Porco Rosso (9 out of 10) – Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki; English Language version starring Michael Keaton, Cary Elwes, Brad Garrett, Susan Egen; Rated PG for violence and some mild language; 94 minutes.

If there are three things I love, it’s cartoons, World War I history, and Hayao Miyazaki, so the fact that before last week I’d never seen “Porco Rosso” is nothing short of shocking.

“Porco Rosso” is a film from 1992 that just came to Blu-ray for the first time last week, and revolves around an ex-World War I pilot who has turned bounty hunter. And Pig. Yes, he’s cursed to be an anthropomorphic pig. In the film, he’s exiled from his home country of Italy and cruises the Adriatic Sea, fighting sky pirates for money. 

In the Blu-ray version, the default audio is the English language track, which casts Michael Keaton fantastically in the lead role and his rival is an American played by Cary Elwes. The two of them are fantastic in a dub that makes you feel like the film was originally designed to be played in English. Other standout performances come from David Ogden Stiers, Bill Fagerbakke, and Brad Garrett. In fact, Michael Keaton’s voice carries so much more emotion than you’d expect in a performance that seems, on first blush, slightly monotone. 

The film carefully balances humor and action with a heart and a love story that is almost unexpected. Porco and the supporting characters are fleshed out with much more depth than you’d tend to expect from a cartoon and it’s amazing how refined Miyazaki’s visual and story flairs were in films much earlier in his career. 1992 feels recent when you say it, but that’s almost 25 years ago.

The film explores themes of selfishness and duty, but also digs deeper into the worthiness of love and self image. I watched it with my children and I’m almost positive I got much more out of it than they did, just because it works on two levels. There’s the humor and the fun that stands out in their minds upon viewing, but older viewers will find a bittersweet tenderness to the film. 

I was doubly pleased about the treatment of the young female character in the film, who is actually an engineer chosen to revamp and repair Porco’s plane after his rival blows him out of the water. She’s doubted for her gender, is given the job anyway, and then designs a plane that’s better than it’s ever been. 

On Blu-ray, the animation makes me long for days of hand-drawn films. I love what all the studios are doing in 3D, much more than I have in years past, but there’s just something aesthetically wonderful about the animation here. From the glimmering seas to the soft-patterned clouds featured in the dogfights, Miyazaki imbues the film with a tactile realism that works beautifully in the semi-realistic fantasy world that he’s created.

This film really blew my hair back and is something I’ll definitely be revisiting as time goes on. It’s a 9 out of 10, easy.

“Porco Rosso” is newly out on Blu-ray and is available now. 

Author’s note: This review of The Wind Rises is based on a subtitled version of the film for awards-season consideration, and not the dubbed version being released in U.S. theaters by Touchstone Pictures.

THE WIND RISES (8 out of 10) Written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki; dubbed, starring the voices of Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Krasinski, Emily Blunt, Martin Short and Mandy Patinkin. In general release; rated PG-13 (some disturbing images and smoking); running time: 126 minutes.

The news that “The Wind Rises” would be the final animated feature from beloved writer/director Hayao Miyazaki was met with both sadness and horror.

That wasn’t just because it meant an end to the career of the maker of such non-classic favorites as “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988), “Princess Mononoke” (1997) and “Spirited Away” (2001), it was also a reminder of other veteran filmmakers who have gone out on a sour note. (Charlie Chaplin and his 1967 fiasco “The Countess from Hong Kong” comes to mind, as do John Ford’s 1966 swansong “7 Women” and  Stanley Kubrick’s 1999 dud “Eyes Wide Shut.”)

While the Oscar-nominated “Wind Rises” might not be his career masterpiece, it’s still up to Miyazaki’s high standards. It seems that if he really is retiring – recent statements suggest he may be reconsidering that decision – at least he’s gone out in the fashion of another Japanese filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa, who bowed out with the intensely personal 1993 drama “Madadayo.”

And make no mistake, this is a different beast than Miyazaki’s later, family friendly hits. It’s a bit on the slow side, it’s a bit too serious for its own good, and it concentrates on characters as much as it does the visuals. However, the good news is that the film is a flawed but still very enjoyable flight of fancy.

An animated historical/biographical drama with fantasy elements, “The Wind Rises” is (very) loosely based on the real-life experiences of Jiro Horikoshi, an aeronautical engineer who worked for Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. before and after World War II.

In this version of events, which were also told in Miyazaki’s early manga version, Jiro fell in love with airplanes and flying at any early age, but poor eyesight kept him from pursuing a career as a pilot. So, inspired by the efforts of an Italian engineer, Giovanni Battista Caproni, he concentrates on airplane design, using such “organic” elements as fish bones as their basis.

Together, with a childhood friend, Honjo, Jiro hopes to make his country’s aeronautical industry a rival – or even better – to those of other countries, including the supposed industry titan, Germany.

The film also looks at Hirokoshi’s personal life and other defining experiences. Having survived the disastrous Great Banto Earthquake of 1923, which decimated Japan’s Nihonbashi district, he made the acquaintance of the two Sakomi sisters, who would play an important role in his life. Years later, he falls for a now-grown Nahoko, and marries her, in spite of her debilitating case of tuberculosis.

As always, Miyazaki uses as much cel animation (the traditional, 2D painted format of cartooning) as humanly possible here. As a result, this film looks every bit as good as any of the other Miyazaki classics. He’s even found a way to improve on the breathtaking flying sequences of his underrated 1992 hit, “Porco Rosso.” It’s at these times that the film really takes off and soars.

(Among the best parts are the encounters between Horikoshi and Caproni. Though in real life they never met, “The Wind Rises” supposes that they met on a fantasy “plain,” where the two men could share their visions of what planes should look like and being used for, and where they could show off their designs to each other.)

And again, while the tone of this piece varies — at times it’s wide-eyed fantasy, and at others it turns tragic and sad – everything is done with a surprising gentleness, tenderness and affection. Outside of the better Pixar efforts and the recent “LEGO Movie,” it’s the best testament to the strengths and powers of animated filmmaking and storytelling.

Jeff Michael Vice, aka Jerk-bot, can be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast (www.thegeekshowpodcast.com), as well as be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity’s Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/BigMovieMouthOff).

Variety has just reported that anime industry and storytelling legend Hayao Miyazaki has announced he is retiring. After a screening for “The Wind Rises” (based on an anti-war short story by Jiro Horikoshi), the head of Studio Ghibli Koji Hoshino broke the announcement to a stunned crowd. “Miyazaki has decided that “Kaze Tachinu” (The Wind Rises) will be his last film, and he will now retire,” said Hoshino.

Although no reasons were given at the time of the announcement, it was said that Miyazaki will hold a briefing in Tokyo next week. Miyazaki, who is 72, has shaped much of the animation industry with his films – his stories holding both worldwide appeal and meaning to fans of all ages. Many employees of Pixar, Disney and Dream Works have been influenced by his works and spoken his praise. John Lasseter, Chief Creative Officer of Pixar and Principle Creative Adviser for Walt Disney Imagineering, has been a close friend and admirer of Miyazaki for many years (and has served as Executive Producer for several of Miyazaki’s films when they released in the US.)

Although many of us have imagined that this day would arrive as Miyazaki grew older, the news is still a bit sad. As so many of us have connected to Miyazaki’s characters and their adventures, it is only natural that we would want to hold on to the hope that he would continue bringing us tales of imagination and inspiration just a little while longer.

We at Big Shiny Robot wish him the absolute best in his future, and thank him for all the wonderful experiences he has imparted to us over the years. I stumbled across this video a little while back on Youtube and I can’t think of a better way to remember some of Miyazaki’s best: