Porco Rosso: Full Synopsis & Analysis (Spoilers Explained)

“Porco Rosso(Official Studio Ghibli Website)” is an animated feature film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, released on July 18, 1992. This is the story of Porco Rosso, arguably the most “unhandsome” protagonist in Miyazaki’s filmography. Could the handsome protagonist Ashitaka from “Princess Mononoke,” produced five years later, have been a reaction to this?

There’s no way to know for sure just by thinking about it, but this time, I’d like to look back at the plot of “Porco Rosso” and consider what makes it so entertaining. However, when I say “plot summary,” I mean I’m going to spoil everything, so if you don’t like spoilers, please read only partway through and then watch the movie.

*This article is an English translation of the original Japanese article, “「紅の豚」のネタバレあらすじとその面白さ-人物相関図付きでラストまでを解説-“

“Porco Rosso” Synopsis (Spoilers Ahead)

Quick Summary

A brief summary of the key points of “Porco Rosso”‘s plot is as follows:

Explanation of the Story

When looking back on “Porco Rosso,” the fact that Porco is a pig emerges as a mystery. As I’ve gotten older, it has bothered me less, but there seem to be several ways to think about this mystery.

One idea is that he is an avatar of Director Miyazaki. Miyazaki’s self-portraits are, for some reason, drawn as a pig. This view suggests that Porco represents the director himself.

Another view is that it’s an expression of having a cynical attitude. It’s a declaration to the people scrambling amidst the Great Depression, saying, “What are you all doing? I’m out of here.” The issue seems to be less about the Great Depression itself and more about the way people flip-flop in rapidly changing circumstances.

It might also be interpreted not as “I’m out of here,” but as a declaration of “I won’t change.”

While there are likely many other reasons he could be a pig, the fundamental reason we perceive it as a mystery is probably Gina’s line, “I wonder how I can break the spell that was cast on you.” This line makes us think that there must be some meaning or reason for Porco being a pig.

Conversely, if it weren’t for Gina’s line, would we even be that bothered by the fact that Porco is a pig?

By forgetting the “mystery of Porco being a pig,” we might be able to rediscover “Porco Rosso.”

Furthermore, regarding the outcome of “Gina’s bet,” while Fio’s dialogue is vague, the scene just before the end shows Porco’s seaplane docked at the Hotel Adriano, indicating that Gina won her bet (the red circle in the image below).

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From here, let’s take a more detailed look at the plot of “Porco Rosso.”

Porco’s Job

The protagonist of the story is “Porco Rosso.” A hero of World War I, he was now living his post-retirement life as a “bounty hunter.”

One day, he gets wind of a ship being attacked by the “Mamma Aiuto Gang.” As expected, Porco is hired to deal with them, and he dashingly takes to the skies in his seaplane to drive off the gang and rescue the “schoolgirls.”

Meanwhile, the “Mamma Aiuto Gang” was in a state of chaos, trying to handle the “schoolgirl” children they had taken hostage.

Porco spots the gang. He gives them a small chance to surrender, but the Mamma Aiuto Gang decides on an all-out fight… however, they are soundly routed by Porco’s top-class skills and the disruptive actions of the children.

Porco successfully completed his job, but just like the Mamma Aiuto Gang, he found himself in a frenzy with the children. The “schoolgirls” he was supposed to rescue were nowhere in sight…

Encounter with Curtis and the Journey to Milan

After finishing his job, Porco heads to the Hotel Adriano, run by the goddess of the Adriatic, “Madame Gina.” The hotel’s pub was a gathering place for seaplane pilots, regardless of whether they were friend or foe.

At the pub, Porco meets an American seaplane pilot named “Curtis.” He was a bodyguard hired by the pirate coalition that had been getting bested by Porco.

Afterward, Porco has a brief conversation with his old acquaintance, Madame Gina, and leaves the hotel.

The next day, Porco set off for Milan to get his malfunctioning seaplane serviced, but on his journey, he is ambushed by Curtis.

Porco fights back as usual, but Curtis takes advantage of a momentary lapse caused by equipment trouble and shoots him down.

Curtis took the wreckage of Porco’s seaplane as proof, but luckily, Porco wasn’t dead.

Porco reported his safety only to Gina. She told him, “You’ll die if you keep doing that,” but Porco replied, “A pig that doesn’t fly is just a pig.” Porco then headed to Milan by ship, along with the main body of his destroyed seaplane.

Seaplane Repairs and Fio

Arriving in Milan, Porco went to “Piccolo S.p.A.” and requested repairs for his seaplane. In the midst of the Great Depression, he was about to lose all his money, but a more significant problem arose. The person leading the repairs was Fio, the granddaughter of the president, “Mr. Piccolo.”

Upon learning this, Porco considers canceling the job, but Fio appears and asks him, “For a seaplane pilot, what’s more important, experience or talent?” When Porco answers “talent,” Fio brilliantly corners him and begins designing the modifications for his seaplane.

Porco’s miscalculations continue. Due to the Great Depression, all the men had left for work elsewhere, leaving only “women’s hands” as the available labor force. Nevertheless, with all available labor投入, the modification work on Porco’s seaplane proceeded smoothly.

At that time, his old war buddy Ferrari warns him, “This time, the authorities won’t let you go.” The reasons were “crimes of non-cooperation with the state,” “illegal entry and exit,” “decadent thoughts,” and “the crime of being a shameless and lazy pig.” Despite the risk to his own position, Ferrari advised Porco, “Why don’t you come back to the air force?” Of course, Porco refused, but he seemed to feel Ferrari’s friendship.

After receiving this advice from Ferrari, Porco decides to move up his schedule and depart that very day. But this decision would once again curse (?) Porco.

To see the outcome of her first major project, Fio says she will go with Porco. Of course, Porco refuses, but pressured by Fio, he eventually accepts her company.

Attaching a two-person mechanism that had somehow been completed, Fio and Porco set off for the Adriatic Sea.

Evading pursuit from the “authorities,” Fio and Porco, guided by his war buddy Ferrari, escape to the Adriatic Sea.

Rematch with Curtis and Gina

Returning to the Adriatic, Porco circles above the Hotel Adriano to announce his return.

At that moment in the Hotel Adriano’s garden, Curtis was proposing to Gina. It was a rather sudden proposal, but Curtis was serious. Gina, lightly brushing him off, said, “But no, I’m making a bet right now. I’m betting that if that person visits me while I’m in this garden, I’ll love him for sure this time. But that fool only comes to the bar at night. He never comes out into the sunlight.”

The red seaplane circling above them announces the hero’s return.

And as Porco failed to land, Gina says, “I lost the bet again,” and in front of her, Curtis realized who she was waiting for.

Unaware of this romantic turmoil, Porco returned to his “hideout.”

However, the sky pirate coalition, likely contacted by Curtis, was waiting for him there. They intended to destroy the seaplane modified by Fio to settle their old scores, but of course, Fio steps in to stop them.

The beautiful and powerful Fio delivers a historically great speech before the pirate coalition.

Then, a heartbroken Curtis appears. He makes a grand entrance like a tokusatsu hero and promises a rematch with Porco. The prize would be Fio; the price would be the cost of the seaplane’s modifications.

The Goofy Final Battle

The day of the “honorable battle” for Fio and the modification costs arrived. The showdown had become a major event for all who knew of it.

The dogfight between the two geniuses was fierce. But it didn’t last long. The dogfight that was supposed to go down in history took an unexpected turn due to a “gun jam.”

Forced to land on the water, the two engage in a final battle of fisticuffs. This goofy final battle between them was about to end in a draw.

Then, Madame Gina appears. Spurred on by her words, “Are you planning to make another girl unhappy?”, Porco gets up just slightly before Curtis and secures a narrow victory.

At Gina’s words that the Italian Air Force has its eyes on them, the crowd begins to disperse all at once. Gina herself tries to leave, but Porco entrusts Fio to her.

Fio then gives Porco a farewell kiss.

And then…

Fio never saw Porco again after that, but she remained good friends with Gina.

What happened to Gina’s bet is a secret known only to the two of them. Now, how did her final bet turn out…?

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The above is my personal summary of “Porco Rosso.” Next, I’ll discuss what I personally find interesting about “Porco Rosso.”

“Porco Rosso” Points for Analysis

The Fact That It’s a Fun Movie

The greatest charm of the work “Porco Rosso” is probably that it’s “fun.”

The works from “Princess Mononoke” onwards seem to have a serious atmosphere running through them, but “Porco Rosso” is filled with a fun atmosphere from beginning to end.

You might hesitate to simply call the seemingly meaningful work “Porco Rosso” just “fun,” but I think it’s important to be honest about the feeling of “fun” that many people probably felt when they watched it.

Everything else can be considered after properly acknowledging the premise that it is “fun.”

“My Engine’s Dead”

From here, I’d like to look back on some scenes I personally find interesting, and the first one has to be the Mamma Aiuto Gang’s line, “My engine’s dead, my engine’s dead.”

In the first place, by being shown how they treat the kidnapped children with extreme care, we are instilled with the “reassurance” that “Oh, the Mamma Aiuto folks are committing a crime, but they’re not bad people.” But the line “My engine’s dead” elevates that “reassurance” into “laughter.”

The fact that it came after Porco’s brilliant aerial combat might have helped. It’s what they call “tension and release.”

Curtis’s Tough Physique

The next thing to mention is probably Curtis’s reappearance scene.

It’s so blatant that you might get a little stubborn and think, “I’m not going to laugh at something like this!”, but let’s be honest here. That scene is funny.

And what’s more, the fact that Curtis was hiding and waiting until that moment slowly sinks in.

Moreover, considering the fact that his presence wasn’t discovered by the Mamma Aiuto gang, it means Curtis must have been the first to arrive on that island, hidden his seaplane, and waited patiently.

What a tear-jerking effort.

Two Geniuses Fist-Fighting for Some Reason

And finally, there’s the sight of “two geniuses fist-fighting.” After a dogfight painstakingly depicted by the airplane-loving Director Miyazaki, the two of them somehow end up in a brawl.

To solve the question of “Why are they fist-fighting?”, we just need to think about “what would happen if they didn’t.”

If the ending wasn’t a fistfight, the winner would be decided by the dogfight. This means one of them would die.

That is completely unfitting as an ending for “Porco Rosso,” which is a “fun movie.”

If Curtis lost to Porco, Porco would truly become a hermit, and if Porco lost to Curtis, it would end as a “man’s story.” In either case, it would give off a “good movie vibe,” but it wouldn’t be a fitting end for “Porco Rosso.”

Indeed, an ending where two geniuses foolishly brawl is what’s most fitting for the ending of “Porco Rosso” as a “fun movie.”

The Pathos of a Man Seen in a Pig’s Form

As mentioned above, “Porco Rosso” is a “fun movie,” but what inevitably piques curiosity is “Why did Porco become a pig?”

However, the important thing is that it’s useless to obsess over the question “Why did he ‘become’ a pig?”. Because no matter how much you watch the movie, you won’t find the answer.

What we should be thinking about is not “the reason he became a pig” but “the reason he remains a pig.” I’ve summarized my thoughts on that in the following article.

Porco Rosso:Why Does Porco Choose to Be a Pig? -Hayao Miyazaki's "Sorrow of Men" Series ①-Why does the hero of Hayao Miyazaki's "Porco Rosso" choose to be a p...

The key point is the fact that “Porco doesn’t think anything of being a pig.” Why does he try to remain a pig?

The Mystery of Gina’s Three Marriages to Pilots

In the movie, it’s mentioned that Gina has been married to seaplane pilots three times. I can somewhat understand that it ended up that way because she was always surrounded by pilots, but to have been widowed three times and still go for a pilot, Porco, for the fourth time seems a bit like she hasn’t learned her lesson.

Moreover, she rejects Curtis’s passionate proposal for the sake of Porco, for whom she only just started her “bet” as her fourth choice.

Curtis is a skilled pilot, and it’s mentioned at the end of the movie that he becomes an actor, so there’s no doubt he’s a “good man” (though it’s possible he wasn’t her type).

There seems to be a mysterious aspect to Gina’s actions. The final answer could be “that’s just how love is,” but mulling over Gina’s feelings here can lead to some interesting places. I’ve summarized this in the following article:

Porco Rosso: The Mystery of Three Marriages & Why Madame Gina Rejected CurtisWhy did Madame Gina from "Porco Rosso" reject Curtis? This article e...

The article above eventually touches upon Saint-Exupéry, whom Hayao Miyazaki admires. Why did Gina turn down Curtis, and why did she try to be with a pilot for the fourth time?

The images used in this article are from the “Studio Ghibli Still Images” collection.