Porco Rosso

Rated PG

Catholic-ometer: 4 of 5

Enjoyability: 4.5 of 5

I probably wouldn't even have thought of watching this film, but somebody suggested it to me, so I figured it might be worth checking out.  It is Ghibli, after all, and they're usually pretty exceptional.  Still, I was a little surprised by just how much there was to enjoy.

Firstly, this film is not at all like Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, or other Ghibli films (in fact, really, no Ghibli film is quite like any other.)  It's more adult.  Not as adult as Princess Mononoke, but pretty adult nonetheless.  I'd say late childhood-early teens at the earliest.  There's a lot of adult references and remarks.  There's name-calling, the main character smokes, there's plenty of alcohol in this movie, and illegal arms trading...  All that stuff you see in adventure anime.

I loved it.  This film kind of reminded me of a cross between the story of Beauty and the Beast and Casablanca.  It takes place between the first and second world wars, and the main character is a fighter pilot, who retreated from Italy to get away from the fascists (and yes; they use the word "fascist" in context in this film.)  He was also somehow cursed, and now he has the head of a pig and is rather overweight.  However, there's no more information given about the curse than this.

There's action, adventure, high-flying air battles, drama, romance, suspense and great escapes in this film, as Porco is shot down by a rival and has to get his plane repaired, so that he can settle the score.  Porco himself is something of an anti-hero, but the film treats him with respect, and in the end, he...  Well, the ending is a bit ambiguous, but if you're a regular viewer of Ghibli films, you may have come to expect that.

If you're wondering whether this film is right for you, or for your children, just ask yourself this; would you sit your children down in front of Casablanca?  If the answer is yes, then this film should be fine for them as well.  I really don't think there is any film that makes a better comparison with this one than Casablanca.  They're both film noir, they're both drenched in 1930s terminology, speech patterns, character dynamics and scenarios, and they both contain most of the same things that modern adults don't like kids seeing.  Guns, cigarettes, liquer, etc...  No foul language in either case, but that was expected in the 30s.  This movie isn't any tamer than Casablanca, despite being animated, but it's also no less tame, despite being made in the 90s.

Still, Casablanca was one of the greatest classic films of all time, so the very fact that I'm comparing Porco Rosso with it repeatedly is probably a sign of something good.  I just know I loved this movie, and I hope you will too.