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Porco Rosso Director: Hayao Miyazaki Number of Items: 2 Format: Color, Widescreen Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) Running Time: 93 minutes Studio: Buena Vista Home Vid Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2005-02-22 Buy from Amazon |
 "Yet another marvelous Miyazaki creation"Even in his lesser efforts, Miyazaki's film surpass just about everything else that is taking place in feature length animation. Although I have managed to see most of his films over the years, PORCO RUSSO (Red Pig) is one that I have just seen for the first time, thanks to the series of high quality rereleases that Disney is undertaking. Apart from the long autoplay Disney commercial that intrudes upon the viewer when you first put the disc in, I must admit that Disney continues to do an excellent job in these releases, providing both the original Japanese version as well as consistently excellent English dubbings. By any standard, Miyazaki has established his reputation as the premiere feature length animator in film PORCO RUSSO is not a masterpiece along the lines of SPIRITED AWAY or NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND, but it supplies further proof of Miyazaki's versatility and breadth. The setting is untypical, focusing on air pirates in the Adriatic, with excursions into Italy, though the focus on airplanes is profoundly typical of his work. Porco Russo is a highly accomplished bounty hunter, famous for his red airplane and for having mysteriously been transformed into a pig. His aeronautic preeminence, however, has been challenged by the sudden appearance of a cocky American flier, who has been hired to protect the air pirates and who seemingly disposes of Porco Russo when he shoots down his plane when the engine is stalled. To be honest, the plot is adequate, but the real joy of the film lies in watching the interaction of the characters onscreen, and at marveling at the superb animation. All the details are simply perfect, from the studied stylishness of Porco Russo's outfits, which seem to have been copied directly from the pages of J. Peterman catalogs, to the specifics of the airplane design. There is also the elegance in the way Miyazaki's characters move and the way he frames each scene using the rhythm and pacing one associates with live action films rather than animation. Whereas the typical Disney film for decades contained all the action in the foreground, Miyazaki frequently allows the foreground to dominate the screen visually, while the action takes place in the deep background. I suppose very few will experience this as their first venture into the magic that I Miyazaki. If so, as wonderful as this film is, the best is yet to come. Based merely on films such as NAUSICAA OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND, MY NEIGHBOR TOTORO, SPIRITED AWAY, and THE PRINCESS MONONOKE Miyazaki would have to go down as the finest animator of all time, since while others employ entire teams to produce the film, Miyazaki writes, directs, and serves as primary animator. But when one adds in such films as PORCO RUSSO, which would represent the highpoint in the career of most other animators, his brilliance is made even more obvious. "great movie"I'm no student of animation but I have , like most americans grown up watching movies. Porco Rosso, is a wonderfully gorgeous movie punctuated throughout with breathtaking views of the not-so-long ago past. Like any decent novel, it operates on different planes making it a superb family film. Frankly, this movie suits me much better than "Castle in the Sky". "Subtle Surealism Transcendant"I've been a Miyazaki fan since the late 80s, but I just enjoyed Porco Rosso for the first time. As I've only seen it once, I won't say much, but I have to add another 5 stars for this fantasmagoric film. Over the years, many reviews have touted this film as one of his best, if not his best. It could be. And that's saying a lot. The animation is absolutely magical: mesmerizing and exciting. The magical realisn is right on: think Gabriel Garcia Marquez at his best. The plot and characters are compelling. This film delivers everything the often misused animation medium promises: the creation of a reality at once real and fantastic. By the way, I prefer the Japanese voices to the dub, and not for anime purist reasons. It's just that Keaton's voice is too soft and tenor for the character. The Japanese actor's voice is dead on. This is a great movie.  "Porco Rosso -- Great Miyazaki film, though not his best."The premise of this film sounded a little bizarre when I heard of it -- a WWI flying ace who's been turned into a pig? I was skeptical when I bought it, but I am a huge Miyazaki fan, so I thought I'd give it a chance. Turns out, it's every bit as fabulous and off-beat as his other films -- some really great animation sequences, and some truly funny lines. The ending (in my humble opinion) was a bit of a dud (a long narrative segment that leaves the fate of the hero ambiguous), so it's definitely not my favorite (compared to films like Mononoke and Spirited Away), but it's worth watching and owning. "Superb, whimsical animation primarily for adults"Lots of other people have commented; I just wanted to add that those of you who think the ending is ambiguous should watch it again, more carefully. Much, much more carefully; the things you're spotting are subtle and appear only briefly. |
