As a wise young woman once told a budding witch suffering from burnout, “We each need to find our own inspiration. Sometimes it’s not easy.” But on this fine February evening, inspiration is readily at hand for the Studio Ghibli stans among us because Hayao Miyazaki’s 1989 classic Kiki’s Delivery Service is officially flying back into cinemas. Yes, following Princess Mononoke’s incredibly popular IMAX re-release last year (IMAX’s second highest-grossing vault release to date), a new 4K restoration of Kiki’s Delivery Service is heading for the biggest of big screens with an IMAX run in theatres across North America and Canada from 13 March. And you can see a trailer for the beloved anime movie’s IMAX debut below;
Ah, Kiki and Jiji, never change! Now yes, we know what a good chunk of you will be thinking having had the carrot of a Kiki’s Delivery Service IMAX release dangled in front of you before hit with the ‘US and Canada only’ stick: “What about the UK and Ireland? What about everywhere else?” Well, while we don’t have official word on international release plans for Kiki just yet, it is worth remembering that we’ve seen My Neighbour Totoro, Spirited Away, and the aforementioned IMAX Princess Mononoke re-release all find their way to us from the Elysian Film Group thus far, and there’s no reason to believe the same won’t happen here in due course. And it’s also worth keeping in mind that this GKIDS and IMAX American re-release is going to see the movie screened both in Japanese with English subtitles and dubbed with a starry English voice-cast including the likes of Kirsten Dunst, Debbie Reynolds, and Phil Hartman.
For those who somehow have yet to be blessed with a viewing of Kiki’s Delivery Service (which, FYI, is available to stream on Netflix right now should you so wish), here’s the official synopsis for the Ghibli classic: “It is a tradition for all young witches to leave their families on the night of a full moon and fly off into the wide world to learn their craft. When that night comes for Kiki, she embarks on her new journey with her sarcastic black cat, Jiji, landing the next morning in a seaside town, where her unique skills make her an instant sensation.”
And here’s the gorgeous new IMAX poster for the movie’s restoration:
We’ll bring you further word on Kiki’s Delivery Service’s IMAX re-release and if/when we can expect to see our favourite imposter syndrome suffering witch and her sassy black cat bestie to be soaring into a cinema near you just as soon as we get it. In the meantime, we’re off to impress all our movie buff pals with the revelation that actual Kirsten Dunst voiced Kiki in the English dub of the film. Who knew? (Except us, of course…)