Porco Rosso - Blu-ray Review

[Michael Scott]

Porco Rosso

Movie:
Video:
Audio:
Extras:
Final Score: ​

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Movie
As of this year Studio Ghibli has officially cut ties with Disney proper for their releases and have moved over to Shout Factory as their new distributor. Over this last month they have released 8 of their original titles that were given to Disney, and are in the works to redistribute just about all the rest of their titles (minus the ones licensed to Universal and Up on Poppy Hill and Grave of the Fireflies), INCLUDING the single title that even Disney couldn’t get. My Neighbors, the Yamadas. I missed the opportunity to review for you all 8 titles that were released on the 17th of October, but over the course of the next month or so there will be another set of batches that are coming over via Shout, and I’ll be putting those out for you. Disney did some great stuff with their Studio Ghibli releases, but there were a small handful of titles (such as Princess Monnonoke) that had subpar subtitles as Disney used “Dubtitles” (translations of the English dub) vs. traditional direct translations from the Japanese language tracks that REALLY frustrated purists (myself included). With these new releases, Shout Factory and Studio Ghibli have worked together to rectify those small issues and re-release their lineup on Blu-ray once more at a substantially lower price than Disney was able to.

Ah, “Porco Ross”. Talk about a blast from the past! “Porco Rosso” is one of those Hayao Miyazaki films that gets passed over when people think of the great Miyazaki. I mean, you have a story about an Italian WWI fighter who just so happens to be cursed to look like a pig. There’s no fantastical magical elements (besides the curse that supposedly turned him into a pig) and there is no epic storytelling. It’s much more laid back and instead tells the story of a pilot who has to deal with the changing of the old guard. However, the movie is QUITE good, and one that really doesn’t deserve to get passed over as often as it does.

“Porco Rosso” is the tale of a veteran WWI fighter pilot Marco “Porco” Rosso and the times after the war has ended. Instead of moving on with life, Porco has become a bounty hunter who hunts pirates and the like on the Adriatic see outside of Italy. Porco is the best pilot around until a young American pilot comes and knocks him off the top with a cheap shot, destroying his plane in the process. Rebuilding his famed plane through his old friend Pikkoro (and his beautiful redheaded granddaughter), Porco plans to go back to doing what he does best, hiding out on a deserted island, being lazy and hunting down pirates when the price is right. This changes when Porco and Fio (Pikkoro’s granddaughter) take his plane our for a test ride and end up roped into a competition between the American and Porco Rosso, all sponsored by the air pirates of course. Now Porco has to come out of retirement one more time and put on the gloves to protect Fio as well as the honor of the pilots before him.

One thing that has become very obvious over the years is how much Hayao Miyazaki loves planes, especially the WWI ear of flight machines. “The Wind Rises” was his coup de grace in terms of writing a love letter to the aeronautical community, but movies like “Porco Rosso” were an obvious highlight in his love for the skies. “Porco Rosso” hovers on that line between silly slapstick comedy meant for children and heavy and mature themes that resonate with the adults. On one hand we have a light and airy children’s story. Porco is a bit of a goofball and there’s plenty of pork humor in the film, poking fun at the fat pig in a way that will make children giggle and laugh. While that is perfect as a film, it wouldn’t be a Miyazaki movie if there wasn’t a whole lot more under the hood. The other side of the coin is that the movie is really a melancholy tale of a war veteran, watching the world pass him by as the changing of the guard happens. It’s a movie that celebrates fallen comrades and the honor that one must portray when remembering them, but also that feeling of helplessness as you see the world around you changing. Changing so much that you don’t recognize your place in that world anymore. You feel sad for Porco as he tries his best to stay relevant in a changing world, as well as the sadness that exists in his heart as he is a survivor in a war that claimed so many people. People he called friends and that will never been seen again. That is exemplified the most when you see the conversation between Porco and Gina at the beginning of the film as they discuss the coming and going of her husband’s lives. The melancholy heartbreak is palpable and makes you realize the pain that the characters are going through, even amidst all the jokes about turning Porco into a pork roast.

Between the English and the Japanese voice cast I have to go with the Japanese one overall. HOWEVER, I have to point out that Michael Keaton’s portrayal of Porco was incredible. He made Porco a bit less rough and tough, but filled him with a bit more wry humor in the way he speaks. Both Shuichiro Moriyama did a fantastic job as well, and I think eclipses Keaton with that rasping tough guy impersonation, but I have to tip my hat to Keaton, and that’s something I normally don’t do with English dubs of Japanese animation.




Rating:

Rated PG for mild action, rude humor, some thematic elements and brief scary images




Video:

Studio Chibli is known for EXCELLENT video word on their home video releases, and they rarely, if ever, show many flaws in the presentation. “Porco Rosso” is no different with an excellent 1.85:1 AVC encoded image that really showcases how beautiful hand drawn animation on film can look. There is a beautiful layer of film grain covering the image, and the color palette is filled with bright and shiny colors, from the reds on Porco’s plane, to the blues of the Adriatic ocean and the greens of the lush garden of Miss Gina. Black levels stay strong and the detail is simply phenomenal, whether that be shadow detail, or the fine detail of the brightly lit sky. The hand drawn lines look excellent, with no signs of DNR or scrubbing going on here. The only complaint I have, and it’s a VERY minor one, is that I think I caught a couple instances of banding going on in the blue sky. However, they are so brief that I had to freeze frame the image to make sure I actually saw them, so I wouldn’t worry about it, even on large screens. If you have me comparing to the Disney release, this is almost IDENTICAL in every way. The slightly different encoding (with a higher bitrate) that Shout Factory employs doesn't really change the end result at all, as both transfers are taken from the same source and look incredible.






Audio:

Once again Studio Ghibli seems to have given Shout Factory the same audio tracks as the Disney release, so both should be spot on identical. SThe disc sports a pair of lossless 2.0 tracks in both the English and the Japanese languages, both which have their pros and cons. If you’re a fan of traditional Japanese language tracks, then this one is excellent, with great vocal representation by some VERY good voice actors. While I usually don’t like English dubs, I have to say that Cary Elwes and Michael Keaton did a very good job at making the English version ALMOST as good as the Japanese. For those of you who keep up with this, there are actually TWO sets of English subtitles on the disc. The English for the hearing impaired track is the dubtitle track, basically copying the English dub into text, while the second track is a literal translation of the Japanese source, and if you put them head to head, the literal track is LEAGUES better than the dubtitles, as there is much more nuances in the story that get glossed over in the dub. The track itself is quite good, with great fidelity and some solid presence in the front sound stage. Being a 2.0 track we don’t get a whole lot of LFE, but the LFE backed into the front two channels is more than enough to get the job done. Very solid touch up of a classic 2.0 track.





Extras:

• Behind the Microphone
• Interview with Toshio Suzuki
• Original Trailers
• Feature Length Storyboard
• Exclusive Booklet

Final Score: ​

“Porco Rosso” doesn’t meet the tip top echelons Miyazaki’s greatest achievements such as “Princess Mononoke” and “Spirited Away”, but it is still a cute and entertaining movie that proves the versatility of the man’s directing style. He can be extremely fantastical and over the top fantasy one moment, and then soft and melancholy the next, with a hint of grounded realism (though there is always SOMETHING fantastical in his films). As with most Studio Chibli films, the audio and video presentations are off the charts and make it a VERY worthwhile upgrade over the old DVDs. Definite watch in my opinion. Now, being that these are re-releases after Disney had them, the BIG question for most of you will be "Is this an upgrade over the Disney Blu-ray?". In that regards I have to say no. There is no appreciable upgrade over the Disney release since Disney put in the original subtitles and video encode is near spot on identical. The big thing is if you never got around to buying the Disney version, as shout is offering a near identical product at near half the cost of Disney's old prices. Thus it makes an enticing purchase for those who balked at Disney prices. The inclusion of the exclusive booklet is nice, but the extras are also identical otherwise, so I would say that for people looking to upgrade, there's nothing new and compelling. However, if you're looking at a purchase for the first time on Blu-ray, or still have the old DVDs, then the Shout Factory release is just perfect.





Technical Specifications:

Starring: Michael Keaton, Susan Egan, Cary Elwes
Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki
Written by: Hayao Miyazaki
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1 AVC
Audio: English: DTS-HD MA 2.0, Japanese DTS-HD MA 2.0, French DD 2.0
Studio: Shout Factory/Studio Ghibli
Rated: PG
Runtime: 94 Minutes
Blu-ray Release Date: November 21st, 2017

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• Michael Scott
• May 11, 2017

Recommendation: Recommended for a Watch

 

[tripplej]

Thanks for the review. I enjoyed this movie since I am a fan of Studio Ghibli.