Kurenai no Buta

After a curse turned him into a pig, World War I ace Marco Pagot becomes Porco Rosso, a mysterious bounty hunter who takes down sky pirates in the Adriatic Sea. He whiles away his days on a secluded island, rarely leaving other than to collect bounties or to visit the beautiful Gina, a songstress and owner of the Hotel Adriano.

One day, while traveling to fix his faulty engine, Porco Rosso is gunned down by a young American hotshot named Donald Curtis. Thrilled at the possibility of fame, Donald boldly declares that the flying pig is dead. Not wanting to disappoint Gina, Porco Rosso flees to the famous Piccolo S.P.A. airplane company and takes out a massive loan in order to repair and improve his fighter plane. There, he is surprised to find that the chief engineer of Piccolo S.P.A. is the 17-year-old Fio Piccolo, who hungers for a chance to prove herself. With Fio's improvements, Porco Rosso prepares to challenge Donald officially and regain his honor.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Rosso, Porco Main

Moriyama, Shuichiro Japanese

Piccolo, Fio Main

Okamura, Akemi Japanese

Curtis, Donald Main

Ootsuka, Akio Japanese

Gina Supporting

Kato, Tokiko Japanese

Mamma Aruta Gang Boss Supporting

Kamijo, Tsunehiko Japanese

Piccolo, Grandpa Supporting

Katsura, Sanshi Japanese

Berlini Supporting

Ferrarin Supporting

Inagaki, Masayuki Japanese

Suzuki, Toshio Producer

Miyazaki, Hayao Director, Storyboard, Screenplay, Original Creator, Editing

Carasso, Jean-Pierre Script

Kato, Tokiko Theme Song Performance

Reviews

Feb 8, 2010

eyerok

Recommended

"I'd rather be a pig than a fascist"

Miyazaki movies can broadly fall in 2 or 3 categories; some of them are driven by their uncanny and bizarre plot (princess mononoke, spirited away etc). And then there are some where the direction almost completely overshadows the plot-line. Like Totoro, Porco Rosso falls in the latter category. From the opening scene to ending, this movie is all about direction, direction and direction.

The movie, set in the 1930’s, starts on a deserted island which acts as a hideout for the famous war-veteran turned bounty hunter ace pilot known as porco rosso (scarlet pig) who, we soon learn, ... has been afflicted by a curse which turned him into a pig. Just knowing this much can give you a false impression that this movie, like most miyazaki movies, has a lot to do with the mystical or the supernatural, but nothing can be further from the truth. Our ‘manly’ protagonist is a pig for a reason, but that reason has little to do with magic. The movie follows the scarlet pigs journey to reclaim his honor, after being 'shot down' by an American mercenary. For the most part, its a comedy drama with sprinkles of romance and slice-of-life

As the movie progresses, we learn more about the scarlet pig and some of his background. Eventually we get to the reason of his current predicament. There is a strong lesson to learn here, and thankfully it’s not force-fed into your head like Disney does with some of its movies. Here, the message is subtler and yet strikes a stronger chord.

‘Porco Rosso’ is different from miyazaki’s other endeavors. For one, it has a lot more comedy in it, and this aspect is amplified by the comical and, sometimes, witty dialogue. The humor is in-your-face laugh-out-loud funny, filled with wise-cracks, puns and word-play. And the concept of a man-turned-pig ace pilot flying the skies of a fictional Europe dueling pirates and an arch-nemesis from America is not something you’ll find in every anime.

Speaking of arch-nemesis, this movie has a really good one in the form of Donald Curtis, a notorious womanizer, and an over-confident and pompous, yet funny and very likable American, who also happens to be Porco’s rival in lurrve. Two of the funniest sequences of this comedy ride are his ‘encounters’ with porco in the skies. Characters in general have been done very well, with each of them lending to the comical aspect of the movie really well.

The airplane designs and all the flying sequences are really good. Some of the flying sequences are especially enthralling- not in the eye-candy sense, but it’s just that they’ve been done so well that it feels like whoever did it must be in love with airplanes and flying in general. In fact, a good part of Miyazaki’s early life was spent drawing battleships and airplanes. That life-long fascination of his mirrors very well throughout his works, especially this movie.

The premise and the post WWI European setting gives a very unique and exquisite feeling to the movie; and this fact is reflected well in the artwork, with its lush sceneries, views of exotic islands and beaches, cities and some of the characters, especially the pirates, which really do look like something from cartoony Europe of the 30’s. The leader of the pirates, for one, can pass for a Bluto (from Popeye) look-alike. For the most part, the miyazaki like feeling is intact. The animation is just gorgeous for a movie made in 1992. The color palate is exceptionally vibrant and has a certain depth to it that Miyazaki fans have come to associate with his movies.

The music is vintage Hisashi joe; fans of the maestro will find some of his best tunes in this movie. The animation and music blend perfectly to evoke the right emotion at the right time, bringing to life the world of Porco Rosso while lending it a unique charm that you probably won’t see in any other anime movie. Disney’s dubbed version has excellent voice-overs that fit perfectly with each character’s personality. I find that the Disney version does not deserve the hate that it is often subjected to by the fans of the older pre-Disney dub versions.

However, there are two things that might put-off people. The first is the minimalistic approach to storyline. Plot-junkies who expect their animes to be filled with deep and complicated plots might not find this to their liking (I’ve heard a few complain about this). But if you like Miyazaki movies in general, you’d know that complaint is baseless. With Porco Rosso, everything might be charming and simple on the outside but there’s more to this movie than meets the eye. The second complaint, which is actually a little more common, is that the ending is too abrupt. The ending is a bit subtle, yes, and it may leave a you wishing there was more, but the movie manages to tie all the loose ends very well, and it is by no standards an unsatisfactory ending. Porco Rosso is more like an old friend from a long forgotten time who stops by your front door to have a nice cup of tea, has a warm and pleasant chat with you but then quietly leaves from the back door with a quick goodbye.

Thanks to Miyazaki’s captivating direction, the movie is very soothing and peaceful and I think its best watched at the end of a hard and tiresome day, when you want to watch something calm and relaxing. All in all, Porco Rosso is a unique movie; not just as miyazaki or a Ghibli film, but a unique anime movie.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jun 29, 2009

datOneperson

Mixed Feelings

A watchable movie, although nothing really to talk a lot about.

The flight aspect was interesting, but there was a lack of depth in the story. The best thing going for it was the director/directing. The light-heartedness gave the movie a nice calm aspect. Some of the scene/backgrounds were amazing for not real life.

I enjoyed the build up of the "fight" but it ended up disappointing, the movie's ending was also disappointing. They summed up the story or ending in about 10 seconds.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Jan 14, 2013

Abs0

Not Recommended

Funny

art: All the women look the same. As in they all have the same face. This is a problem shared by all Miyazaki films and not just this one. At least Porco Rosso has a unique face. The art isn't very detailed, and the characters have only 1 level of shading (base color + a light shadow). So it's quite a simplistic art design, so I expected good animation.

Animation: I didn't go through this movie frame by frame but the airplane movements were pretty smooth. The choppiness was not noticeable except for a few scenes. However I didn't notice any particularly fluid scenes either, ... like the fluidity of VHD:Bloodlust. So probably very little if any single framing in this movie. Overall it's better than TV quality, but it's not particularly smooth.

Choreography: There was only one fight in this movie and it was a slugfest. There was no attempt by either participant to dodge or parry or block any attack. Instead they just swung wildly, taking all the hits, like two drunks. So the choreography really isn't anything to write home about.

Conclusion: Not as good as people seem to think. Art is not particularly detailed, animation is not particularly smooth, and the fight choreography really sucks ass.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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