Porco Rosso
Porco Rosso | |
---|---|
Kanji | 紅の豚 |
Literal meaning | Crimson Pig |
Revised Hepburn | Kurenai no Buta |
Directed by | Hayao Miyazaki |
Screenplay by | Hayao Miyazaki |
Based on | Hikōtei Jidai by Hayao Miyazaki |
Produced by | Toshio Suzuki |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Atsushi Okui |
Edited by | Takeshi Seyama |
Music by | Joe Hisaishi |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Toho |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
Country | Japan |
Language | Japanese |
Box office | $44.6 million (est.) |
Porco Rosso (
The plot revolves around an Italian
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 by
Plot
In 1929, Italian World War I fighter ace and bounty hunter Porco Rosso, cursed to have a pig's head, defends an ocean liner from
The pirates contract American ace Curtis to assist their attacks. Curtis falls in love with Gina but she loves Porco. While Porco is flying to Milan to 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 in Italy.
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 the secret police arrest them. They can claim that Porco took Fio hostage to force Piccolo to help. The new fascist government is 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 (possibly back into a human); 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 seen docked by Gina's garden as Fio flies over the hotel.
Cast
Character name | Voice actor | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Original | English dub | Japanese | English | |
Original, 1992 | Walt Disney Pictures, 2005 | |||
Porco Rosso / Marco Pagot | Porco Rosso / Marco Rossolini | Shūichirō Moriyama | Michael Keaton | |
Donald Curtis | Akio Ōtsuka |
Cary Elwes | ||
Fio Piccolo | Akemi Okamura | Kimberly Williams-Paisley | ||
Madame Gina | Tokiko Kato | Susan Egan | ||
Mr. Piccolo | Sanshi Katsura |
David Ogden Stiers | ||
Ferrarin | Ferrari | Mahito Tsujimura | Tom Kenny | |
Capo | Boss | Tsunehiko Kamijō | Brad Garrett | |
Mamma Aiuto Gang Members | Reizō Nomoto | Bill Fagerbakke | ||
Osamu Saka | Kevin Michael Richardson | |||
Yuu Shimaka | Frank Welker |
The cast of the 1992 Japan Airlines English dub is mostly unverified due to not having any known existing credits. It stars Ward Sexton as Porco, alongside Lynn Harris as Fio and Barry Gjerde as several additional voices.[3][4][5]
The French dub of the film stars Jean Reno as Porco.[6]
Production
The film was originally planned as a short in-flight film for
As with Miyazaki's other films, Joe Hisaishi composed the soundtrack. For the soundtrack, Tokiko Kato performs "The Time of Cherries" as well as an original song, "Once in a While, Talk of the Old Days".
History, geography and politics
Marco is an Italian hero from the
Miyazaki shed light on the political context of the making of the film in an interview with
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 of wakon yōsai (
Homage to early aviation
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2016) |
The fictional "Piccolo" aircraft company depicted in the film is based on the Italian aircraft manufacturers
Porco's air-force friend Ferrarin was inspired by the Italian Air Force pilot
Porco's plane is named after the
In the early 1930s, Italian seaplane designers set world speed records (such as the Macchi M.C.72 designed by the Italian airplane designer Mario 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 aces Francesco Baracca and Adriano Visconti also appear in the film.[11]
Marco Pagot, the real name of the main character, is also a homage to the Pagot brothers, pioneers of Italian animation (Nino and Toni Pagot were the authors of the first Italian animated feature film, The Dynamite Brothers, and Nino's son and daughter Marco and Gi Pagot[14] were Miyazaki's collaborators in the production of Sherlock Hound).
Meanwhile, the character of Curtis is likely to have been named after the American aviation pioneer
In 2017, Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki collaborated with Setouchi Seaplanes, a Japanese company flying Kodiak 100 seaplanes in Japan's Seto Inland Sea area, to design a special edition L’ala Rossa livery for Kodiak 100-0143.[15][16][17]
Miyazaki revisited the theme of aviation history in his 2013 film The Wind Rises.
Release
The film was released in Japan on July 18, 1992, by
Japan Airlines commissioned 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.[3][4] Although Sexton felt the project was too big for an English-speaking cast in Japan, Studio Ghibli insisted he be in charge.[3] 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.
Reception
Box office
Porco Rosso was the number-one film on the Japanese market in 1992, with
at the time equivalent to $43,000,000 (equivalent to $93,000,000 in 2023).In France, it sold 167,793 tickets,[22] equivalent to an estimated $1,006,758 at an average 1992 ticket price of FF34 ($6).[23] In other European countries, it grossed $573,719,[24] for an estimated combined total of $44,580,477 grossed in Japan and Europe.
Critical reception
It won the Cristal du long métrage ("Best feature-length film award") at the 1993
Wilson McLachlan, of the Left Field Cinema, considered it "the most underrated film from the Studio Ghibli catalogue." Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times wrote: "Mr. Miyazaki smooshes fantasy and history into a pastel-pretty yarn as irresistible as his feminism."[26] Robert Pardi of TV Guide gave 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."[28]
Cultural impact
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's 2023 general elections.[29]
Possible sequel
In 2011, Miyazaki said that he wanted to make a follow-up anime to the 1992 original film if his next few films following Ponyo were successful. The film's working name was Porco Rosso: The Last Sortie; it was to have been set during the Spanish Civil War with Porco appearing as a veteran pilot.[30] Miyazaki was to create the sequel, although the studio has since indicated that the sequel is not in their current plans.
References
- Allmovie. Archivedfrom the original on May 27, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.
- ^ "Kurenai No Buta (Porco Rosso, The Crimson Pig) (1992) Feature Length Theatrical Animated Film". Bcdb.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-940535-25-8. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
- ^ a b Reed, Philip J. (May 18, 2020). "REactors". Noiseless Chatter. Archived from the original on January 19, 2024. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ Gjerde, Barry. "Narration Profile". The Barry Gjerde Homepage. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ Toyama, Ryoko. "FAQ // Porco Rosso". Nausicaa.net. Archived from the original on February 27, 2012. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
- ^ "Porco Rosso Review". Omohide. Archived from the original on July 26, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
- ^ Sinke (February 12, 2019). "Discover Stiniva, One of CNN's Favorite Beaches". Croatia Times. Archived from the original on October 13, 2023. Retrieved October 4, 2023.
- ^ Jolin, Dan (September 2009). "Miyazaki on Miyazaki". Empire (243): 119.
- ^ Wood, Chris (Winter–Spring 2009). "The European fantasy space and identity construction in Porco Rosso". Post Script. 28 (2): 112. Archived from the original on August 1, 2019. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
- ^ a b "Il Porco Rosso: il volo di Miyazaki nell'aviazione italiana". Fanacea (in Italian). September 21, 2016. Archived from the original on March 7, 2021. Retrieved February 6, 2021.
- ISBN 1-31751988-4
- ^ Hayao Miyazaki: master of Japanese animation : films, themes, artistry, Stone Bridge Press, Inc., 1999, p. 164
- ^ Eric J. Lyman (April 17, 2007). "Cartoons honor Italian animation brothers". The Hollywood Reporter, April 17, 2017. Archived from the original on November 3, 2019. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
- ^ Chordas, Peter (March 28, 2018). "A One-of-a-Kind View of Japan's Inland Sea". Setouchi Finder. Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ Hashimoto, Hiroki (August 10, 2017). "飛ばねえ豚は…宮崎駿監督ら監修、水陸両用機が離陸". The Asahi Shimbun (in Japanese). Archived from the original on July 1, 2023. Retrieved July 1, 2023.
- ^ "特別塗装機(ラーラ ロッサ)". Setouchi Seaplanes (in Japanese). Archived from the original on June 23, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2023.
- ^ Carolyn Giardina (July 17, 2017). "Gkids, Studio Ghibli Ink Home Entertainment Deal". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on July 22, 2017. Retrieved August 3, 2017.
- ^ "Kako haikyū shūnyū jōi sakuhin 1992-nen" (in Japanese). Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan. Archived from the original on May 11, 2011. Retrieved February 6, 2011.
- ISBN 4845906872.
- ^ "歴代興収ベスト100" [All-time box office top 100] (in Japanese). Kogyo Tsushinsha. Archived from the original on March 3, 2013. Retrieved June 9, 2019.
- ^ "PORCO ROSSO – Kurenai no buta (1995)". JP's Box-Office. Archived from the original on January 8, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2019.
- ISBN 0886876583. Archivedfrom the original on January 8, 2022. Retrieved June 13, 2019.
- ^ "Kurenai no buta (Porco rosso) (2008)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on December 18, 2018. Retrieved December 16, 2018.
- ^ "Time Out's 50 Greatest Animated Films – Part 3 with Time Out Film - Time Out London". www.timeout.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2009. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
- ^ a b "Porco Rosso". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on February 19, 2015. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ "Porco Rosso Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on June 30, 2020. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
- ^ "Porco Rosso review". TVGuide. Archived from the original on August 25, 2020. Retrieved March 15, 2020.
- ^ "¿Por qué se han viralizado estos dibujos de 'Porco Rosso' antes de las elecciones?". Cinemanía (in Spanish). July 18, 2023. Archived from the original on July 20, 2023. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
- ^ "Latest News". Ghibli Wiki. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved October 19, 2016.
External links
- Porco Rosso page at Nausicaa.net
- Porco Rosso (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
- Porco Rosso at IMDb
- Porco Rosso at the TCM Movie Database
- Porco Rosso at AllMovie
- Review at THEM Anime