Miyazaki Countdown Part 6 - Porco Rosso

Hello everyone and welcome to Some Like It Scott's second Countdown miniseries on 2023, a podcast first focusing entirely on the works of Japanese animator, Hayao Miyazaki: the Miyazaki Countdown. To honor one of the living legends of animation, the countdown crew of Scott, Scott, and Jay will watch all 11 of Miyazaki's films to-date, rewinding all the way back to his directorial origins with 1979's action-adventure heist thriller LUPIN III: THE CASTLE OF CAGLIOSTRO, all the way to his then-final film, 2013's biographical epic romance drama, THE WIND RISES. Join us each week over the next 11 weeks, as we build up to what is Miyazaki's self-proclaimed now-final film (we'll see...), the fantasy epic, THE BOY AND THE HERON.

 

In Part 6 of the Miyazaki Countdown, Scott, Scott, and Jay discuss one of the stranger films - at least in terms of origin - in Hayao Miyazaki's filmography, the adventure-fantasy film, PORCO ROSSO. Originally conceived as an in-flight animated short for Japan Airlines but eventually converting into a feature-length film, based on a manga of Miyazaki's own creation (à la NAUSICAÄ OF THE VALLEY OF THE WIND), PORCO ROSSO is a 1929-set period piece following the titular pig, Porco Rosso, an Italian World War I veteran fighter pilot-turned-bounty hunter. Porco lives a pretty chill life, lounging on a private patch of island somewhere off the coast, rescuing innocent civilians from the throes of airborne pirates whenever he is called upon. One day, after defeating the Mamma Aiuto Gang and treating himself to a dinner at the Hotel Adriano, run by his friend and maybe-love-interest Gina, Porco butts heads with an arrogant and hot-headed American hired gun, Curtis, who's been contracted by the local pirate gangs to aid in their next attack. Needless to say Porco and Curtis, who makes a pass at Gina, do not hit it off, and their conflict extends to the sky, where Curtis attacks Porco, severely damaging and crashing the iconic crimson plane and setting off a feud that tests Porco's honor as an ace in the sky. The countdown crew give their thoughts on Miyazaki's relatively low stakes return to the adventure genre, what themes may still lurk underneath the surface of this high-flying adventure, and if Porco joins the cast of memorable characters in Miyazaki's movies.