps up on her. After successfully starting her business, Kiki is initially very proud of herself. However, as time goes on, she becomes more tired and discouraged. Making deliveries once brought her immense joy and excitement, but now they are stressful.
Kiki’s quiet unraveling makes the moment and the realization that she is burnt out so relatable. We don’t usually see burnout coming until it hits us. Burnout can present as a loss of motivation, a creative block, or a lack of fulfillment from something that once brought you joy.
In Kiki’s situation, her witch abilities, like flying and talking to Jiji, were not just things she could do; they were a core part of her identity and being. So when she suddenly loses them, Kiki is forced to confront who she is without her magical abilities.
Kiki’s battle with burnout resonates with me so strongly because I have been there. As a writer and content creator, I love creating; it brings me joy and fulfillment.
However, there have been times when I can’t bring myself to write, or, least of all, be creative. At first, it feels like a creative block, and I will get over it after a quick nap. Then suddenly, a week, a month, and then months go by without me producing anything.
The feelings of guilt and shame are conflicted with my burnout, because there is a part of me that is fighting and wants to create, while another part of me that can’t bring myself to do it. Revisiting Kiki’s Delivery Service as an adult made me realize that Kiki was going through a similar inner struggle.
Our sense of identity shouldn’t be tied to work.
In Kiki’s Delivery Service, Kiki leaves home on her rite of passage to prove she can make it on her own as a witch. Starting her delivery service quickly becomes a way for her to establish independence and purpose in this new city. As her business grows, every successful delivery helps affirm that she is on the right path and capable of making a life on her own.
So when Kiki’s magic suddenly stops working, her sense of identity begins to crumble. Kiki questions her place in the world, especially after she worked so hard to make a place for herself.
This part of the film resonates deeply because, like many of us in the real world, Kiki’s identity is closely tied to her work. It is so easy to tie our sense of self to what we do. Our careers, our talents, our roles in a family, or the interests that define our lives. To be clear, I am not saying that a person should take pride in these things; rather, we should be wary of losing ourselves in these roles.
Kiki’s Delivery Service subtly reminds us to be careful not to lose our sense of self in the things we do or make. Over the years, I have had to confront who I am outside of my career, my hobbies, and even my relationships. It is not easy to do this kind of self-reflection, but it is a necessary part of life. Because when the things we rely on to define us are gone or suddenly change, we have to rediscover who we are without them.
Rest is necessary in order to heal.
You can’t always force yourself through burnout and depression. Sometimes you have to take a break, rest, and reset. One of the most crucial moments in the film comes when Kiki spends time with Ursula, the artist. Ursula invites Kiki to get out of the city for a few days to stay at her countryside home. Ursula’s house in the country provides Kiki a change of pace and room to breathe.
During their stay, Ursula opens up to Kiki about how she, too, struggles with creative blocks as an artist. She explains to Kiki that sometimes her inspiration and passion for making art just aren’t there. Ursula goes on to explain that her solution for her lack of inspiration is not to force it.
Ursula’s advice to Kiki is to stop trying to force her inspiration, or rather, in Kiki’s case, her magic, to come back. The suggestion at first sounds hard to accept: not doing anything when you want to fix what is broken or missing almost feels counterproductive.
But in reality, taking a break or simply stepping away is sometimes the best solution a person can make. For Kiki, taking time to rest was the start of understanding that losing her magic doesn’t mean she is a failure or broken. It simply means she needed time to rest and reconnect with herself.
Kiki’s Delivery Service taught me that creativity, passion, and joy can’t be rushed or forced to return. Sure, we can try to push ourselves through the burnout and depression, but that only delays the inevitable. Sometimes, the healthiest and best thing we can do for ourselves is to give ourselves the space to rest and heal.
And by no means is healing a linear process. It can be different for everyone, sometimes, but giving ourselves the time and space to heal is usually the first step.
Community can help bring back your spark.
Another thing Kiki’s Delivery Services taught me about burnout and depression is that you can’t always find yourself back on your own. Throughout the film, Kiki has people around her who support her, even if she doesn’t realize it at first. Characters like Osono, Tombo, and Ursula are great examples of this support.
Osono gives Kiki a place to stay and operate her delivery services out of her family’s bakery. In contrast, Tombo admires Kiki and sees her potential even when she doubts herself. Even Ursula provides Kiki with valuable advice and understanding. Ursula helps Kiki realize that she is not alone and normalizes the feeling of burnout for the young witch.
Kiki’s community teaches us that when we lose our passion in life, our community can be a resource to help us find our way back to it. It is all too easy to want to isolate and remove ourselves from others when we’re struggling. But sometimes we need other people’s help, advice, or even just their company to remind us of our self-worth when we are just too burnt out to see it in ourselves.
Reclaiming your magic.
What makes Kiki’s Delivery Service resonate so strongly isn’t just the fantasy of the story; it is the honesty behind it. Miyazaki tells a magical coming-of-age story, but also creates something brutally human: the fear that our inspiration or passions that once defined us might suddenly be gone or no longer bring us joy or fulfillment.
The fact of the matter is, in life, there are going to be times when we lose our spark and drive. There will be times we fall out of love with the things that bring us joy. There will even be times when we struggle to work, create, and produce because the burnout and or depression is simply too strong to push through.
Through Kiki’s story, we learn that losing magic or our spark in life does not mean it is gone forever. Sometimes, like Kiki, we need a little time, a little rest, our community, and a little patience to find our way back from burnout and depression, so we can get back to the things we love and that bring us joy.
Kiki’s Delivery Service returns to theaters for audiences new and old to experience the film again. Behind the film’s magical story is a deep, resonant message about burnout, depression, self-worth, and learning to rest and heal. Revisiting a film like Kiki’s Delivery Service as we grow and change helps us rediscover our own magic in life.
Kiki’s Delivery Service returns to theaters in IMAX on March 13.
