<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

Porco Rosso (1992) was written and directed by anime pioneer Hayao Miyazaki, creator of (among others) Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away, and Howl's Moving Castle.

Porco Rosso is set in the Adriatic Sea sometime after the first World War. The title character is a former flying ace who now combats air pirates for bounties. He is also a humanoid pig, the result of a curse that is never fully explained. Other than Porco being a pig, there are really no fantastic elements in the film, unless you count the sensational aerial stunts performed by Porco and his foes.

Porco is a loner, a pig with a dark past. He lives in solitude on a secret island, and is loved from afar by the beautiful owner of a hotel. After losing a duel with a flamboyant American named Curtis, Porco flees to Milan, where he's a wanted man—or pig—to repair his plane. There he is sheltered by the family of his mechanic, and he befriends Fio, the mechanic's granddaughter, who is a talented airplane engineer even at her tender age. They return home together, where Porco is accosted by Curtis and air pirates, and must duel Curtis once more. Meanwhile, the Italian police are on his trail.

This film contains many of Miyazaki's trademark themes: a love of aircraft and flying (see Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, 1984, and Laputa: The Castle in the Sky, 1986), and hatred for war (see Princess Mononoke, 1997). Like most of his films, it's humorous, warm-hearted, and a little melancholy.