Soundtrack Review: Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)

Posted by Jon Blough

October 4, 2009

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Kiki's Delivery Service This is a review of the motion picture score Kiki’s Delivery Sevice by Joe Hisaishi.

“Charming, pleasant, and exotic, a perfect way to kick back and relax”

Each composer seems to have some brand of music they just can’t screw up. John Williams and David Arnold have their big adventure scores. Danny Elfman can always find a new way to suit a zany fantasy world. Alexandre Desplat seems to have a never-ending well of technical rhythms and lush, romantic themes. In the case of Joe Hisaishi, I’m still amazed that every animation score his has tackled has produced a unique result. Nausicaa had its distinct Indian flavor, Laputa its choral heartbreak and robust action, and Totoro its modern approach and memorable melodies. With Kiki’s Delivery Service, Hisaishi continues to craft plenty of beautiful themes and playful rhythms, and if you liked anything about his past works it’s another charming must-buy.

Western Orchestration

If you didn’t check out the plot of the film, you’d think Kiki was a French animated movie. The orchestrations are entirely Western, and the solo instruments are buoyed by an accordion and a guitar given a Mediterranean flavor, both of which make “A Town With An Ocean View” and “Helping the Baker” delightfully exotic tracks. For Hisaishi, it represents a continued and necessary maturation in style. While I did relish the most soaring moments of Nausicaa and Laputa, I also acknowledge that continuing to repeat that style would have become rather tired at this point in his career. Here the composer takes the same innocent attitude he did in My Neighbor Totoro (even mirroring the exact style in “To Ursala’s Cabin” and “A Mysterious Painting”), but as a much richer orchestral tapestry the music thankfully stands out on its own.

Enjoyable Approach

And how enjoyable the approach is! Kiki’s first theme is a lackadaisical waltz, a stylistic first for the composer’s animation works, and it’s a pleasure to hear with all its glistening, plucking orchestrations mixed in with a surprisingly prominent trumpet. As is typical with Hisaishi’s more subdued themes, it is amazingly effective at producing a peaceful lull, not enough to put you to sleep but certainly enough to relax you. It’s the second theme in “Depature” that should please fans of the composer, as he manages to churn out yet another graceful string melody that tugs at your emotions regardless of whether you’ve seen the film or not. The violin solo in “Osono’s Request” represents some of the composer’s most stunning work for a solo performer, though those wanting to hear a lengthier performance would have to wait until Hisaishi’s Budokan Concert in 2008 (trust me, the wait was worth it). A third traveling theme embodies the exotic flavor of the cues cited in the previous paragraph, as well as “Very Busy Kiki” and “Late for the Party”. None of Kiki’s themes can match the soaring feel of Hisaishi’s first two Miyzaki scores (though the vibrant finale cue “Rendezvous on the Deck Brush” comes close) or the memorable innocence of Totoro, but more often than not they are just as beautiful.

Conclusion

Granted, Kiki’s Delivery Service is by no means a perfect score. The high-pitched optimism in “Starting the Job” and “Substitute Jiji” could have been acceptable in small doses, but at over five minutes combined the tracks will probably irritate even the most ardent fans of the composer. When the tuba solo that starts “Jeff” is your musical respite for a “thank goodness that’s finished” passage, you can’t expect the score to approach greatness, or even the memorable nature of Totoro. “Propeller Bicycle” also sacrifices the exotic constructs of the early parts of the album for a purely electronic feel and regrettably feels more basic as it goes along. Yet for a score that relies almost entirely on its ability to charm you for minutes on end, it is impressively tailored, mostly harmless, and certainly never boring. Surprisingly, both of the end songs prove likeable, with the latter’s strumming rhythms adding to the relaxing mood established by the score cues. The whole album is prescribed for those looking for a way to kick back on a summer’s day.

Album (41:32)
1.   On A Clear Day… (2:16)
2.   Departure (2:54)
3.   A Town With An Ocean View (3:00)
4.   Flying Delivery Service (2:09)
5.   Helping the Baker (1:05)
6.   Starting the Job (2:15)
7.   Substitute Jiji (2:47)
8.   Jeff (2:30)
9.   Very Busy Kiki (1:20)
10.   Late for the Party (1:08)
11.   Osono’s Request (3:02)
12.   Propeller Bicycle (1:42)
13.   I Can’t Fly (0:48)
14.   Heartbroken Kid (1:11)
15.   To Ursala’s Cabin (2:06)
16.   A Mysterious Painting (2:22)
17.   The Adventure of Freedom, Out of Control (1:07)
18.   The Old Man’s Deck Brush (2:00)
19.   Rendezvous on the Deck Brush (1:06)
20.   Message of Rouge (1:46)
21.   If I’ve Been Enveloped By Tenderness (3:10)