Product Description

Take flight with "Porco Rosso," a valiant World War I flying ace! From tropical Adriatic settings to dazzling aerial maneuvers, this action-adventure from world-renowned animator Hayao Miyazaki is full of humor, courage, and chivalry. When "Porco" -- whose face has been transformed into that of a pig by a mysterious spell -- infuriates a band of sky pirates with his aerial heroics, the pirates hire Curtis, a rival pilot, to "get rid" of him. On the ground, the two pilots compete for the affections of the beautiful Gina. But it is in the air where the true battles are waged. Will our hero be victorious? Featuring extraordinary voice talents, this 2-disc set is a thrilling ride you'll never forget!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4025 in DVD
• Brand: BUENA VISTA HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2005-02-22
• Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English, French, Japanese
• Subtitled in: English
• Dubbed in: Japanese
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 94 minutes

Amazon.com
Porco Rosso (The Crimson Pig, 1992) ranks as Hayao Miyazaki's oddest film: a bittersweet period adventure about a dashing pilot who has somehow been turned into a pig. Miyazaki once said, "Initially, it was supposed to be a 45-minute film for tired businessmen to watch on long airplane flights... Why kids love it is a mystery to me." The early 1930s setting enabled Miyazaki to focus on the old airplanes he loves, and the film boasts complex and extremely effective aerial stunts and dogfights. In the new English dub from Disney, Michael Keaton as Porco delivers lines like "All middle-aged men are pigs" with appropriate cynicism, but his voice may be too familiar for some Miyazaki fans. Susan Egan makes a curiously distant Gina, the thrice-widowed hotel owner bound to Porco by years of friendship; Kimberly Williams is more effective as the irrepressible young engineer Fio. Porco Rosso may be an odd film, but Miyazaki's directorial imagination never flags. (Rated PG: violence, alcohol and tobacco use) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

Miyazaki's Autobiography---Even a Pig Can Fly
From a fan and student of Miyazaki-san:

"Porco Rosso" is the master's most autobiographical work, for once he was not trying to impart any moral or environmental lessons to children or young girls or the Japanese society, as most of his other works did---but a heartfelt fantasy projection of himself (being an independent agent neither belonging to your typical Japanese Anime Industry or the Hollywood/Disney American Culture juggernaut, as symbolized by the brash American Pilot-Fighter, Curtis).

It's also a celebration of his fellow frustrated romantic and idealistic adults (many tired Japanese salary men and animators) who have not completely surrendered their youthful dreams to the MAN/military industry.

Set in Post WWI Europe, where Fascism was on the rise, the Continental world it captured was a last breath of fantastic and natural freedom before a long darkness set in...

The genius stroke here is by turning the protagonist into a PIG, a whimsical yet literal mockery on those old-fashioned/outdated all-male/brotherhood chauvinist melodramatic adventure genre it so lovingly appropriates, and a gentle dig on "mankind" in general, all in good and slightly surreal fun.
In this story, Miyazaki made fun (instead of preaching to) of his society, himself and his prominent role in it.

Yet, behind all the cartoony surface lies the touching elegiac sadness of a lost past and a yearning hope (placed esp. on a young female) for a better future, straight from Miyazaki-san's cynical/sentimental heart.

Presented as a light-hearted lark only makes its immersing nostalgia and lyricism all the more spontaneously enchanting
and unexpectedly affecting. A magical paradox of his great art.

"Porco Rosso" is the "Casablanca" of cartoons with a touch of Roald Dahl, and the most under-rated and overlooked of Miyazaki's fabulous work.

Beyond charming
I am a fanatic for the works of Miyazaki, and this is my favorite among his works. There is no heavy-handed message other than his dislike of Fascism; there are no cute or bizarre animals other than the hero, and cute is just not the word for him; there are adventure, derring-do, light-hearted fight scenes, strong female figures, comic villains, romance, great achievements, a touch of magic, and the typically fanatical Miyazaki attention to detail. This is an atypical light adventure film and is suitable for children from 9 to 99. It's charming, fun, and simply wonderful. Please, buy it.

I can only hope that Amazon will package this in a 3-pack with Nausicaa in the Valley of Wind and My Neighbor Totoro, all due (actually LONG overdue) for simultaneous release. (The official date of release is now Feb. 22, and it will be released with Nausicaa and The Cat Returns; Totoro is not currently scheduled. This is mistifying, as The Cat Returns is actually a sequel to another Ghibli [but not Miyazaki] film that has never been released in the U.S.)

A Quite Different, But Still Magnificent, Studio Ghibli Anime
During the first few minutes of "Porco Rosso", I was thinking, 'okay, this is.....different. It's good but I don't think it's exactly gonna be "Spirited Away" or "Naussicaa"'. I should have known better. It IS different, it's not "Spirited Away" or any other Ghibli movie before or since, but it is, in its own bizarre way, just as good. Studio Ghibli seems to be incapable of delivering anything short of true excellence.

The title character is a grumpy bipedal pig who flies a World War I-era airplane in the Mediterranean in the years between the two world wars. Once human, Porco has adopted an air of disinterested apathy to cover his feelings, but he finds himself drawn to a group of people in Italy after his plane is shot down by a rival pilot, rendering Porco unable to make a living protecting transport and passenger ships from pirates - some of the most gloriously incompetent pirates imaginable, by the way. "Porco Rosso' is suitable viewing for the kiddies but may be, in general, enjoyed more by an older audience - in addition to the soaring air battles and action-packed climax, there's plenty of romance, dry humor, and subtle political commentary. Regardless, it has the Ghibli charm, and is likely to have something for almost everyone. A truly one-of-a-kind movie (ask youself this: when was the last time you saw a movie about a trenchcoat, goggles and fedora-wearing pig piloting a brightly painted red airplane and fighting sky pirates?) and another jewel in the glorious Ghibli crown.