Hayao Miyazaki's PORCO ROSSO

Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald

This is an astonishing, moving, and intelligent animated film about a post WWI Mediterranean air pirate who is half man and half pig. The themes are a bit more mature than with other Miyazaki films, but the adventure and intrigue are real. The semi-realistic historical setting is lovingly depicted; we see this in even more grandiose fashion in Howl’s Moving Castle.

Yet there is an amazing realism that suffuses this fantasy, starting with the amazingly detailed seaplanes. One sequence stands out and involves a far-off glimpse of a stream running in the sky above the clouds. The effect is magical.

Review copyright (c) 2006 by Dennis D. McDonald