Welcome to my review of Porco Rosso! This is the first time Hayao Miyazaki went all-in on his love of aviation and just made a movie about planes. And it ends up being quite good, with an enjoyable narrative and some of the strongest animation yet.

As a heads up, I did not have the time to watch both the subbed and dubbed versions of this film like I normally would. This review only covers the English dub done by Disney, and will therefore be structured a little differently.

Story and Porco Rosso

Porco Rosso doesn’t have much of a plot. Like many other films Miyazaki has made, it’s a study on the characters and the setting.

The film is primarily set in Italy and the Adriatic Sea. It takes place between the World Wars. Porco himself is a veteran of World War I, and he finds himself hunted by the Italian fascists during their rise to power.

Porco makes a living as a bounty hunter, hunting down the seaplane pirate gangs of the Adriatic. After they bring in an American ringer to hunt him down, Porco finds himself shot down and forced to return to the Italian mainland for repairs. At the same time, the changing political landscape causes bounty hunting work to dry up.

To get the money he needs and help a friend, Porco must ultimately face Donald Curtis, the American ace once again, in a dramatic airborne showdown.

Porco Rosso and Magical Realism

Porco Rosso falls under the umbrella of magical realism. That means that it presents a world that is generally within the bounds of the real world, except for a couple of places where real magic shines through. In this case, there are two such magical elements.

The first, and most obvious, example of magic in Porco Rosso is Porco’s curse. The exact mechanics of how the curse functions are never explained. The matter of how Porco contracted the curse is never explicitly stated either, with the implication being that Porco cursed himself by turning his back on humanity. The curse is explained, and nobody finds it particularly unusual, taking it in stride that a man can be turned into a pig.

The other potential intrusion of magic upon the narrative is less certain. It comes when Porco relays a story from his time in the first World War. He finds himself in a horrific dogfight, with both friends and foes falling in flaming wreckage around him. Porco realizes the best he can hope for is to escape. He flies into a cloud and finds himself in a bizarre white ocean above the clouds. In a surreal yet gorgeously rendered sequence, Porco watches as the spirits of the slain fighter pilots rise up around him and join a vast procession in the cloudless sky above. Porco is left behind to watch. He then awakes back in the real world, unsure of what he saw was a vision or a hallucination.

Characters and Performances

Porco AKA Marco Pagot

Porco is tired of the world. He’s seen War and it’s left him disillusioned. However, his skill set is optimized for war. So he adopts a mercenary outlook and becomes a fun for hire in the Adriatic. His arc in the film is him finding a little faith in humanity once again.

Michael Keaton either intentionally underplays the character dramatically, or was just bored during most of his studio time. But whatever the reason, the delivery ends up working better than it has any right to. Keaton conveys Porco’s deadpan humor and general world-weariness impeccably.

Fio

Fio is the the story’s dedicated Ghibli protagonist. She’s an energetic young woman who also happens to be a prodigy at aviation engineering. She designs Porco’s rebuilt plane midway through the film. She then also goes with him as a “hostage” to prevent Italy’s fascist government from hurting her family for helping Porco.

Kimberley Williams-Paisley (Father of the Bride) captures Fio’s energy and focus well. It’s a strong performance.

Gina

Gina is the proprietor of the Hotel Adriano, a popular spot for the seaplane pilots of the Adriatic. She has been married to three different pilots, and three times she has been widowed when they were shot down. She and Porco are old friends, since before he was turned into a pig. She’s the one person who still calls him Marco. Gina loves Porco despite his curse, but he can’t see her affection.

Gina is played by Susan Egan, who you might recognize as the voice of Belle in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast or Meg in Disney’s Hercules. So yeah, it’s a great performance. Egan can play both the resolve and sentimentality of the character easily.

Donald Curtis

Curtis couldn’t be any more of an American stereotype if he tried. He’s arrogant, misogynistic, and a little petty. But he can fly like nobody’s business. I’ve heard suggestions that he’s based on Ronald Reagan (mostly due to his presidential ambitions), but I see a lot more Errol Flynn.

Cary Elwes does…okay. His American accent isn’t great. He’s trying, but his best efforts still sound like somebody imitating a Texan accent. His real accent sneaks through in some scenes. That said, his accent is the only problem. His overall performance captures the character’s pride well.

Other Characters

The secondary cast is solid. David Ogden Stiers (Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast, Charles Wknchester on M*A*S*H) plays Piccolo the mechanic (also Fido’s grandfather) to perfection. Brad Garrett (from a LOT, but most recognizable as Robert from Everybody Loves Raymond) plays the Mamma Aiuto gang’s leader with his trademark baritone. The tertiary characters are generally well-performed as well.

Themes of Porco Rosso

While not as explicit as the themes of some other films, Porco Rosso does have an overarching theme: the value of the human community.

Porco’s defining feature throughout much of the film is his solitude. He insists on standing apart from other people, even those who want to know him. It’s heavily implied that it’s this distaste for other people that turned Marco Pagot into Porco.

This is supported by the fact that Marco’s real face returns in the moments when he makes a real connection with other people. Fio glimpses his human face after a moment of unusual tenderness and vulnerability, as Porco bares his soul about his experiences during WWI.

It’s strongly implied that Curtis also catches a glimpse of Marco’s human face at the very end of the film. At the time, Porco is offering to lead the Italian Air Force away from the rest of those who congregate for his duel against Curtis. His choice to sacrifice himself for others is indicative that, although he disappears afterwards, Porco has regained a measure of faith in humanity.

Production Quality of Porco Rosso

Visuals

Porco Rosso is as visually excellent as you’d expect from a Miyazaki/Ghibli production. The backgrounds capture the beauty of Italy and the Adriatic. The character designs are varied but refined. And the animation is superb. There are a handful of specific scenes I want to call out.

All the dogfighting scenes are incredible. The aforementioned vision/hallucination Porco experiences during WWI is also incredibly well executed.

But the last scene I want to specifically note is a little weirder. There’s a scene where Porco and Piccolo are testing an engine to go into Porco’s rebuilt plane. The engine is so powerful that it’s shaking the shed they’re in apart. It’s an odd scene of have dedicated extra time to, but it’s done in excessive detail. Every panel in the building is blowing back and forth, and the wind is visibly affecting both characters as well.

Music

Still done by Joe Hisaishi, still great.

Conclusion

Now seems like a good time to remind everybody that when I rank a film, I’m having to do it relative to the other films I’m ranking. If the category is hyper-competitive, excellent films may not be at the very top. That doesn’t mean I don’t think they’re great films.

Porco Rosso is a visual spectacle and an entrancing exploration of a particular place and time. However, the lack of a strong plot or dedicated themes makes it less focused than the very best films in Miyazaki’s library. I’m putting Porco Rosso towards the middle of my Miyazaki Rankings.

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