film reviews

porco rosso (subbed) - hayao miyazaki - 1992

watched on:
score:

09/03/2025
8/10

one of my favorite lines from the movie is, “i’d rather be a pig than a fascist.” porco posso captures the tale of a rugged pig bounty hunter who flies a sea plane around the adriatic sea post-world war I. he faces head to head with airplane pirates of varying skill throughout the film. while there are undertones of love throughout the film, the film focuses on porco’s struggle with trauma from the war which results in him isolating himself from people who care about him.

with every studio ghibli film, the animation is a key feature to my personal satisfaction of the film. the vivid colors, wacky characters, vehicle design, and flow of animation are all top notch and represent the high quality product that studio ghibli consistently releases.

the animation is accompanied by a classic ghibli-themed score which matches the beauty, freedom, and playfulness that porco finds in flying. most of the voice actors do an excellent job conveying emotion through their voice, although there were a few moments where i questioned the authenticity of the voice acting.

i have some discomfort around how some of the characters are portrayed, but i think that miyazaki intentionally portrayed them like this to make the audience uncomfortable. these characters were not meant to be seen as heroes or good people, but as their authentic selves, even if they behave in the manner of a pig.