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Kurenai no Buta
Porco Rosso
The Crimson Pig
Japan 1992
produced by Toshio Suzuki, Yoshio Sasaki (executive), Sokai Tokuma (executive), Yasuyoshi Tokuma (executive), Matsuo Toshimitsu (executive) for Studio Ghibli, Nibariki, Tokuma Shoten, Nippon Television Network (= NTV), Toho, TNNG, Japan Airlines
directed by Hayao Miyazaki
written by Hayao Miyazaki, music by Joe Hisaishi
anime
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Available on DVD! To buy, click on link(s) below and help keep this site afloat (commissions earned) |
Always make sure of DVD-compatibility!!!
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Marco was an ace Italian fighter pilot in World War I, but when he was
shot down, he didn't go to heaven (or hell) but was sent back to earth as
a pig, and these days he's known to patrol the Adriatic Sea in his
custom-made red airplane fighting air pirates wherever he can find them,
and duelling himself with American fighter ace Curtis, with both of them
being in love with beautiful bar singer Gina. During one such duels,
Porco's plane's engine short cuts and he's pretty much a sitting duck
target and manages to save himself and his plane rather by accident than
skill. And while Curtis is fighting his ultimate victory over Porco Rosso,
Porco gets his plane back to Grandpa Piccolo's workshop, who has the
repairs and improvements done by his 17 year old niece Fio, whom Porco
only learns to accept and like by the by, but who of course does an ace
job. Eventually, Porco takes Fio back with him as co-pilot and in-house
mechanic, and she proves a valuable assess when he finds his island
hide-out overrun by air pirates, but she manages to unite them to organize
a duel to last-man-standing between Porco and Curtis - which they're
ultimately having with the fleet of newly Fascist Italy (which both pilots
despise) closing in on their location ... Basically another
masterpiece by Hayao Miyazaki that has all of his trademark elements
firmly in place, like the blending of the trivial with the magical,
beautiful animation, breath-taking action setpieces, detail-rich
backgrounds, colourful characters (both literally and figuratively), great
character designs, and a good portion of humour. What sets this one
somewhat apart from other Miyazaki movies is that it's set in a very
specific historic era and location, and is not only based on events from
that era and area (even if it takes liberties with history as such), but
also pays hommage to yesteryear's cinema (animation as well as live
action), without ever giving up Miyazaki's very distinct style though. So
yeah, pretty much another masterpiece, and a must-see for sure!
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