ehalcomb: Porco Rosso Review || Anime Movie Review

I have a lot of mixed feelings about Studio Ghibli's Porco Rosso. On one respect I thoroughly enjoy the film for its fun action and interesting characters but on the other hand there is just so much different plot going on at once that I have trouble following the movie even after I've watched it for a second time. The main character is Marco Rosso, a veteran pilot of WWI, who was somehow turned into a pig. This is my biggest, though minor, gripe with the film. It never explains why exactly he is a pig. It does mention that he was turned into one but there isn't any mention of magic, wizards, or anything of the like. This world is pretty normal besides for the fact that this man is a pig. Through his 'journey' of some kind with some kind of plot happening somewhere in the film he comes across a lot of different and interesting characters. A young mechanic named Fio, who he doubts as a mechanic because 1920s sexism, a full-of-himself American fighter named Curtis, who just kind of shows up to be a 'villain', and the Mama Auto Gang, who is just there for comedy relief. Another problem I have with Porco Rosso is the fact that things just kind of happen. This isn't odd for a Ghibli movie because some of their best productions are just ordinary people doing ordinary things. In this case, however, few scenes are truly memorable. One great scene is when Marco and Fio are on his island getting ready for the battle and while Fio almost falls asleep she sees what Marco used to look like before he was turned into a pig. This is great and emotional but would've been even better if his 'condition' was explained. It seems that with every great thing this movie has to offer there is a little plot detail that makes it seem like it is less. Porco Rosso isn't a bad movie but it's not great either. I do really enjoy the action and characters but I could really care less about the overall plot.

Porco Rosso is good.