Nostalgia Critic: Studio Ghibli's Kiki's Prequel

Nostalgia Critic: Hello, I'm the Nostalgia Critic. I remember it so you don't have to. And perhaps some of you remember my 200th episode of Anime Milwaukee review of Ponyo. But then so many people have asked me why do I hate Howl's Moving Castle, so I guess the best way to torture me some more is to show me the original film that it was based off. And I am here to talk to you about the greatest Miyazaki's movie I ever seen in my life, and I don't say that very often! Kiki's Delivery Service.

(Title card and footage of Kiki's Delivery Service is shown as NC speaks.)

NC (vo): 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. You get more sucked into a world when it feels more real. Every alley doesn't always have these three-act structures or these clever lines. There is so much build-up for this review of Barney's Great Adventure, the screenshot is shown all over the place, hell, it's even in...

(Back earlier to the review of  Barney's Great Adventure at an shots of Kiki from Kiki's Delivery Service, Rapunzel from Tangled, and the titular characters from Calvin and Hobbes comics are shown)

NC (vo): ...the eyes are most expressive fucking faces off! (back to Miyazaki's 1989 footage) But little did I know that an even greater good just lay behind the corner: a little anime a bit simply known as “Kiki”'s prequel.

NC: Because that movie will ever make sense. And I didn't know what Kiki used in this Ponyo's review. (a shot of Kumiko from Ponyo) This is "Kiki"... was a spin-off prequel.

(Title card and footage of Kiki. "Court and Page" by Silent Partner plays in the background)

NC (vo): It’s strange. I mean, was the first “Kiki” really popular enough to spawn a prequel? Were there really protesters out in the streets demanding to see more “Kiki's Delivery Service?” My guess is the movie even, which, in Japan, means they can squeeze a little bit more trite out of it, which resulted in this half-assed effort of dickiness. Well, okay, this could kind of be interesting. I mean, the animation looks good, and maybe we could see the backstory of some of these characters. Maybe we can see Tombo and how she got where she was, and the interaction with the boys and girls. You're always aware they're trying to capture the magic and the originality of the first one, and that never, ever leaves.

(The poster for The Little Mermaid: Ariel's Beginning is shown, as well as the opening image and title for The Little Mermaid and The Little Mermaid II: Return of the Sea.)

NC (vo): It's kind of like the prequel to The Little Mermaid. It's not a terrible movie, but the first one was just so incredible and just so amazing that you kind of know you're never gonna recapture it, and that lingers over the entirety of the film. Don't get me wrong, I always enjoy 2020's Kiki fine, but somewhere in the past 19 or 30 years, it's gone from that cute little movie to Studio Ghibli cult status and too many fans to count.

NC: But is it really as bad as the first one, or does it have some redeeming value?

Governor Tarkin (from “Star Wars”): I think you overestimate their chances.

NC: Let’s dive right into Kiki's prequel.

?????

NC: (tearfully) I don't really want this happy moments like any intensity traumatic scenes like this!

(a briefly clip of Disney's 1951 Alice in Wonderland)

Alice: But I very seldom follow it! (sobs)

NC: (breaks down crying) You don't might have a picker-upper!

(a briefly clip of Disney's 1994 The Lion King)

Simba: ...Help. (weeps)

NC: (breaks down crying again) Fuck you, Simba! You don't have any Hakuna Matata anymore!

(a briefly clip of Disney's 1940 Pinocchio)

Pinocchio: I should have listened to you, Jiminy.

NC: (breaks down crying once again) Guess you'll never see your fucking daddy!

(a briefly clip of The Land Before Time)

Littlefoot: It's not fair!

NC: (wailing) LET YOUR FUCKING HEART GUIDE YOU!

(a briefly clip of My Neighbor Totoro, Streamline dub only)

Satsuki (Lisa Michelson): What are we going to do, Nanny?! (wailing)

NC: (breaks down again)

?????

NC: Now that's the better prequel is followed by Miyazaki's. (beat) So, what can I say? It's not bad, anyway.

NC (vo): As a better prequel go, this isn’t one of the worst—especially seeing how they didn't have much to go from in the first place—but it’s just pointless. The animation is standard—and at times, pretty sloppy—the story doesn’t really tell us any more about "Kiki's Delivery Service" or the characters. It’s just sort of a childhood movie, and even that’s not entertaining. I like the idea of the witches could get help of the boyfriend in the real life world, but it’s not fleshed out enough, and it sort of just makes the characters look cute and shallow. On the whole, it’s not god-awful; it’s all just sort of blasé and forgettable. If you like the first Miyazaki's film and are even the littlest bit curious about how this one is, I think you might actually like it better.

NC: And we can hope there won't be any more follow up from Studio Ghibli. Seriously, Miyazaki, you made these. (A poster appear right-top: The Cat Returns is shown) You owe us a follow up of the Baron we actually want. I'm the Nostalgia Critic. I remember it so you don't have to.

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