Porco Rosso 1992 ‘紅の豚’
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki (English dub version)
(Voices: Michael Keaton, Susan Egan, Cary Elwes, Kimberly Williams-Paisley)
Sun is shining this morning and the weather is sweet. Got some gardening done and caught some sun rays while chill-axing. The next movie on the menu was supposed to be
The Innocents. But the weather and time of day made
Porco Rosso the more appropriate choice to watch.
Porco Rosso is an animated, adventure, comedy, fantasy about a retired Italian WWI fighter pilot. Who was somehow mysteriously transformed into a humanoid pig after his last aerial battle. Nowadays he makes a living as a bounty hunter, clearing the skies of air pirates.
A simple, romanticized, almost fairy tale like story. The dialogue is witty and Porco Rosso is a cool character, debonair and noir-ish in a Bogart kind of way. Miyazaki really did an excellent job conveying the beautiful landscapes and surroundings of the Adriatic sea area of 1930’s Italy.
The drawing style is slightly less detailed than Miyazaki/Ghibli’s other airplane movie
The Wind Rises or my personal favorite
Spirited Away, but still visually impressive. Accompanied by a beautiful and a bit familiar sounding score by composer Hisaishi. (Can’t recall which tune it reminds me of, maybe it will come to me later in the day.)
Perfect nomination for this beautiful Sunday afternoon. Thanks Ahwell