MovieChat Forums > Majo no takkyûbin (1990) Discussion > Where is this movie set?

Where is this movie set?

posted 14 years ago by oyabao418
11 replies | jump to latest

Does anyone know where this movie is set? Is the landscape and architecture Japanese? Also, why do a lot of the characters have red hair?

...that's handy, Harry, put it in the oven

[–] satahas 14 years ago

In the "Hayao Miyazaki and the Ghibli Museum" documentary they say that many of his films take place in Europe, particularly inspired by Italy, though interpreted in his own way.

On "Kiki's Delivery Service" it says:
"It's said that Koriko was modelled on Visby" (Sweden):
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=visby&oe=utf-8&hnear=Visby,+Sweden&ei=pWrIS83zMqikOLTCodQM&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBEQ8gEwAA

...and that location was actually scouted in relation to a scouting for Pippi Longstocking which was never made.

[–] mhenderson22 14 years ago

Well, according to Wiki Miyazaki(The Director) said the story took place in the 1960s of an alternative universe in which both World Wars never took place.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] Theowne 14 years ago

The movie is set in a fantasy world that is inspired by old Europe.

The characters have red hair because it's an anime and anime characters sometimes have red hair.

[–] 14 years ago

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[–] psdhart 13 years ago

The town reminds me of Lausanne ch

[–] kitsune2222 13 years ago

Some of the streets are directly taken from gamla stan (old town) in stockholm, sweden.

[–] sarchiorama 11 years ago

I think the cafe name where kiki boarded was cafe strykejernet

[–] hampuslager 11 years ago

correct, sarchiorama.

it's was great to see the bonus feature on the bluray where they went to stockholm and visby and compared it to the storyboard. I don't live in those towns, but I always felt at home when watching the movie since I live around the same kind of forest where Ursula lives. And it's always weird when going to stockholm nowadays when you know that the movie is based on it. Makes me feel good :)

[–] speccyboy 11 years ago

At one point in the film, you can see a police car marked "Polis" - that should give you a hint on where it's supposed to be set (Somewhere in Sweden) :)

[–] LuckyLucius (342) 5 years ago

Kiki's Delivery Service is set in an unnamed town that is based on European towns and is similar to London and Frankfurt Germany and even you can see traces of San Francisco in the town as well. When I have seen Kiki's Delivery Service I have liked the town and find it really charming and wish I could live in a town like that especially since it's near the ocean. The bakery that Osono owns is possibly a German bakery because the bakery logo is a pretzel and pretzels are hugely popular in Germany. The main reason why the characters have red hair is because it is very popular and the creator wanted each character to be unique. But Kiki's Delivery Service is my favorite movie because Kiki is a strong role model for girls who are never afraid to chase their dreams