Movie Club Edition Five: Porco Rosso - SPOILERS

RanzB

RanzB

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****The discussion starts 7th April 2015****

Porco Rosso is a 1992 Japanese animated adventure film written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki. It is based on Hikōtei Jidai, a three-part watercolor manga by Miyazaki.[1] The film stars the voices of Shūichirō Moriyama, Tokiko Kato, Akemi Okamura and Akio Ōtsuka. Toshio Suzuki produced the film for Studio Ghibli. Joe Hisaishi composed the music.

The plot revolves around an Italian World War I ex-fighter ace, now living as a freelance bounty hunter chasing "air pirates" in the Adriatic Sea. However, an unusual curse has transformed him to an anthropomorphic pig. Once called Marco Pagot (Marco Rousolini in the American version), he is now known to the world as "Porco Rosso", Italian for "Red Pig".
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220px-Porco_Rosso_%28Movie_Poster%29.jpg


**A review is encouraged, and a star review out of 5 is preferred over a /10 score.

0 - Couldn't finish it was so bad
1- Horrible
2 - Very Bad
2.5 -OK <- just to be in the middle
3 - Good/Very Good
4- Excellent
5 - Perfect

Previous Discussion Threads:
1. Vertigo
2. Chinatown
3. Blue Velvet
4. Angel Heart
 
I loved this movie. It was seemingly simple, but had some typical adult themes throughout. Some serious violence interspersed with childlike blushing and giggling.

His battles with the pirates and their bungling at his secret hide-out was really funny. Also note the irony with Fio offering to try and break his curse with a kiss and what happens after the fight near the end of the movie.

4/5
 
Porko Ross gets 5 for technique but 1 because it didn't appeal to me. So an average of 3.

Hmmm Porko Rosso was difficult for me so I didn't finish it. Which isn't too say the talent went over my head or that I didn't appreciate being exposed to something I would never have seen.

The attention to detail blew me away, down to the artwork on the walls, texture of the landscaping and the trouble taken with colours. I chose not to Google the movie before commenting so I imagine the frames are hand drawn! Wow!

After a while the odd fact the main character is a pig living amongst people becomes perfectly acceptable :) Not only his clothing but also his stance and demeanor are spot on in depicting a confident, capable maverick who's character in a non-animated movie might have been played by Humphrey Bogart :-)

Any animator who, with 8 short lines on a drawing - the mechanic's mustache - transforms a nondescript face into a Chinese face is pure genius.

Also loved that they threw in a Russian behind Porky when he went to movies.

Tks for the suggestion MJ.
 
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So I read Porco yesterday. First visual book for me. Also first Gihbli.

Movie gets a 2.5 for me. Story was boring. Visually well done. Music was way better than the story.

But at least this movie didn't put me off from the whole, japanese cartoon visual book genre. If anything, made me more interested to find something better. Think I should go back and finish Death Note actually
 
maumau said:
Porko Ross gets 5 for technique but 1 because it didn't appeal to me. So an average of 3.

Hmmm Porko Rosso was difficult for me so I didn't finish it. Which isn't too say the talent went over my head or that I didn't appreciate being exposed to something I would never have seen.

The attention to detail blew me away, down to the artwork on the walls, texture of the landscaping and the trouble taken with colours. I chose not to Google the movie before commenting so I imagine the frames are hand drawn! Wow!

After a while the odd fact the main character is a pig living amongst people becomes perfectly acceptable :) Not only his clothing but also his stance and demeanor are spot on in depicting a confident, capable maverick who's character in a non-animated movie might have been played by Humphrey Bogart :-)

Any animator who, with 8 short lines on a drawing - the mechanic's mustache - transforms a nondescript face into a Chinese face is pure genius.

Also loved that they threw in a Russian behind Porky when he went to movies.

Tks for the suggestion MJ.
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Kinda how I felt. Just our score that differs. 2.5 to be in the middle feels more right to me. It wasn't bad, it just didn't grip me. It was just... plain.
 
Porky Pig gets a 3.5 / 5 for me (somewhere between very good and excellent).

I don't usually watch animated movies that take such a child-like look at the world...the lack of tension or real conflict leaves them feeling incomplete. I prefer more intensity and gravity than an Asterix and Obelix Sunday afternoon movie ;) Basically, I lean towards more Ghost in the Shell type movies than bucolic fantasies.

However, Porco Rosso has a lot going for it that counters that to a degree. The beauty of the flying sequences is obviously outstanding...the planes are majestic and drawn with a lot of love and attention to detail. The characters are all likable to varying degrees...even the crass American has a redeeming moment when he tells Porco that Gina's waiting for him in the garden. In an odd kind of way, the many characterisations of people as shades of grey is an adult take on the world (which argues against the overall childishness I was talking about earlier). Miyazaki refuses to give viewers a scoundrel to hate or a hero to love (Porco is often misogynistic and often taciturn). The soundtrack and overall sound design is very good also.

So it's a good to great movie...but not one I would have watched voluntarily since I was a teenager.
 
maumau said:
After a while the odd fact the main character is a pig living amongst people becomes perfectly acceptable :) Not only his clothing but also his stance and demeanor are spot on in depicting a confident, capable maverick who's character in a non-animated movie might have been played by Humphrey Bogart :-)
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I was seeing Stacy Keach in Mike Hammer mode...because Porco's fat :p
 
Good movie and I honestly enjoyed it, but not as much as I did Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle. Also love the way Hayao Miyazaki brought atmosphere of early 20th century Europe with those brilliant colour use in the animation and a perfectly accompanied soundtrack.

Gets 3.5 from me.
 
RazedInBlack said:
Good movie and I honestly enjoyed it, but not as much as I did Spirited Away or Howl's Moving Castle.
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Haven't seen those...are they as dark as Princess Mononoke (which I do like very much more than Porco)? Or more child-friendly like Porco Rosso?
 
Neoprod said:
Haven't seen those...are they as dark as Princess Mononoke (which I do like very much more than Porco)? Or more child-friendly like Porco Rosso?
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Spirited Away
One of only two animated films ever to receive the Japan Academy Prize for picture of the year, the first being Princess Mononoke (1997).
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I definitely wouldn't go as far to say that its child-friendly, no. The underlying tones of the movie leads more towards disturbing rather but do yourself a favor, watch it.
 
faniedry said:
So I read Porco yesterday. First visual book for me. Also first Gihbli.

Movie gets a 2.5 for me. Story was boring. Visually well done. Music was way better than the story.

But at least this movie didn't put me off from the whole, japanese cartoon visual book genre. If anything, made me more interested to find something better. Think I should go back and finish Death Note actually
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You should also explore some of the other works of Studio Ghibli. Porco Rosso is fun but it's definitely in the lower rungs of what they've done. As RazedinBlack said, it doesn't compare to the likes of Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, which are plain masterpieces (in my opinion). Especially if you want to watch something with your daughter, I love to sit with the kids and watch these films because their portrayal of the nuances of human relationships is so much more developed than most Western animated films, which tend to go along a 'princess finds romance with prince' narrative arc.

Even Porco Rosso has that characteristic - look at the way his character develops throughout the movie, and his relationship with Gina goes from misogynistic to affectionate. Also note the character of Fio - it's hard to think of an equivalent in any Western animated film for the plain, engineering teenage girl who grounds Porco Rosso.

The animation of the airplanes is superbly detailed, and evidences a lifetime fascination with aeronautics that comes up again in The Wind Rises. I really enjoyed this movie but I can't give it more than a 3/5 because it's such a lightweight film and there are times when the plot really drags down.
 
Neoprod said:
Haven't seen those...are they as dark as Princess Mononoke (which I do like very much more than Porco)? Or more child-friendly like Porco Rosso?
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My young children have watched both of those movies. I wouldn't let them watch Princess Mononoke for at least a few more years.
 
I have not watched this yet but I know I have it on a hdd somewhere, will try to find it.
 
Neoprod said:
Haven't seen those...are they as dark as Princess Mononoke (which I do like very much more than Porco)? Or more child-friendly like Porco Rosso?
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Dunno about dark but Grave of the Fireflies is probably the saddest movie I've seen in my life, I wish it was the movie we had to review this week. I'm a big Studio Ghibli fan after discovering Spirited Away which I downloaded by mistake in Japanese. Previously briefly saw the English dubbed version on tv but I did not pay any attention.

@faniedry, try some of the other movies, they are truelly awesome!
 
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Ponder, RiB, Cerebos - have taken note of the recommendations. Will queue up Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle and Grave of the Fireflies.

Thanks :)
 
This was a delightful farce. I agree with some of the criticisms, but it definitely makes me want to explore more movies like this.

4/5
 
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