<P> The Disney English dub of Kiki's Delivery Service premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival on May 23, 1998 . It was released to VHS on September 15, 1998 . A few weeks later, Disney released another VHS of the movie, this time with the original Japanese soundtrack and with both English and Japanese subtitles . A Laserdisc version of the English dub also became available at this time . The Region 1 DVD was released in August 16, 2005 alongside Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky . It was again reissued on Region 1 DVD in March 2010 along with My Neighbor Totoro and Castle in the Sky as a tribute to the home release of Ponyo . This version of this 2010 release was slightly edited to match the original Japanese version, removing some of Hartman's ad - libbed lines and replacing Sydney Forest's opening and ending songs with the original Japanese songs . 2 years later, on 1 July 2013, StudioCanal released a Blu - ray, followed by a Grave of the Fireflies release except in that same format, only in the United Kingdom . Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Kiki's Delivery Service on Blu - ray Disc on November 18, 2014 . GKIDS will re-issue the film on Blu - ray & DVD on October 17, 2017 . </P> <P> Disney's English dub of Kiki's Delivery Service contained some changes, which have been described as "pragmatic". The changes were approved by Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli . </P> <P> There are a number of additions and embellishments to the film's musical score, and several lavish sound effects over sections that are silent in the Japanese original . The extra pieces of music, composed by Paul Chihara, range from soft piano music to a string - plucked rendition of Edvard Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King . The original Japanese opening theme is "Rouge no Dengon" (ルージュ の 伝言, Rūju no Dengon, "Message of Rouge"), and the ending theme is "Yasashisa ni Tsutsumareta nara" (やさしさ に 包 まれ た なら, "Wrapped in Kindness"), both performed by Yumi Matsutoya (credited as Yumi Arai). The original opening and ending theme songs were replaced by two new songs, "Soaring" and "I'm Gonna Fly", written and performed for the English dub by Sydney Forest . </P> <P> The depiction of the cat, Jiji, changed significantly in the Disney version . In the Japanese version Jiji is voiced by Rei Sakuma, while in the English version Jiji is voiced by comedian Phil Hartman . In Japanese culture, cats are usually depicted with feminine voices, whereas in American culture their voices are more gender - specific . A number of Hartman's lines exist where Jiji simply says nothing in the original . Jiji's personality is notably different between the two versions, showing a more cynical and sarcastic attitude in the Disney English version as opposed to cautious and conscientious in the original Japanese . </P>

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