5/5 Japanese animation
  by P. Ramsdell
As a collector of Disney animation and classics, I love the Japanese animation films. I believe this is the last of my collection. Very happy with the product. Haven't been disappointed yet and I use amazon and ebay frequently.

5/5 Porco Fabuloso
  by Sean J. Malloy (Union, KY United States)
While I usually love Hayao Miyazaki's animes I put off watching Porco Rosso for years...Being from the Cincinnati area, I wasn't feeling up to another flying pig story.
Several weeks ago I watched the film and was completely entranced.
I loved the pig character.
The artwork...superb!
Miyazaki must mean 'sure thing' in Japanese...

5/5 Porco Rosso
  by Meeshell (Virginia)
It's one of my favorite movies! The disc and box came in great condition. I'll be watching it over and over again. :)

3/5 A Second Opinion...
  by Ana Mardoll (United States)
Porco Rosso / B0001XAPY2

*Spoilers*

I'm a huge fan of Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away, so it was just a matter of time before I checked out "Porco Rosso", but I have to say that it was received in a very lukewarm spirit by myself and my viewing companions.

The plot follows the lazy, dazy "day in the (unusual) life of" style that characterized Kiki's Delivery Service and My Neighbor Totoro - and I'll confess that particular plot style has never been my favorite to start with. I prefer the heavy action- and philosophy-oriented Miyazaki movies to the slow-paced fantasy life ones. Having said that, "Porco Rosso" still lacks the charm of "Totoro" and the heartwarming message of "Kiki", in my opinion.

One problem is that this movie can't decide how serious it wants to be. The opening sequence involves a gunfight between Porco Rosso and some pirates who have kidnapped a busload of schoolgirls. The girls giggle and bounce about the airplane, getting in the way of the kidnappers, and stripping down to their underwear in order to 'go swimming' and climb onto Porco Rosso's boat. The overall tone, therefore, is incredibly silly and whimsical, which is why it is jarring when suddenly the movie wants us to start taking it seriously, Casablanca-style.

Probably the movie's biggest failing, though, is in the character of Fio. Now, one of the things I like best about Miyazaki's works is his female characters - Nausicaa is incredibly brave and intelligent, Mononoke is strong, Sen ("Spirited Away") is adaptable, and even Kiki was free-spirited and independent. Fio, on the other hand, is a genius at plane building - which is well enough - but she keeps falling all over herself to apologize for being a 'useless girl'. Now, if this was initially a well-posed poke at Porco Rosso for being a chauvinist pig, that would be all well and good, but even as Rosso comes to realize that Fio and her female relatives are just as good or better plane-builders than any man, Fio still keeps spouting off over and over how she's a useless, worthless girl and how sorry she is about that. And the fact that she's half his age, underage (17), and constantly throwing herself at him kind of squicks me out - I watch Miyazaki to get AWAY from the underage-fetish so unfortunately common in a lot of anime.

If you liked the lazy pace of "Kiki" and "Totoro" and can look past the unfortunate "girls should apologize for the crime of being a girl" subtext, you might like "Porco Rosso". Then again, you might not - my boyfriend didn't care for the movie not because of the subtext or the pacing, but because it was 'silly' and 'boring'. Largely, I think it will just boil down to a matter of taste, but if you're like me and were looking for another "Nausicaa" or "Mononoke", keep looking because it's not here.

5/5 More Miyazaki Magic
  by N. Crabtree (Springfield, MO United States)
Hayao Miyazaki is one of the best filmmakers of our time, and each of his films is special. Lighthearted, with Miyazaki's signature "no bad guy" roster of interesting characters(including a strong young female, another Miyazaki staple), a fun film for anyone of any age.