Kiki: The Little Witch (The Private Reviewer)

The Private Reviewer: Hello, I'm the Private Reviewer. I remember it because Nostalgia Critic doesn't. So, I would like to recommend a Studio Ghibli film because those guys have to be choosing his favorite movie like...

(A brief clip of Knock of the Cabin is shown.)

Leonard: What’s your favorite movie?

Wen: Kiki’s Delivery Service.

Leonard: I haven’t seen that.

PR: Not all of humanity has been judged yet. (beat) No, let's not, because...why?

(Footage of Kiki's Delivery Service is shown. "The Poisoned Princess" by Media Right Productions plays in the background)

PR (v/o): There's nothing I can say about how awesome this movie is that millions of people haven't said already. It's a masterpiece of beautifully matched contradictions. In a sense, they're very similar; not a lot of story, not a lot of action, just sort of a laidback setup with a touch of the supernatural. But for some reason, this really grabbed me and hooked me a lot more than My Neighbor Totoro did, and that's especially impressive when you're given the age that I saw it. But even with that prejudice going in, I saw this on TV and...surprisingly kept watching it. Even for as cutesy and simple as it was, something about it just really drew me into it, to a point where at the end, I found myself really loving it.

PR: But few of us also remember how a bit scary it could be.

(Clips from the 1989 film's scarier content are shown next.)

PR (v/o): The scene where Kiki is almost struck by lightning in the rainstorm, many crows attacking him during the first delivery, and on the climax, the airship getting crashed off in their buildings before Kiki saves Tombo! Nevertheless, the darker moments didn't take over the majority of the film.

PR: That's where a decent animated prequel comes in. (nods)

(A movie title, Kiki: The Little Witch, is shown, followed by the clips. "Holiday Brass Ensemble" by Doug Maxwell/Media Right Productions plays in the background.)

PR (v/o): Followed by the best defining Miyazaki's film with a weak-less box office success, 800 million yen before 35th anniversary will always celebrate; the prequel was related to the original as well as a live-action version... (a poster of live-action Kiki's Delivery Service is shown, whispers) half-related, with a strong less box office success, 1.5 billion yen. Even this movie was decent, the animation is nice, the acting is decent, the script is decent, not-so-boring, and all those Miyazaki designs are similar to them. With that said, a Ghibli/Ankama version is the second one, and compared to the first one as Miyazaki's film, it is definitely better. Is it great? Well, let's not say things we can't take back, but...it definitely entertained me more than the first one.

PR: Let's take a flight over The Hobbit childhood days, Kiki: The Little Witch. (A yellow caption saying Kiki: la petite sorcière appears in front of him which he quickly pushes away.) Forget about it in France, it's just a prequel, Kiki: Witch in Training*, and not an original! No other film is called a title. (a poster of Kiki's Delivery Service in the 1989 original film in France appears next to him.) Doesn't count, it's an original.


 * Note: The title is translated in France, Kiki : Sorcière en formation.

(shows a Studio Ghibli logo with Jiji & Totoro in a green background)

PR (v/o): This prequel starts off with the Studio Ghibli logo. Instead of a blue background with a cat (Jiji) replaced a white Totoro instead, on his head of a giant one on a green background, but that's cool. Before the movie begins, this has to be produced at Studio Ghibli and Ankama Animations along with-- (Walt Disney Japan (ディズニー) is credited appeared on a copyright holder with a Japanese text, yelps quietly)

PR: Now it makes sense!

(a montage clips of the best scenes: Alice in Wonderland (1951), Robin Hood (1973), Dumbo (1941), The Sword in the Stone (1963), Hercules (1997), Beauty and the Beast(1991), Frozen (2013), The Princess and the Frog (2009), Pete's Dragon (1977), The Lion King (1994), Moana (2016) and Tarzan (1999) is shown as PR speaks)

PR (v/o): Disney; the company who made those animated classics and the others...that produced a whole slew of what I like to call "brilliant animation", the cartoons that were good, but you were just so fascinated by how strangely they moved that you have no choice but to keep watching.

PR: First off, it might be showing the history of the Disney/Studio Ghibli deal, but it makes no sense.

PR (v/o): In summer of 1996, Tokuma Shoten at the time announced that Disney would distribute the Studio Ghibli library, and it would go on to dub and distribute most Studio Ghibli films as well as re-dub the films that were dubbed prior to the Disney/Tokuma deal.

(cut to the original Ghibli's preview is shown by BVHV/Disney on VHS in 1998 or 2003)

PR (v/o): This original had a preview and didn't even have to be shown where Studio Ghibli will hold much. When Hayao Miyazaki said he doesn't like any Disney works.

PR: Even this prequel is not bad, it was good enough to make a swap from...

(a posters of Dumbo (2019), Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland trilogy (2010/2016), Pete's Dragon (2016), Pocahontas, The Brave Little Toaster: To the Rescue, The Jungle Book(1967/1994/2016), Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas, Tarzan II/Tarzan & Jane, Toy Story 2/Toy Story 3/Toy Story 4, Savage Sam as PR speaks)

PR (v/o): ...the Disney great successfully originals or sequels and remakes feeling good, decent, bad and the ugly...

(showing a Disney VHS covers of Dumbo, Alice in Wonderland, The Sword in the Stone, Robin Hood, Pete's Dragon, Pocahontas II, The Brave Little Toaster/The Brave Little Toaster: Goes to Mars, Old Yeller, The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Story as well as VHS/DVD covers of Beauty and the Beast: Belle's Magical World, Tarzan, Valiant and a Blu-ray cover, The Princess and the Frog (2009) as PR speaks)

PR (v/o): ...which Disney didn't like to be showing a worst English-dubbed preview to appear on media in 1998 or 2003 or 2010 where the people may or may not freak out.

(showing a 1998 VHS cover of The Black Cauldron as PR speaks)

PR (v/o): Except one for feeling the darkest Disney classic with a Studio Ghibli type handle this influence yet where this preview got to be shown on VHS.

(a montage clips of Disney's The Black Cauldron, Atlantis: The Lost Empire, A Wrinkle in Time, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Frozen, James and the Giant Peach and Moana, Lucasfilm's Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Pixar's Luca, Inside Out, Coco, WALL-E and Up, 20th Century Studios' Fantastic Mr. Fox, and Searchlight Pictures' Isle of Dogs is shown as PR speaks)

PR (v/o): And also, Ghibli did inspire even their similarities of Miyazaki and Takahata type. It has great influence from those masterpieces with Disney, Pixar and the others such as Lucasfilm Limited and 20th Century Studios.

PR: ...to an extent.

PR: Even you never expected a deal, they're getting in on the Studio Ghibli movies on HBO Max!

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PR: But honestly, I'm probably getting ahead of myself. Let's look at how this prequel begins.

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PR (v/o): Where Kristen Dunst in the Disney [1998] dub...

PR: ...the voice of the original Kiki, had passed on by this point, this time around she's voiced by...

PR (v/o): ...Darby Camp (a shot of Camp as Kate Pierce from The Christmas Chronicles is superimposed), who's an on-screen actor and voice actor who you might be most familiar with playing Emily from live-action Clifford the Big Red Dog movie.

PR: And like Dunst in the Disney [1998] dub, she's Kiki in this.

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