Porco Rosso is the high flying adventures of a bounty hunting pig. The title character was once a WWI Italian flying ace who was cursed with the form of a pig. Instead of finishing his service to his country he finds refuge in the Adriatic seas as a bounty hunter who tracks down pirates for cruise ships. When the pirate bosses unite to rid themselves of the pig, Porco Rosso must face off against American flying ace, Curtis. It’s an enigmatic tale of love, adventure and overcoming prejudices.

Written and directed by Hayao Miaski the film was first released in 1992 and featured an all star cast of voice actors for the English version. Fresh off Batman Returns Michael Keaton voiced the title Porco Rosso, while Cary Elwes (The Princess Bride) plays his adversary Curtis. Father of the Bride star Kimberly Williams-Paisley played the precocious teen air plane engineer Fio while Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) voiced the pirate boss. The special features include a featurette on the English cast re-voicing the finished Japanese animation.

The special features also include the original Japanese storyboards and theatrical trailers. It also features an interview with the film’s producer, Toshio Suzuki. As far as Studio Ghibli films go, Porco Rosso isn’t one of my favourites. The story is a bit disjointed for my liking but it does highlight Miasaki’s interest in air crafts (which is evident with his final film, The Wind Rises) as well as his Italian influence. It’s still a sure bet for Studio Ghibli fans as well as any youngster who shares Miasaki’s love of aeronautics.

Porco Rosso originally came out in 1992 is now available on BluRay + DVD combo packs.Two more Studio Ghibli titles were also re-released on BluRay recently, Tales from Earthsea and Pom Poko.