Porco Rosso is Miyazaki striking perfect balance between childish joy and jaded adult stoicism. A pig piloting a bright red plane in the summers of Italy captures the magic of Ghibli while also drawing a dark portrait of a generation stripped of its soul by the war.

DISCLAIMER: I did not see this movie in its original language(Japanese), but in a dubbed version(Italian). I may have missed some nuances. I had never seen a movie by Miyazaki (or by Studio Ghibli) before Porco Rosso. I can safely say that Mr. Miyazaki has gained a fan. This movie really captured me. It's got a particular mix of drama and humor. On one hand you have Porco, a human turned pig, outcast from society; on the other you have the silliness of the pirates and the general comedy, almost like it is a kids movie. The visuals are stunning. The animation is smooth and absolutely a pleasure to the eye. But the flight sequences are something else. So detailed, so realistic, with clouds that look straight out of a painting. One of my first thought was: "Someone on the team that has made this must really love planes". Sure enough, a quick google search showed that Miyazaki himself is a big aviation fan. It shows, and it's beautiful. Character-wise, the movie really only concentrates on Porco; the side characters are not well explored. That is not to say they fill like empty husks; their story is just barely touched upon,but enough to understand them. The main character, though, I found really interesting. Porco Rosso (or Marco Pagot, before he became a pig) is an interesting guy. He seems to be the only real one to care about his own appearance. But he is not bitter about it; on the contrary, the movie showcases his caring side. The universe in which this movie takes place is the icing on the cake, at least for me. It takes place between the two World War, but in Porco Rosso seaplanes dominate the sky. It's such an interesting idea. The seaplane is the maximum freedom a man can think of, combining boats and planes together. Not gonna lie, it made me hope for a seaplane comeback in our world. In short, it's an interesting movie that can be funny to a kid and make an adult reflect, all in the same 90 minutes. Plus an imaginative universe, animated to perfection. What more do you want? 9/10

A largely overlooked entry in the Hayao Miyazaki catalog, about a wartime fighter pilot (turned bounty hunter) who's been cursed with the face and body of a pig. I'd skipped this one for years because the director deemed it "foolish" and, to be honest, it just didn't look all that interesting. You'd think I would know better. As with all prime Studio Ghibli entries, it brims and bustles with life, gladly bearing a joyful appreciation for the small things and an admiration for those who seek adventure. Air force captains, sky pirates, lounge owners, engineers... each pursue excitement in their own characteristic ways, which often overlap unexpectedly. Rosso himself is a tough nut to crack, only vaguely alluding to the curse that transformed his appearance and maintaining an emotional distance for much of the story. In some ways, that's refreshing - one might expect the search for a cure to dominate the plot, when that's far from the case - but it also makes him a tricky, and often underwhelming, lead character. His unwanted, self-appointed sidekick, a spunky young designer named Fio, is much more in the mold of the classic Ghibli protagonist. Miyazaki and company also take special care to hammer out unique identities for each airship in the story, though these do generally take a back seat to their colorful pilots. The director's lifelong ties to avionics (his father was an aeronautical engineer) and his deep-rooted understanding of their natural, graceful motion are almost as clearly evident here as they would be twenty years later, in the more personal The Wind Rises. Vibrant and energetic, stimulating and surprising, this has everything one might expect from the famed Japanese animation house. Perhaps a half-step below their very best, largely due to the reticent lead and an abrupt climax, but still an excellent selection for all ages to share and enjoy.

So this is the sequel of Animal Farm?

the little details in miyazaki movies (with the great animation of Ghibli studios) are everything