Italian Dub: Porco Rosso

Furthermore, the dub influenced subsequent Ghibli dubs in Italy. The success of Porco Rosso set the standard that Ghibli films should be treated as serious cinema, not children’s cartoons. The team behind this dub went on to handle * Kiki’s Delivery Service* and Princess Mononoke with similar reverence. Many fans know the English dub (featuring Michael Keaton as Porco, Susan Egan as Gina, and Cary Elwes as Curtis). It is excellent. Keaton brings a deadpan, American cynicism to the role.

While Studio Ghibli dubs are generally celebrated worldwide, the is considered by purists and critics alike to be a unicorn . It is one of the very few instances where the Italian voice cast is frequently argued to be superior to the original Japanese audio. But how did a story about a depressed, flying pig become the quintessential Italian film? The Adriatic Setting: A Love Letter to Italy First, we must remember that Porco Rosso is set almost entirely in Italy. Specifically, the Adriatic Sea during the interwar period (late 1920s). The locations—the hidden coves of Dalmatia, the lagoon of Venice, the island of Burano—are not backdrops; they are characters. porco rosso italian dub

Miyazaki famously traveled to Italy to research the film. He was obsessed with the seaplanes, the fascist political climate, and the melancholy of former WWI pilots. Because the source material is so intrinsically Italian, the Italian dub doesn’t feel like a translation; it feels like a . When an Italian voice actor utters the name "Marco Pagot" (Porco’s real name), it carries a weight that Japanese syllables simply cannot reproduce. The "Sacred" Voice of Marco Pagot: Michele Kalamera The cornerstone of the Porco Rosso Italian dub is the late Michele Kalamera . For those unfamiliar with Italian voice acting, Kalamera is a legend—best known internationally as the voice of Clint Eastwood (as the Man with No Name) and, tragically, the late Michael Gambon’s Albus Dumbledore. Furthermore, the dub influenced subsequent Ghibli dubs in