Porco Rosso
Review: This is a rather strange animated film with some major questions left totally unanswered, such as how was a human changed into a pig? It's an interesting film if you're into WWI-era airplanes and airplane fights.
The name of the hero is Crimson Pig. He's a pig. Yep. A pig. And a bounty hunter.
He flies an amphibious airplane. (The adventure is taking place around 1917 in the Mediterranean area.)
The villians are pirates who go about in amphibious airplanes, land on the water and attack boats. The movie opens with a group of air pirates attacking a boat and taking fifteen elementary school girls hostage. Porco Rosso, in his own plane, goes after them.
That wasn't the smartest thing to do on the part of the pirates. The students prove to be more than the pirates can handle. Porco Rosso finds them and shoots their engine out (shooting at a plane filled with kids?) Anyhow, he manages to down the pirate plane and all the girls escape since they're all on the school's swim team.
Porco Rosso rescues them all (which leads to equal chaos for him).
Meanwhile, in a cabarat of some kind, a meeting is being held among air pirates about what they can do to combat Porco Rosso. He arrives shortly, but it turns out it's considered neutral ground; no fighting allowed inside.
The woman singer at the club is a friend of Porco Rosso's and has been married to three pilots, all of whom are now dead. Apparently Porco Rosso was human at one time. A spell changed him into a pig. (No explanation is given of how this happened, though).
Also, there's some kind of Federation of Air Pirates. They are getting together to attack a big boat. (Ship. Whatever.)
The pirates loot the ship and challenge Porco Rosso to come and get them, but he's on vacation. An American member of the pirate Federation gets into an aerial combat with Porco Rosso and manages to shoot him down.
Gina, the cabaret singer, is in love with him and concerned about what will happen to him in the future.
He takes the plan to Milan to have it fixed by an old man and his grand-daughter from America. The guy runs a factory (sort of), and only women work there (other than him.)
Apparently the Fascist Secret Police are after Porco Rosso on charges of treason, pornography and other things. He has to take off from the factory and Flo, the grand-daughter, is coming with him.
The American pilot is hitting on Porco Rosso's woman friend and wants her to come to Hollywood with him to star in a movie.
Porco returns to his island hideout, but the pirates are already there. So is the American pilot who shot him down. He want to marry Flo if he wins the rematch, and he has to pay all of Porco's bills if he loses.
Porco Rosso tells Flo a story at night, a story which is really quite interesting and perhaps the high point of the film.
The day of the fight is like a circus with people coming in boats and planes to watch and bets being taken on who will win. Porco and the American start to battle, but unknown to them the Air Force is coming to attack them both.
Both their guns jam, though, and they land, get out of their planes and start fighting in the water. That fight will end up determining the winner.
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