Porco Rosso

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...

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...

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...

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