Veteran animator Hayao Miyazaki directs this joyful children's adventure about a young witch who stands up for herself. At her mother's urging, 13-year-old Kiki takes a year-long apprenticeship with her black cat in tow. With a shaky control of her broom, she finds herself in a charming coastal town that resembles a cross between the French provincial and San Francisco. Unfortunately, the local hotels have a strict "no witches" policy and the police have taken a negative view of their recent airborne mischief. She is rescued from the street by a friendly baker's wife, who offers her room and board in exchange for delivering the baker's goods. Soon she makes friends with a middle-aged artist, an old woman who takes care of her and a boy of the same age who is in love with her. Everything is going well until she wakes up one day and realizes she can't levitate her broom nor talk to her cat. What will Kiki do?