He quit the IFA since he saw fascism on the rise, and he wanted to fly following his own will.
The official story goes as follows: Captain Marco Pagot (named after the Italian animator and friend of Miyazaki - they worked together on Sherlock Hound for Italy's RAI TV) was an ace pilot of the Italian Air Force during World War I. It seems that Porco is carrying a lot of baggage, and that has something to do with him quitting being a human. Miyazaki stated that "When a man becomes middle-aged, he becomes a pig". Q: Why did Porco become a pig?Īlthough it was never mentioned in the movie, a press release states that he was disillusioned with humanity, and cursed himself to be a pig. To show it on JAL's international flights, they had to provide an introduction in many languages (supposedly). As Miyazaki's imagination took off, it became a feature-length movie.
"Porco Rosso" was first planned as a 30-45 minutes in-flight movie on Japan Airlines ("a movie which tired businessmen on international flights can enjoy even with their minds dulled due to lack of oxygen"). Q: In which languages were the opening lines written?įrom the top: Japanese, Italian, Korean, English, Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Russian, French, and German. As a result, the story became a bit more serious than he intended (at first it was supposed to be "a fun movie for middle-aged businessmen whose brains became tofu from overwork"), and he moved the story out of Croatia. However, Miyazaki was shocked by the civil war in the former Yugoslavia, which started while he was making "Porco". Porco lived on an island on the Croatian shoreline of the Adriatic Sea.Īt first, Miyazaki planned to set the story in Dubrovnik, Croatia. Most of the story, except when Porco went to Milan, took place in the Adriatic Sea, between Italy and the former Yugoslavia. It sounded like the middle of the Great Depression, which started in 1929 (in the manga, it was stated that the story took place in the summer of 1929). Q: When did the story take place?Īt the end of the 1920s. This manga was also translated into English and serialized as The Age of the Flying Boat in Animerica magazine in 1993. The manga was published again by Dainippon Kaiga in the revised 1997 edition of the manga anthology Hayao Miyazaki's Daydream Data Notes (Expanded Edition). The Age of the Flying Boat, was first published separately in 1992 by Dainippon Kaiga ( ISBN 5-6). It's based on a manga, originally serialized in Model Graphix magazine in 1989.
This is the official title Ghibli gave to it. "Porco Rosso" means "Crimson Pig" in Italian. Q: Why is the English title "Porco Rosso", not "Crimson Pig"? 20 Q: I heard there is an English dub.17 Q: Are there some in-jokes in "Porco"?.16 Q: What was the strange cloud which Porco told Fio about?.15 Q: Then Fio said "Use the tab!" What is the tab?.14 Q: When Porco first tried his new plane, Fio said "the aileron's been hit by water".13 Q: What was the movie Porco was watching in a theater in Milan?.12 Q: What was the song Gina was singing in the bar?.11 Q: When Porco saw Piccolo's engine, he said "It's Folgore!".10 Q: What do those Italian newspaper headlines say?.Why is the Air Pirate Gang Named 'Mamma Aiuto!' ? 5 Q: In which languages were the opening lines written?.1 Q: Why is the English title "Porco Rosso", not "Crimson Pig"?.