Porco Rosso (1992), directed by Hayao Miyazaki, is a beloved Studio Ghibli film about an honor-bound, pig-faced former WWI fighter pilot, Marco Pagot, who now works as a bounty hunter over the Adriatic. The Italian dub of Porco Rosso is notable both for its cultural resonance and for how it reshapes character and setting details to fit Italian linguistic and historical sensibilities.
The young, energetic aviation engineer Fio is the emotional engine of the film's second half.
In an interview, Cannarsi explained that his work for the Porco Rosso Italian release was a major improvement over a previous, unreleased version he had done for Buena Vista years earlier. He cited three key differences: a much greater personal understanding of the Japanese language after eight years, access to superior source materials, and a direct line of communication with Studio Ghibli itself. This collaboration with the original creators ensured the Italian script was more faithful and nuanced than ever before.
The closing song, "Tokiniha mukashi no hanasi wo" (Once in a While, Talk of the Old Days) by Tokiko Kato, is retained in the Italian version, bridging the two cultures perfectly. Where to Find the Porco Rosso Italian Dub
Studio Ghibli films are universally celebrated for their breathtaking animation, rich storytelling, and profound thematic depth. However, Hayao Miyazaki’s 1992 masterpiece Porco Rosso holds a unique position in the animation powerhouse's catalog. Set against the sun-drenched backdrop of the Adriatic Sea during the interwar period, the film is an overt love letter to Italian culture, aviation history, and Mediterranean geography. While the original Japanese voice track is historic, the Porco Rosso Italian dub ("Porco Rosso doppiaggio italiano") transforms the viewing experience, creating an unparalleled alignment of setting, language, and cinematic texture.
Hearing names like Fiume, Milano, and the Adriatic pronounced with native cadence embeds the viewer directly into the film’s geography.
Cannarsi’s version completely overhauled the dialogue. It reinstated the poetic, melancholic, and sometimes archaic prose favored by Miyazaki. While this style sparked intense debate among Italian purists regarding its readability, it undoubtedly brought the Italian dialogue closer to the original thematic intentions of the Japanese script. Voice Acting Royalty: The Italian Cast
The Italian dub is not merely a localization; it is a homecoming. Miyazaki himself has expressed a profound love for Italy, particularly its geography and its history of aviation. The Italian language, with its expressive cadence, fits the romantic, slightly melancholic tone of the film perfectly. The 2010 Redubbing
The Italian dub of Porco Rosso is widely celebrated for its cultural authenticity, given the film's setting in 1930s Italy and the Adriatic Sea. For many fans, the Italian version is the "ultimate" way to watch the movie, as it aligns the dialogue with the historical and geographic context of Milan and the Dalmatian coast. Italian Dub Cast
Details on the involved in the Italian production.
In the end, the moral of Porco Rosso is simple: Meglio vivere un giorno da leone che cent’anni da pecora. (Better to live one day as a lion than a hundred years as a sheep). Thanks to the Italian dub, that lion has a pilot’s goggles and a very charming snout.
The heart of any great dub is its cast, and the Italian version of Porco Rosso brought together some of the country's finest voice talents. Here is the complete list of the main Italian voice actors, lovingly curated by the renowned dubbing site Antoniogenna.net , alongside their original Japanese counterparts:
The Italian dub is available on the Italian Blu-ray/DVD releases (often with English subtitles) and on Italian streaming platforms like (with VPN) or RaiPlay . Some fan rips also exist online with English subs.
Characters walk through the streets of Milan and fly over the Istrian coast. Hearing these real-world places named with native Italian pronunciation grounds the fantasy elements in reality.
The Italian version is noted for its high-quality performances that capture the film's "romance language" atmosphere: Marco Pagot Porco Rosso : Voiced by Massimo Corvo
For researchers and collectors, not all Italian releases are equal. There is a historical rift regarding the .
Celentano is a musical genius, and he brought rhythm to the dialogue. He famously ad-libbed certain grunts, sighs, and muttered asides not present in the original script. In the scene where Porco fixes the engine of his Savoia S.21, Celentano hums a fragmented, unrecognizable tune—a sound that feels like the mechanical heart of the plane itself.
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.