Posted By: Megan Gretz
Posted On: December 4, 2017
Megan Gretz
Conn-Area Catholic School
Grade 6
Kiki's Delivery Service
Kiki is a young witch who has recently turned thirteen years old. This marks an important period in her training; she must leave home for one year and live in a new town where she can practice her witch's skills.
After flying off on her broom with her cat, Jiji, Kiki finds a large town by the sea. She sets down thinking this will be a great place to start her new life, but the townsfolk aren't as warm and welcoming as the people in her hometown. This doesn't discourage Kiki, who sets of looking for a place to stay. Kiki wanders around town until she meets Osono, the owner of the local bakery. When Kiki helps Osono return a lost item to a customer, Osono suggests that she starts a delivery service and even offers Kiki a place to stay. Kiki thinks this is a great idea, as she enjoys flying on her broom.
Kiki begins delivering packages for Osono and other customers while working in the bakery on her off time. A local boy, Tombo, who has a passion for anything that flies, takes a liking to Kiki, and they eventually start a friendship. In fact, Kiki seems to touch the hearts of everyone she meets and soon begins to count her delivery customers as her friends.
As time goes on, the strains of running her own business and being away from home begin to take a toll on Kiki. On morning, she wakes to find that she has lost her witch's powers, which means that she can no longer fly or understand her best friend, Jiji. Kiki must discover what inspires her to get her powers back, and when a friend is in trouble, she does just that. By the end, Kiki has developed her self confidence and embraces the qualities that make her unique.
I think middle level students would enjoy this film. Kiki is around their own age and deals with problems that these students can relate to. There are many humorous moments that students would enjoy, as well.
A good activity to go along with this film could be a business plan designed by students for a business they would like to run. They could decide what goods or services they would offer and create a pricing chart. They could research information about local business and use this to help them create a business plan. Then, students could create a brochure describing what their business would be like.
Another learning activity for students would be to research famous women. In the film, most of the main characters are females who are strong, independent, and entrepreneurial. Students could research the lives of famous women such as Sandra Day O'Connor, Malala Yousafzai, Maria Tallchief, Grace Hopper, Mae C. Jemison, Indira Gandhi, or Frida Kahlo.