Porco Rosso (Michael Keaton) was cursed to be an anthropomorphic pig for reasons never quite explained. However, his flying skills are unmatched. A former WWI Italian flying ace, he now makes a living as a bounty hunter, shooting down pirates. Tired of the constant trouncing, the pirates employ an ace of their own, Curtis the American (Cary Elwes).
Porco has an unrequited love with Gina, the widow of several pilots. In fact, his best friend during the war had only just married her when he was killed. Of course, as is obvious to everyone but Porco, she is also in love with him despite his porcine visage.
The art, as usual for Miyazaki, is fabulous. The flying is exciting and fun. The characters are often cartoonish in a standard anime way. However, the failure to explain why Porco is cursed (it seems that his survival during a particularly vicious dogfight is the cause) or provide a way to undo it was a failing. Either provide a really good reason for an unbreakable curse along the lines of Sisyphus, Tantalus, Prometheus, etc. or have a way to reverse it like Pinocchio, the Beast (from Beauty & the Beast), Snow White, etc.
Thumbs up!
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