In 1992, Walt Disney Pictures released Newsies, The Mighty Ducks, The Muppet Christmas Carol and one of their biggest animated hits ever, Aladdin. At the same time, a Japanese animation studio that few Americans had ever heard of (Studio Ghibli) released their sixth animated feature, Porco Rosso. The studio had already had great success with films like My Neighbor Totoro and Kiki’s Delivery Service and director Hayao Miyazaki was being heralded as the Japanese Walt Disney.
Like many Studio Ghibli films, the setting of Porco Rosso is in Europe. Marco Rousolini was a World War I fighting ace that became a bounty hunter following the war. A curse has left him with a pig face and he now goes by the name Porco Rosso (Italian for Red Pig). His adventures pit him against air pirates and he soon discovers that the fascist Italian government has hired the pirates to hunt him down.
Porco Rosso started out as a short film for Japan Airlines that would be based on a short Manga that Hayao Miyazaki wrote in 1989 called The Age of the Flying Boat. When it was expanded into a feature, Japan Airlines remained a sponsor and even played it on flights before it opened in theaters. It was the number one film in Japan in 1992, beating out Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, which opened in Japan in September of that same year.
Disney acquired the American distribution rights to Porco Rosso in 1996, but didn’t release it until 2005 when Studio Ghibli was well known in America thanks to critical acclaim from Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle. Disney’s English dub has an all star voice cast that includes Michael Keaton as Porco Rosso, Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride), Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Father of the Bride), Susan Egan (Megara from Hercules), David Ogden Stiers (Cogsworth in Beauty and the Beast) and Brad Garrett (Bloat in Finding Nemo). John Lasseter supervised the English language dub for quality control. He is good friends with Miyazaki and is a big fan of Studio Ghibli films.
Video
Porco Rosso looks amazing in high definition on Blu-Ray. Colors are much more vivid, detail is clear in every shot, and grain has been reduced (but is still present for film purists).
The DVD disc included is an exact clone of disc 1 from the 2005 DVD release. Compared to the Blu-Ray, the colors seem faded and grain is excessive. The difference between Blu-Ray and DVD in this combo pack is drastic. It’s unfortunate that a new DVD wasn’t pressed for fans who want the better looking restoration on DVD.
Audio
The default language on both discs is English. On Blu-Ray, English and Japanese tracks are offered in 2.0 DTS-HD Master Audio. There is also a French 2.0 track. The DVD reproduces these same audio options in standard definition sound.
Ghibli fans can rejoice, the English subtitle track is a true translation from Japanese to English (rather than the dubtitle-only options that were found on Castle in the Sky and Kiki’s Deliver Service). If you’re looking for the dubtitle track, that’s here too, listed as English SDH. There is also a French subtitle option.
Bonus Features
- Behind the Microphone (7 minutes) – Meet the English voice cast and creative team behind the dub in this peak into the recording studio.
- Original Japanese Storyboards (93 minutes) – The full film is presented in storyboard form with original Japanese audio and subtitles.
- Original Japanese Trailers (8 minutes) – Four promotional pieces from the Japanese release are presented.
- Interview with producer Tashio Suzuki (3 minutes) – Tashio Suzuki talks about what it’s like producing a Miyazaki film.
The DVD includes all of these bonus features, with the exception of the Original Japanese Storyboards. Those were included on disc 2 of the original DVD release from 2005.
Packaging & Design
Porco Rosso arrives on Blu-Ray in a standard-sized Blu-Ray case that holds a disc on each side. Both the Blu-Ray and DVD discs have disc art, a rarity for Disney that is mandated by Studio Ghibli. Inserts include a Disney Movie Rewards code and an ad for Disney Movie Club. The case is housed inside a foil embossed slipcover that matches the style of all of the other Studio Ghibli Blu-Rays.
The Blu-Ray menu also follows the trend for Studio Ghibli films with a beige background and small windows with scenes from the film set to score. The DVD menu is a static image of Porco in a circle with menu options below it.
The Blu-Ray disc opens with ads for 101 Dalmatians Diamond Edition, Inside Out, Big Hero 6 and an anti-smoking PSA starring Fowlfellow from Pinocchio. Selecting Sneak Peeks adds commercials for Disney Movie Rewards, Cinderella and Tinker Bell and the Legend of the Neverbeast. The DVD opens with long outdated ads for Bambi Platinum Edition, The Cat Returns/Nasuicaa of the Valley of the Wind/Porco Rosso on DVD, and The Incredibles on DVD
Final Thoughts
Porco Rosso is a fine addition to any Studio Ghibli fan’s movie library. This Blu-Ray release is far superior to the previous DVD release. It’s not one of my favorite Ghibli films, but I still enjoy it every time.