Porco Rosso
Movie, 1992, The '90s, Set in The Adriatic, 1929
Porco Rosso is #7 of 25 in release order and #7 of 25 in chronological order in the Studio Ghibli.
The story
In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.
Porco Rosso recap
Porco Rosso (1992) follows Marco Pagot, a First World War flying ace cursed with the face of a pig, who hunts air pirates over the Adriatic in 1929. Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directed this adaptation of his own short manga. Porco (Shūichirō Moriyama) rescues kidnapped schoolgirls from a pirate gang, then dines at the hotel run by his old friend Gina (Tokiko Kato), whose three husbands were pilots who all died. The pirates hire the brash American flyer Donald Curtis (Akio Otsuka), who shoots Porco down. Porco takes the wreck to Piccolo's workshop in Milan, where the old engineer's 17-year-old granddaughter Fio (Akemi Okamura) redesigns his plane. Italy's fascist secret police want Porco, so he flies out with Fio aboard. Fio bets her hand in marriage on a rematch with Curtis, and Porco tells her how he survived the war.
Porco Rosso ending explained
Porco Rosso ends with the duel turning into a fistfight in the shallows when both planes' guns jam; Porco wins as Gina shouts him on. Porco hands Fio over to Gina and leads the arriving Italian air force away. Fio's narration says Porco was never caught and keeps the rest a secret, leaving open whether he became human and whether he finally met Gina in her garden.
Post-credits scenes
No. Porco Rosso has no mid- or post-credits scene.
Where to watch Porco Rosso
Porco Rosso is streaming on HBO Max in the US. You can rent or buy it on Amazon, Apple TV, and Google Play.
Ratings
IMDb 7.7/10, Rotten Tomatoes 96%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Only Yesterday, before Ocean Waves.
- Chronological order: after Only Yesterday, before Ocean Waves.
Cast
- Shūichirō Moriyama as Kurenai no Buta (voice)
- Tokiko Kato as Jina-sama (voice)
- Bunshi Katsura VI as Pikkoro-oyaji (voice)
- Tsunehiko Kamijô as Manmayuto no shachô (voice)
- Akemi Okamura as Fio Pikkoro (voice)
- Akio Otsuka as Donarudo Kâchisu (voice)
- Hiroko Seki as Bâ-chan (voice)
- Reizō Nomoto as Mamma Aiuto Gang (voice)
- Osamu Saka as Mamma Aiuto Gang (voice)
- Yu Shimaka as Mamma Aiuto Gang (voice)
- Mahito Tsujimura as (voice)
- Minoru Yada as (voice)
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki.