For fans who bemoan the industry wide shift from traditional cell animation to CGI, it’s worth watching.
It’s not just an interview either but a mini-documentary on the production of the film. Porco Rosso goes one step further in also including the original film’s trailers, storyboards and an interview with film producer Toshio Suzuki taken from an earlier release of the film. Like their Blu-ray releases of Princess Mononoke, The Wind Rises and Kiki’s Delivery Service from last year, we know that the folks at Disney are as big a fans of these films as we are and put care into bringing them Stateside. The image is sharp and the audio quality is top notch.
Obviously, an Italian language track would be the absolute best way to watch this film, but are you really going to turn your nose as Jean Reno playing an ace combat flying pig?ĭisney has spared no expense in bringing the absolute best version of the film to Blu-ray. But I know that Jean Reno’s rendition of Porco Rosso is the best version of the character and that the film, which takes place in the Adriatic in the years after WWI and whose majority of characters are Italian, just feels RIGHT experienced in a romance language. You want to watch Porco Rosso with the French language track on. Porco Rossoīut neither the English or Japanese language tracks are still the way to watch this film. Kids will love it because it’s got a flying pig and adults will love it for all the reasons on layers and depth that I’ve just listed. It’s one of my favorite endings to any of Miyazaki’s films, as it leaves you with more questions than answers and must be seen to understand what a sweet gift this movie really is. But the storyline that really grounds the film, the one revolving around Porco Rosso’s curse and the impossible love story with the beautiful Gina reveals Porco Rosso to be a tragic fairy tale with the same level of character depth as any other Ghibli film. Scenes in which Porco Rosso (Keaton) is flying circles around and thwarting the ridiculously cartoonish sky pirates and his rival aviator Curtis (Elwes) are some of the funniest moments in any Studio Ghibli scene. This really is one of my favorite Ghibli films, as the humor and tale of missed opportunities strikes a fantastic balance between levity and depth that surrounds the entire movie. Michael Keaton and Cary Elwes do a great job of headlining the American cast of this strange yet sweet story of a peerless Italian pilot who’s been cursed to fly as a pig. but for an old fan like myself, who grew up with the original language tracks, I have to accept no substitutes. John Lasseter and Disney Home Video have done a great job for years of doing English language translations upon releasing these films in the U.S.
I watch my Studio Ghibli films with the original Japanese language track on with English subtitles. I consider myself as close to a purist as you can get. I’ve often stated that Hayao Miyazaki is one of the top 5 living filmmakers in the world and that his films like Princess Mononoke, Laputa: Castle in the Sky and Nausicaa Of The Valley Of The Wind played a big part in my life.įunny then, that I recently realized while watching the new Blu-ray release of his classic Porco Rosso that I’d been watching it completely wrong this entire time! And why not? It’s my site and I might as well use it to share with you the joy of a studio I first discovered over 20 years ago. When I get the chance to write on the site, it’s usually to profess my love for all things Studio Ghibli. It’s Time You Watched Studio Ghibli’s ‘Porco Rosso’ The Right Way! | Geekscape by Jonathan Tuesday 3rd February 2015 It’s Time You Watched Studio Ghibli’s ‘Porco Rosso’ The Right Way!