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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 |
 "For the whole family"This is really a gorgeous movie, like all Studio Ghibli offerings. Having read the reviews and commentary that Miyazaki was aiming at businessmen, I bought this for me - however , my 4 year old daughter loves this movie as much as she loves Kiki's Delivery Service. There is nothing too scary, and there are enough jokes and great flying scenes to not only keep my daughter's attention, but also for her to demand to see it again and again. "Trust me, the dub is good!"Many people whose first language is English don't seem to like their favorite foreign films dubbed in English. Well, that's understandable; here in Japan, we have Eddie Murphy speaking Japanese---in dubbed movies, of course---and most Japanese people don't seem to like it either; it simply doesn't sound like 'Eddie'. However, I don't think that necessarily means that dubbed films are always bad. In fact, there are exceptions---maybe, not too many, though---that the dub is as good as the original. And I do believe this English 'Porco Rosso' is one of such exceptions. Personally, I even think the voice acting of Porco is better than the original, except for the added 'grunts', which are not in the Japanese version. So, if you have a bias against dub, I advise you to discard it, as far as this film is concerned; you can enjoy this wonderful gift from Miyazaki in English on this DVD---as well as in Japanese with subtitles if you would still like to. Arigato Disney for the wonderful job!! "Another masterpiece by Miyazaki"This was long held as one of my favorite films (animated or not) and it was another of Miyazaki's films I knew only in subtitled form. Kiki's Delivery Service was another, and upon hearing the Disney dub of that film I could not stand to watch it, it just tore up that great movie. By Porco is another story. Michael Keaton especially has done a great job of capturing the essence of the Japanese performance and helps make the dub very watchable. For true film fans, nothing beats the original language for sense of character, especially with anime as Japanese voice actors approach the work with a totally different frame of mind, really serving the film and the characters over matching voice to mouth. I was happily surprised by this dub.  "A Wonderful Escape"Miyazaki has a gift for creating an alternate world that is consistent in its own rules. Indeed, only Miyazaki could have carried off this movie about a seaplane pilot turned into a pig. But now having experienced several of Miyazaki's works, I think that they are so successful because they extol good and honest behavior. After "Spirited Away" I have sought out all Miyazaki's films--they are fun, they aren't predictable, they speak to all ages and they don't leave you embarrassed to have spent money on the entertainment. As the father of several daughters, call me corny, but I enjoyed and appreciated the character of the young engineer (Piccolo's granddaughter) who was anxious to prove herself. She worked hard and validated everyone's confidence in her talents. Hardwork and achievement: What a great message that is so often lost in Hollywood's clumsy offerings. The movie was so enjoyable because it honored good character. The "right" things happened. The honorable characters succeeded. The good guy wins. Yet there is not a hint of formula in the movie. So often such movies are so predicable that you end up rooting for the bad guy, but in Miyazaki's movies the themes of love, honor, honesty are all given excellent treatment and I cannot recommend them enough. "Disney should have released Porco to the big screen!"I have seen this anime movie before, in the subtitled version sold in the Hayao Miyazaki collection. Many dubs of good Japanese anime movies or series are horrible. I have to admit this is a very good dub, and seeing it, I realized I'd missed a few subtle details. I won't spoil it for anyone, but suffice it to say, that I got a completely different take on the ending by hearing this in English. Michael Keaton was an inspired choice as Porco. He gave just the right kind of understated, "man of few words" talk that was expected from his character. While I'm not certain how old this is, it is definitely from before 1998 when Princess Mononoke was released. The animation is first rate all the way, and the art is extraordinary, as we've come to expect from recent Miyazaki films. A friend of mine who viewed it with me said the backgrounds were almost real life, but the characters and things like planes seemed more cartoon like in the foreground. I personally like the effect, as it gives the characters some dimension. Too many drawn animes look two-dimensional all the time. By fading the background a bit and making it more realistic, it brings more life to the characters, and movement of objects. As for the movie, itself it has a good story that on the surface excites the younger audience, and on a bit deeper level gives the adults something to enjoy. Porco has a bit of a comment on the history of the time (pre-World War II). Most of that commentary will go right over younger children, who will love Porco and his adventures. Miyazaki seems to have a love for children. Many of his stories appeal to them without being overly dumbed down, and syrupy. As for my Disney title comment, they have the rights to these films. If Disney spent a little on promotion, this kind of film plays well for American audiences. While it angered me at the time, the way they tanked the distribution of Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away. It may have made some business sense, since they were both in uniquely Japanese settings. Porco Rosso however, is set in the Adriatic Sea, and has many universal adventure concepts, like pirates, spies, airplanes, and hide-a-way desert islands. As for the DVD, top notch all around, two discs with wide-screen and tons of extra's on the second. The transfer looks great, and while I don't have a THX system to try it, its THX certified and includes a THX Optimizer. It's also specially enhanced for 16X9 televisions. An outer cardboard art sleeve protects the inner standard DVD clamshell, which has the same art on it on the cover. |
