I’ve been idly trying to find movies that pass the Bechdel Test: that rule that says that at some point in the movie, two women should be able to talk to each other, and the conversation shouldn’t revolve around any of the men in the movie. I’ve stumbled upon one, or rather re-discovered one that fits the bill: Kiki’s Delivery Service, by Hayao Miyazaki.
The most wonderful thing about this movie is that it’s suitable for anyone over the age of two without talking down to anyone or trying to drive a parent’s brain through his/her ears with loud screaming, earwormy music, or inane overgeneralized moral situations a la Thomas the Tank Engine. In fact, the only problem I have with the movie is that there aren’t more of its kind out there.
The movie follows our heroine, Kiki, as she strikes out on her own at the age of 13 to spend a year abroad learning to live on her own and perfecting her trade. Kiki is a witch, complete with a black cat, a broomstick, and black dress. Her mother is the town witch, dealing with potions and more or less filling the role the local doctor. Her father is a local office worker. We see her parents long enough to know they’re there and that she loves them, and they love her and support her. Striking out on one’s own for a year at 13, as the movie explains, is one of the witches’ oldest traditions.
She leaves one night on the full moon with her broom and cat, flying towards the ocean to find a town along the coast to settle into. By morning, she’s found a town without a local witch, and sets about trying to settle in…
That’s as much of the plot as I’ll go over, so as not to spoil things, but throughout the story she meets older women who befriend her help her by giving her spaces and situations where she can discover things for herself, grow for herself, gain self-confidence and skills, and above all things, have fun. The conversations they have are about her, or about life, or about themselves.
In fact, there’s only one major male character in the entire movie, (not including the cat, who is very much a cat) and the plot doesn’t revolve around Kiki falling in love with him (or around him at all).
The best thing about the movie is that it’s an adventure story, and something that kids of both genders can relate to equally. Also, although it’s aimed at young kids, it doesn’t fling gender stereotypes at them like we see in American cartoons. There are no ponies, flowing golden locks, roses, fluffy clouds, or pink ribbons adorning the whole movie.
It’s one of my son’s favorite movies, and it’s among some of his female cousins’ favorite movies as well. And as a parent, finding a movie that I can watch, that kids of two different genders can watch together, without violence (cartoon or otherwise), and that no-one finds boring is a feat worthy of mention.
I think you’ll find a lot of Hayao Miyazaki’s movies pass the Bechdel test. That was the first movie my future wife and I saw together. When I mentioned it to her the first time, she said it sounded like a porno movie.