Porco Rosso****

Director Hayao Miyazaki

Porco Rosso has turned up on Netflix as part of the Studio Ghibli series. The Guardian managed to rank Porco Rosso as the worst film, although the reviewer had clearly not seen it, thinking it was about an RAF pilot. Uniquely for Ghibli, its set in a real time and place the adriatic during the 1920s. The seaplanes are a delight, accurate throughout. But its a tale of redemotion for a Great War fighter pilot who needs to learn to love again. It’s beauty and the beast, but with pigs, flying pirates and schoolgirls. It is Miyazaki’s favourite film but a proposed sequel was never made.

Verdict: maybe not the best Ghibli, but one adults will enjoy.