Porco Rosso

Porco Rosso(Japanese:紅の豚,Hepburn:Kurenai no Buta,lit.'Crimson Pig')is a 1992 Japaneseanimatedadventurefantasy filmwritten and directed byHayao Miyazaki, based on his 1989 mangaHikōtei Jidai.The film stars the voices ofShūichirō Moriyama,Tokiko Kato,Akemi OkamuraandAkio Ōtsuka. It was produced byToshio Suzuki, animated byStudio Ghibli, and distributed byToho. The score was composed byJoe Hisaishi.
The plot revolves around an ItalianWorld War Iex-fighter ace, now living as a freelancebounty hunterchasing "air pirates" in theAdriatic Sea. However, an unusual curse has transformed him into ananthropomorphicpig. Once called Marco Pagot (Marco Rossolini in the American version), he is now known to the world as "Porco Rosso",Italianfor "Red Pig".
A first English-dubbed version was made for Japan Airlines and included in the Ghibli LD Box Set and on the first Region 2 DVD releases in 2002. The film was later redubbed byWalt Disney Home Entertainmentand released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United States and Canada on February 22, 2005.GKIDSre-issued the film on Blu-ray and DVD on November 21, 2017, under a new deal with Studio Ghibli.
In 1929, Italian World War I fighter ace and bounty hunter Porco Rosso, cursed to have a pig's head, defends an ocean liner fromairborne pirates. He dines at his friend Gina's Hotel Adriano.
The pirates contract American ace Curtis to assist their attacks. Curtis falls in love with Gina but she loves Porco. While Porco is flying toMilanto have his red seaplane serviced, Curtis shoots him down. Porco survives and continues the trip by train with his damaged plane, to Gina's irritation. She reminds him there is a warrant for his arrest inItaly.
Porco meets his mechanic Piccolo in Milan. Piccolo's sons have emigrated so the work will be done by his young granddaughter Fio. Once Porco's plane is finished, Fio joins him on his flight home as cover should thesecret policearrest them. They can claim that Porco took Fio hostage to force Piccolo to help.The new fascist governmentis hiring pirates for their own use, putting Porco out of business.
Curtis proposes to Gina but she says she is waiting for Porco. Porco and Fio are ambushed by the pirates, and Curtis challenges Porco to a duel. Fio declares that if Porco wins, Curtis must pay his debts owed to Piccolo's company, and if Curtis wins, he may marry her.
While Porco is preparing shells, Fio glimpses his true face. Porco tells Fio a story from World War I. Just after Gina's wedding to Porco's pilot friend Bellini, their squadron was attacked. Porco entered a cloud to evade his pursuers. He blacked out then awakened to complete stillness above the clouds. The airmen who died in the dogfight—Bellini included—rose out of the cloud to fly up towards a band of thousands of planes flying together. After offering in vain to die in Bellini's place for Gina's sake, he awakened again flying alone low over the sea. He concludes that he is meant to "fly solo". Fio rebukes him and kisses his cheek.
Curtis and Porco's dogfight devolves into a boxing match when both planes' guns jam. Porco accuses Curtis of being a womanizer; Curtis responds that Porco is worse; Fio adores him, and Gina is waiting on him to the exclusion of any other, but he does not reciprocate. The combatants knock each other out and fall into the shallow water. Gina calls out to Porco, who rises first and is declared the winner. She warns that the Italian air force is on its way, and invites everyone to regroup at her hotel. Porco requests Gina look after Fio and turns away. Fio gives Porco a kiss.
Porco volunteers to lead the air force away and invites Curtis to join him. As they walk to their planes, Curtis catches a glimpse of Porco's face and says he has changed; he asks to get a better look and is refused. As she flies in a jet seaplane, Fio narrates the epilogue: Porco outflew the Italian air force and remained at large; Fio became president of the Piccolo aircraft company; Curtis became a famous actor, and the pirates continued to attend the Hotel Adriano in their old age. She says that whether Gina's hope for Porco Rosso was ever realized is their secret. A red seaplane is docked by Gina's garden as Fio flies over the hotel.
The French dub of the film starsJean Renoas Porco.
The film was originally planned as a short in-flight film forJapan Airlinesbased onHayao Miyazaki'smangaThe Age of the Flying Boat, but grew into a feature-length film. The outbreak ofwar in Yugoslaviacast a shadow over production and prompted a more serious tone for the film, which had been set inDalmatia. The airline remained a major investor in the film and showed it as an in-flight film well before its theatrical release.Due to this, the opening text introducing the film appears simultaneously in Japanese, Italian, Korean, English, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, French, and German.Telecom Animation Film Co., Ltd.helped animate the film.
As with Miyazaki's other films,Joe Hisaishicomposed the soundtrack. For the soundtrack,Tokiko Katoperforms"The Time of Cherries"as well as an original song, "Once in a While, Talk of the Old Days".
Marco is an Italian hero from theFirst World Warand is shown fighting against Austro-Hungarianfighter planesin a flashback sequence. The story is set inNorthern Italy, includingMilan, and the Italian and CroatianAdriatic Seaeast coast. Some locations resemble certain islands of theItalian Lakes. The concealed beach Porco uses as a hideout bears a strong resemblance to Stiniva Beach, on the southern side of the Croatian island ofVis.
Miyazaki shed light on the political context of the making of the film in an interview withEmpire. He reflects that the conflicts that broke out during the film's production (such as those inDubrovnikand elsewhere) madePorco Rossoa much more complicated and difficult film.
Evident historical and political realism aside, at least one scholar has argued that the film's more overt historical references can be understood as representative ofwakon yōsai(Jp; "Japanese spirit, Western learning")—a tendency, since theMeiji period, for Japanese artists to paint Europe as spectacular, while simultaneously maintaining the distance necessary to preserve a distinct sense of Japanese identity. "In Porco Rosso," states academic Chris Wood, "Europe is tamed, rendered as a charming site of pleasurable consumption, made distant and viewed through a tourist gaze."
The fictional "Piccolo" aircraft company depicted in the film is based on the Italian aircraft manufacturersCaproniandPiaggio. The jet shown in the last scene is very similar in concept to theCaproni C-22J, an aircraft designed by Carlo Ferrarin, a designer for Caproni, whose name is notably used in the film for Marco's Air Force pilot friend. The jet-amphibian also has aV-tail, slightly reminiscent of theMagister jet trainer. TheSavoia-Marchetti S.55,Fiat C.R.20andMacchi M.39are featured in the movie.
Porco's air-force friend Ferrarin was inspired by the Italian Air Force pilotArturo Ferrarinwho flew with anAnsaldo SVA.9fromRome to Tokyoin 1920.Additionally, theCaproni Ca.309light reconnaissance aircraft, known as the "Ghibli", was the namesake for Miyazaki's and Takahata's animation studio.
Porco's plane is named after theSavoia S.21, but is based on theMacchi M.33.While in Piccolo's engine shop, the engine to be used in Porco's rebuilt Savoia S.21 also has the word "Ghibli" visible on its rocker covers—in design it is a narrow-angle V-12 engine, similar in form to racing engines of the period. Piccolo mentions that it was used in a racing aeroplane for theSchneider Trophyrace in the year before.
In the early 1930s, Italian seaplane designers set world speed records (such as theMacchi M.C.72designed by the Italian airplane designerMario Castoldi). One of the test pilots killed during the attempt to set the speed record was named Bellini, the name given to Porco's pilot friend in the film. Italian top fighter acesFrancesco BaraccaandAdriano Viscontialso appear in the film.
Marco Pagot, the real name of the main character, is also a homage to the Pagot brothers, pioneers of Italian animation (Nino andToni Pagotwere the authors of the first Italian animated feature film,The Dynamite Brothers, and Nino's son and daughter Marco and Gi Pagotwere Miyazaki's collaborators in the production ofSherlock Hound).
Meanwhile, the character of Curtis is likely to have been named after the American aviation pioneerGlenn Hammond Curtisswho, along with theWright Brothers, founded theCurtiss-Wright Corporation. Curtis' airplane is aCurtiss R3C, which was built for the 1925Schneider Cuprace (which Porco refers to when he first meets Curtis). His character is also an oblique reference toRonald Reagan, in that his ambitions lie not only in Hollywood, but also the Presidency. The rest of Curtis' character appears to come directly from the adventure film heroes portrayed byErrol Flynnat this time—indeed, they share a jaw line—including his buccaneering derring-do, willingness to fight, and overall demeanour combined with romantic ardour.
In 2017, Miyazaki and producerToshio Suzukicollaborated with Setouchi Seaplanes, a Japanese company flyingKodiak 100seaplanes in Japan's Seto Inland Sea area, to design a special editionL’ala Rossalivery for Kodiak 100-0143.
Miyazaki revisited the theme of aviation history in his 2013 filmThe Wind Rises.
The film was released in Japan on July 18, 1992, byTohoand was released on VHS byTokuma Shotenin 1993. The movie was later reissued on VHS byBuena Vista Home Entertainment Japan(nowWalt Disney Studios Japan) on April 23, 1999, and was released on DVD on December 18, 2002. The film was released onBlu-ray Discon November 6, 2013, with a reissue of the DVD following on July 16, 2014.
Japan Airlinescommissioned an English dub that was produced in Japan in 1992 for viewing on international flights. The dub was supervised by Ward Sexton, who also starred as Porco.Although Sexton felt the project was too big for an English-speaking cast in Japan, Studio Ghibli insisted he be in charge.The dub was included in the 1996 Ghibli ga Ippai Laserdisc Box Set and on the 2002 Japanese DVD release of the film, both of which are out of print.
Walt Disney Home Entertainmentreleased the film on DVD on February 22, 2005, and on Blu-ray on February 3, 2015, both with a new English dub featuring the voices ofMichael Keaton,Cary Elwes,Susan Egan, andKimberly Williams-Paisley, which is included on most international releases as well as the 2014 Japanese DVD reissue. This dub was supervised byTony Bancroftand written by frequent Ghibli dub screenwriters Don and Cindy Hewitt.GKIDSre-issued the film on Blu-ray and DVD on November 21, 2017, under a new deal with Studio Ghibli.
Porco Rossowas the number-one film on the Japanese market in 1992, withdistribution rentalsof¥2.8 billionand gross receipts of¥5.4 billion,at the time equivalent to$43,000,000(equivalent to $93,000,000 in 2023).
In France, it sold 167,793 tickets,equivalent to an estimated$1,006,758at an average 1992 ticket price ofFF34 ($6).In other European countries, it grossed $573,719,for an estimated combined total of$44,580,477grossed in Japan and Europe.
It won theCristal du long métrage("Best feature-length film award") at the 1993Annecy International Animation Film Festival, and also madeTime Out's Top 50 animated movie list.OnRotten Tomatoes, 96% of 23 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.1/10.On review aggregatorMetacritic, it has a score of 83 out of 100 based on 11 critic reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".
Wilson McLachlan, of theLeft Field Cinema, considered it "the most underrated film from the Studio Ghibli catalogue." Jeannette Catsoulis ofThe New York Timeswrote: "Mr. Miyazaki smooshes fantasy and history into a pastel-pretty yarn as irresistible as his feminism."Robert Pardi ofTV Guidegave the film 4/5 stars, stating: "Miyazaki pays homage to Hollywood’s wartime adventure films in this masterwork built around the adventures of a high-flying pig ... This animated feature's visual splendor is matched by a droll screenplay that takes a sty-side view of heroism ... Seamlessly adapted for American audiences by Donald H. Davis and Cindy Hewitt Davis, this spoof/pastiche of old-movie cliches also soars as a paean to the redeeming power of friendship and loyalty."
Porco Rosso and his famous line "Better a pig than a fascist" became a rallying symbol among some Spanish artist circles encouraging people to vote against conservative to far-right parties in Spain's2023 general elections.
In 2011, Miyazaki said that he wanted to make a follow-up anime to the 1992 original film if his next few films followingPonyowere successful. The film's working name wasPorco Rosso: The Last Sortie; it was to have been set during theSpanish Civil Warwith Porco appearing as a veteran pilot.Miyazaki was to create the sequel, although the studio has since indicated that the sequel is not in their current plans.