Discover
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Hayao Miyazaki
Director -
Toshio Suzuki
Producer -
Joe Hisaishi
Original Music Composer -
Yoshifumi Kondo
Key Animation -
Kazuo Oga
Background Designer -
Mahiro Maeda
Key Animation -
Katsuya Kondo
Key Animation -
Yoshiharu Sato
Key Animation
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CinemaSerf 4/13/2023 9:08:11 AM
On the face of it, this is just another sublimely drawn Ghibli effort about a cursed creature - this time a pig - that flies a seaplane around the islands of 1930s Italy chasing air-pirates. Once you get in to it, though, it develops into a really cleverly woven story that offers us layers of characterisation from even this simplest of it's characters. The "pig" is sagely, cunning and adept as a pilot, frequently coming to the rescue of those kidnapped... He has a rival - the handsome American "Donald Curtis" who is out to steal not just his crown, but his gal! What ensues is an adventure film with loads of action; an healthy and lively dose of what might loosely be described as romance; plenty of pithily written dialogue and some beautiful animation. The story can be straightforward, but there is plenty of depth to the plot if you feel like looking for it. We are never explicitly told why he has been cursed, nor does the ending necessarily offer us complete satisfaction either - though it does come at then end of quite a fun duel between the two fliers. A lot of what we get from this film will depend on what we notice - there are plenty of subtleties to be had that are probably more obvious and/or meaningful on the second or even the third time of watching. "Howl's Moving Castle" (much later from 2004) is still my favourite from this studio, but this is a close run second and really well worth a watch - on a big screen if you can, this brings out the vivacity and vitality of this superior animated feature.
Katsuyo Endou
(voice)Akio Otsuka
Donarudo Kâchisu (voice)Akemi Okamura
Fio Pikkoro (voice)Tsunehiko Kamijô
Manmayuto no shachô (voice)Osamu Saka
Mamma Aiuto Gang (voice)Ayako Taneda
(voice)Yuri Satou
(voice)Yoko Soumi
(voice)