Porco Rosso (紅の豚 Kurenai no Buta, lit. Crimson Pig) is a 1992 Japanese animated adventure-comedy film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki, based on a three-part watercolor manga called Hikōtei Jidai by Miyazaki.
The plot revolves around an Italian World War I ex-fighter ace, now living as a freelance bounty hunter chasing "air pirates" in the Adriatic Sea. However, an unusual curse has transformed him into an anthropomorphic pig. Once called Marco Pagot, he is now known to the world as "Porco Rosso", Italian for "Red Pig".
Plot[]
- “This motion picture is set over the Mediterranean Sea in an age when seaplanes ruled the waves. It tells the story of a valiant pig, who fought against flying pirates, for his pride, for his lover, and for his fortune. The name of the hero of our story is Crimson Pig.”
- ―Opening text
Set in the Adriatic Sea in the interwar period, Porco Rosso, an Italian veteran WWI fighter ace and freelance bounty hunter, responds to an alert over an attack on a ferry liner by airborne pirates. Having successfully defeated the pirates, the so-called Mamma Aiuto gang, Porco retires to the Hotel Adriano, which is run by his long-time friend Gina.
At the hotel restaurant, which is frequented by pilots all over the Adriatic, the heads of the pirate gangs are introduced to Curtis, an arrogant and ambitious American ace who has a contract to assist them. Within time Curtis falls in love with Gina but is frustrated to see that she has affection for Porco. After successfully executing a pirating mission, Curtis tracks down Porco, who is flying to Milan to have his plane improved, and shoots him down, claiming to have killed him. Porco actually survives, but all the fuselage of his plane has been destroyed. Porco continues his mission to Milan, much to the irritation of Gina.
Porco arrives in Milan to meet Piccolo, his mechanic. He is surprised to find that Piccolo's sons have emigrated to find work elsewhere, and much of the engineering is done by his granddaughter, Fio. Porco is initially skeptical of Fio's abilities as a mechanic, but after seeing her dedication in the project to repair his plane, he accepts her as a competent engineer and begins to recognize her as a genius. Piccolo calls up an all-female team to repair the plane with no males to assist in the project. When Porco's plane is finished, he is unexpectedly joined by Fio on his flight home, with the justification that if the secret police arrest the team, they can say that Porco forced them to help and took Fio as a hostage. Porco reluctantly agrees, and the two hurriedly leave Milan. Stopping off to refuel on the way, Porco discovers that the new Fascist government is beginning to hire seaplane pirates for their own use, thus putting him out of business.
Upon returning home, Porco and Fio are ambushed by the pirates, who threaten to kill Porco and destroy his plane. Fio successfully talks them out of it, but Curtis appears and challenges Porco to a final duel. Fio impulsively makes a deal with him, declaring that if Porco wins, Curtis must pay off his debts owed the Piccolo's company, and if Curtis wins, he may marry her. Porco is irritated at Fio for making such a deal, but he forgives her and shows confidence in winning.
That night, at Fio's request, Porco tells a story recalling an event in WWI when he was still a human, where his entire squadron, apart from himself, was shot down in a dogfight with Austro-Hungarian aircraft. He recalls blacking out and awakening to find himself in complete stillness, with a white band hovering in the distant sky. Allied and enemy aircraft, flown by the airmen who died in the dogfight, fly past towards the band but ignore him. He sees his friend Berlini, Gina's then-husband, and calls him back but is ignored. Porco soon sees that the band is, in fact, thousands of planes flying together. He blacks out again and recovers, skimming above the sea. When he awakes, he discovers that he has been turned into a pig and believes this to be a divine punishment for fleeing from the fight.
The next day, the duel is arranged, and a large crowd gathers on an island to observe. With the attendants betting heavily on the outcome, the contest begins. After an indecisive dogfight between Porco and Curtis, which soon dissolves into a bare fist boxing match, Gina appears to stop the fight and to warn the crowd that the Italian air force has been alerted and are on their way. Porco barely manages to win the fight upon her arrival and hands Fio over to her, requesting Gina to look after her. Before the plane takes off, Fio gives Porco a kiss. With the crowd gone, Porco and Curtis agree to delay the air force together. When Curtis sees Porco's face, he reacts with surprise, implying that he may have reverted to human form after Fio's kiss.
Meanwhile, Fio becomes president of Piccolo, which is now an aircraft manufacturer, Curtis becomes a famous actor, the pirates continue to attend the Hotel Adriano, and it is suggested that Porco proposes to Gina.
Cast[]
| Character | Original cast | JAL Dub Cast | Disney English dub cast |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porco Rosso / Marco Pagot (Rossolini) | Shūichirō Moriyama | Ward Sexton | Michael Keaton |
| Donald Curtis | Akio Ōtsuka | Greg Dale | Cary Elwes |
| Madame Gina | Tokiko Kato | Faith Bach | Susan Egan |
| Mamma Aiuto Gang Boss | Tsunehiko Kamijō | James Keating | Brad Garrett |
| Mr. Piccolo | Sanshi Katsura | Clay Lowrey | David Ogden Stiers |
| Fio Piccolo | Akemi Okamura | Lynn Eve Harris | Kimberly Williams-Paisley |
| Mamma Aiuto Gang | Reizō Nomoto Osamu Saka Yuu Shimaka |
Jeff Manning | Bill Fagerbakke Kevin Michael Richardson Frank Welker |
Additional voices[]
- Original: Mahito Tsujimura, Minoru Yada
- English: Greg Dale, Barry Gjerde (Radio Announcer, Telephone Voice, Munitions Engineer, Watchtower Announcer), Patrick Harlan, Lynn Eve Harris (Kidnapped Girls, Mediterranean Queen Loudspeaker, Fuel Station Waitress, Boy in Cinema), Jeff Manning (Maxwell, Dogfight Observer), Rumiko Varnes
- Disney: Jack Angel, Michael Bell, Jeff Bennett, Earl Boen, Cameron Bowen, Dee Bradley Baker, Rodger Bumpass, Corey Burton, Jennifer Darling, Debi Derryberry, Ashley Edner, Bobby Edner, Paul Eiding, Greg Ellis, Bill Farmer, Pat Fraley, Brian George, Tom Kenny, Sherry Lynn, Tress MacNeille, Mickie McGowan, Laraine Newman, Rob Paulsen, Bradley Pierce, Phil Proctor, Deanna Russo, Chelsea Smith, Jim Ward
Sequel[]
Miyazaki has proposed he wants to make a follow-up anime to the 1992 original film if his next few films following Ponyo are successful. The film's working name is currently Porco Rosso: The Last Sortie and will be set during the Spanish Civil War with Porco also returning, albeit this time as an old pilot, reflecting Miyazaki's own aging. Miyazaki is writing the film, but Hiromasa Yonebayashi will direct. Due to both Miyazaki and Yonebayashi's departure from Ghibli and the current hiatus of the studio itself, the current status on the proposed sequel remains uncertain.
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This page uses content from the English Wikipedia page Porco Rosso (film). The list of authors can be seen in the page history. Text from Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. |
