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Porco Rosso (1992)
Porco Rosso (1992) poster

Porco Rosso (1992)

紅の豚

Animation, Adventure, Fantasy • 1h 33m

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

2018 US GKIDS Blu-ray

Best English-friendly release · updated 5 months ago

Overview

In Italy in the 1930s, sky pirates in biplanes terrorize wealthy cruise ships as they sail the Adriatic Sea. The only pilot brave enough to stop the scourge is the mysterious Porco Rosso, a former World War I flying ace who was somehow turned into a pig during the war. As he prepares to battle the pirate crew's American ace, Porco Rosso enlists the help of spunky girl mechanic Fio Piccolo and his longtime friend Madame Gina.

Release details

Best Video Release

2013 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray

Best Audio Release

2013 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray

JAL dub: 1996 Japan LaserDisc Box Set

Length
93 mins
Type
Movie
Alternative Titles
Crimson Pig

More from Hayao Miyazaki

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Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2014 Japan "Hayao Miyazaki Collection" Studio Ghibli Blu-ray

Upcoming Release:

Japan Studio Ghibli 4K Blu-ray announced for a November 25, 2026 release

Best Audio:

Japanese audio: 2014 Japan "Hayao Miyazaki Collection" Studio Ghibli Blu-ray/US GKIDS Blu-ray

English dub (Disney): 1998 US Disney VHS has better sounding vocals despite altered music and sound effects, the US Disney LaserDisc has limited audio, and 2003 DVD is a fake 5.1 upmix

Releases from 2010 onward have the original music and sound effects, but distorted vocals

English dub (Streamline): 1996 Japan remastered LaserDisc, available in Ghibli Ga Ippai Collection boxset

Additional Info:

2012 US Disney Blu-ray has dubtitles. US GKIDS Blu-ray has bonuses that are absent on the US Disney Blu-ray

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

2026 Japan Studio Ghibli (remastered) Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Only included as a pack-in with the 4K Blu-ray. Includes English subtitles and a dub, which the 4K Blu-ray does not.

Best Audio:

Japan Studio Ghibli 4K Blu-ray

UK StudioCanal Blu-ray for the English dub

Audio Notes:

4K Blu-ray includes the original 5.1 mix in its unaltered form, all other releases after the LaserDisc had its dynamic range lowered.

For the English dub, the UK StudioCanal Blu-ray is the least limited mix.

Additional Info:

US Disney Blu-ray has dubtitles. US GKIDS Blu-ray and Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray releases (both 2013, box set, and RM4K) have proper English subtitle translations.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

4K · Disappointing
Best English-Friendly & Video:

2025 Discotek US Blu-ray SteelBook

Video Notes:

4K Blu-ray is denoised

The 2025 SteelBook uses the same transfer as the 2014 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray and 2015 Discotek US Blu-ray but with better white balance.

Best Audio:

Japan: 1995 Japan LaserDisc 

English: 2012 UK Blu-ray

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Best English-Friendly:

2014 "Hayao Miyazaki Collection" Studio Ghibli Japan Blu-ray or US Disney Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab) · lddb.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

2014 "Hayao Miyazaki Collection" Studio Ghibli Japan Blu-ray

Video Notes:

2014 "Hayao Miyazaki Collection" Studio Ghibli Japan Blu-ray
Comparisons: https://slow.pics/c/6JWnlfit

Best Audio:

All sources are within margin of error. Comparisons: Japanese, English
Alternate Streamline English dub is available only on 1994 Fox LD.

Additional Info:

US GKIDS Blu-ray has more bonuses than the US Disney Blu-ray

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2014 Japan Hayao Miyazaki Collection Studio Ghibli Blu-ray

Best Audio:

2014 Japan Hayao Miyazaki Collection Studio Ghibli Blu-ray

For English dub: OOP US 2015 Disney Blu-ray

Additional Info:

US GKIDS Blu-ray is missing some features from the OOP US Disney Blu-ray but has an exclusive 12-page booklet.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Best English-Friendly:

Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray or US GKIDS Blu-ray

Additional Info:

US Disney Blu-ray has alternate "simplified" subtitles compared to the translation used in the Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray and the US GKIDS Blu-ray

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

US GKIDS 4K Blu-ray

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2017 US GKIDS Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Japanese audio: The HQ Audio Restoration by Hydra Spectre (made using the 2011 US Disney Blu-ray and the 2003 Taiwan Disney DVD), 2003 Japan Studio Ghibli DVD or 2003 Taiwan Disney DVD as an alternative

English audio: 2005 US Disney DVD

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Studio Ghibli The Collected Works of Hayao Miyazaki Blu-ray

Additional Info:

The Ghibli ga Ippai SPECIAL Short Short 1996-2016 Blu-ray has a different video transfer that has a tealer tint and slightly tighter framing.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Best English-Friendly & Video:

2017 US GKIDS Blu-ray

Video Notes:

2017 US GKIDS Blu-ray has better detail and grain, 2014 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray from the Hayao Miyazaki box set for MGVC with added bit-depth for supported players

Best Audio:

2011/2014 Japan Studio Ghibli Blu-ray for original 6.1 audio mix, Cinema DTS for the English dub

More from GKIDS

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Director: Michael Arias

4K · Worse Than BD
Best English-Friendly & Video:

Sony Blu-ray

Sources: slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

GKIDS 4K Blu-ray is a sharpened upscale. Caps

Best Audio:

GKIDS 4K Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

GKIDS 4K Blu-ray has a true lossless English dub and correct volume levels for the Japanese audio

Additional Info:

GKIDS has correct English subtitles that change a few lines from the director-approved dubtitles, to match with the Japanese dialogue better while still remaining true to director Michael Arias' intent. The corrected GKIDS subtitles are director-approved.

Director: Mamoru Oshii

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

US GKIDS 4K Blu-ray authored by FiM

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab) · slow.pics (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

US GKIDS/Australia Umbrella 4K Blu-ray authored by FiM

Video Notes:

US GKIDS/Australia Umbrella 4K Blu-ray authored by FiM with identical encodes

UHD vs BD comparisons

Best Audio:

4K restoration includes a high-fidelity Dolby Atmos remix sourced from new transfers of original magnetic elements, with inconsequential content differences from the original mono mix. Umbrella 4K Blu-ray only includes a 5.1 mixdown of the remix, other discs have it in Dolby Atmos.

Umbrella/GKIDS 4K Blu-ray's 2.0 track is a stereo downmix. Older BDs and LDs have the original mono mix in varying quality, but are all inferior in fidelity to the new Dolby Atmos remix. The digital track on the Bandai/Emotion Japan LaserDisc BELL-942 is the best of the bunch.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showpost.php?p=23714400&postcount=159

Only the GKIDS 4K Blu-ray has the English dub.

Director: Nobuhiro Yamashita

Best English-Friendly & Video:

US GKIDS 4K Blu-ray authored by FiM

Sources: Blu-ray.com (opens in a new tab)

Director: Jérémie Périn

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Audio:

US GKIDS Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

US GKIDS Blu-ray for both original French audio and English dub

Directors: Masayuki & Kazuya Tsurumaki & Hideaki Anno

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

US GKIDS Blu-ray

Best Video:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray / US GKIDS Blu-ray

US GKIDS Blu-ray for the Amazon English dub

US OOP Funimation Blu-ray for the older Funimation English dub

Additional Info:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray is an upscale, but has less compression artifacts, it also includes the theatrical cut (:2.0) on standard Blu-ray as a bonus.

Directors: Kazuya Tsurumaki & Masayuki & Hideaki Anno

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly:

US GKIDS Blu-ray

Best Video:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray / US GKIDS Blu-ray

US GKIDS Blu-ray for the Amazon English dub

US OOP Funimation Blu-ray for the older Funimation English dub

Additional Info:

Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray is an upscale, but has less compression artifacts, it also includes the theatrical cut (:1.0) and the DVD cut (:1.01) on standard Blu-ray as bonuses.

Director: Makoto Shinkai

4K · Solid
Best English-Friendly & Audio:

US GKIDS 4K Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

Caveat: Songs are only in Japanese, even with the English dub selected.

JP Toho 4K Blu-ray for the alternate Japanese audio with English songs, and US OOP Funimation Blu-ray for the English dub with English songs

Best Video:

US GKIDS/Japan Toho 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

(US GKIDS 4K Blu-ray has a higher bitrate than the Japan Toho 4K Blu-ray, but improvements are minimal, if visible.)

Additional Info:

Most international releases have a green tint. Only the Japan Toho and US GKIDS releases have no such issues.

Directors: Katsuichi Nakayama & Kazuya Tsurumaki & Mahiro Maeda & Hideaki Anno

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly, Video & Audio:

US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. 4K Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. 4K Blu-ray for both the original Japanese and the Amazon English dub

Additional Info:

US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. 4K Blu-ray has higher bitrate and better encoding than the Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray. Japan King Records 4K Blu-ray on the box set has inferior encoding, but includes the theatrical (:3.0+1.0) and streaming (:3.0+1.01) cuts on standard Blu-ray as bonuses.

Directors: Masayuki & Hideaki Anno & Tsuyoshi Kaga & Shoichi Masuo & Ken Ando & Seiji Mizushima & Kazuya Tsurumaki & Naoyasu Habu & Hiroyuki Ishido & Tensai Okamura & Akira Takamura & Minoru Ohara & Masahiko Otsuka & Tetsuya Watanabe & Keiichi Sugiyama

Best English-Friendly & Video:

US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. Blu-ray

Best Audio:

Japan King Records Blu-ray has "Fly Me to the Moon" song intact.

The Collector's Edition US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. Blu-ray has both Manga and Netflix English dubs.

US OOP Anchor Bay DVD/VHS has "Fly Me to the Moon" song intact and the original Dolby Stereo mix for the Manga English dub.

Additional Info:

Japan Blu-ray has the theatrical cut "Death & Rebirth"

Japan Archives of Evangelion DVD has the TV cut "Death (true) & Rebirth"

Best English-Friendly:

Majority of the episodes: US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. Blu-ray

Episode 16: US ADV Perfect Collection DVD Box Set

Original broadcast versions of E21-24: US ADV Platinum Edition DVD Box Set

Sources: x.com (opens in a new tab) · movie-censorship.com (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

Majority of the episodes: US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. Blu-ray

Episode 16: Japan 1999 DVD for the original LaserDisc/VHS master (all "remastered" releases including the Blu-rays use a low quality 35mm internegative as it's main source after the original 16mm negatives became lost. Comparison)
Original broadcast versions of E21-24: Japan King Records Blu-ray Comparison of both cuts for each episode

US ADV Perfect Collection DVD Box Set uses the same master as the Japan 1999 DVD, but it's at a lower bitrate and slightly altered colour grading

Best Audio:

Japan King Records Blu-ray has "Fly Me to the Moon" song intact

The Collector's Edition US GKIDS/UK Anime, Ltd. Blu-ray has both Netflix and ADV English dubs

US OOP ADV DVD/VHS releases have "Fly Me to the Moon" song intact

More Animation on Blu-ray

Director: Wolfgang Reitherman

Video format: 1080p Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Original: 35mm scans or Disney LaserDisc (1.33:1 open matte)

Restored: Disney Limited Issue DVD (1.33:1 open matte)

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

Later Disney DVDs and Blu-ray are altered

Best Audio:

35mm scans or Disney LaserDisc

Director: Martin Rosen

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI 4K Blu-ray

Sources: Criterion Forum (opens in a new tab)

Best Audio:

2002 R2 WB DVD

TV series

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Warner Archive Blu-ray

Video Notes:

4K restoration from Original Camera Negative for all episodes

Director: Ralph Bakshi

Best English-Friendly & Video:

OOP Germany Ascot Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Tentative alternative is US Xenon DVD

Director: Mamoru Oshii

Video format: UHD Blu-ray

Best English-Friendly & Audio:

2008 Japan Blu-ray (BCXA-0085)

Audio Notes:

Bandai 4K Blu-ray? vs 2008 Japan Bandai Blu-ray (BCXA-0085): same video but includes Bandai English dub and original mix

Best Video:

2026 Bandai 4K Blu-ray

Video Notes:

Has English subtitles, better than 2015 Maiden Blu-ray which lacks the original mix

But completely DNR'd.

For grain, most release starting from 2007 Japan Bandai Blu-ray (BCXA-0003) are ok.

Directors: Bill Roberts & Paul Satterfield & Wilfred Jackson & Ben Sharpsteen & James Algar & T. Hee & Hamilton Luske & Samuel Armstrong & Jim Handley & Norman Ferguson & David Hand & Ford Beebe Jr.

Best English-Friendly & Video:

Censored: 2010 Disney Blu-ray
Uncensored: 35mm Scan

Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)

Video Notes:

See caps of Blu-ray vs DVD

Best Audio:

1991 CAV LaserDisc

Audio Notes:
  • 1991 CAV LaserDisc includes an approximation of the original Fantasound mix in Dolby Surround using the surviving magnetic mixdown, using Stokowski's original mixing notes as a reference. Original aggressive pans and dynamic range are left in tact.

  • The 2000 DVD uses this same mix in discrete 5.0, but with some unnecessary dynamic range compression + a redub of all Deems Taylor audio with Corey Burton.

  • The 7.1 mix on the 2010 Blu-ray sounds poor, having been hit with excessive noise reduction, dynamic range compression, original aggressive pans no longer in tact, and the channel usage no longer resembles Stokowski's original intended sound design. 

Director: Henry Selick

4K · Excellent
Best English-Friendly:

2D Version: Laika/Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

3D Version: 2011 3D Blu-ray

Sources: caps-a-holic (opens in a new tab)

Best Video:

2D Version: Laika/Shout! Factory 4K Blu-ray

3D Version: 2011 3D Blu-ray caps 

Director: Jan Švankmajer

Best English-Friendly & Video:

BFI Blu-ray or Athanor The Films of Jan Svankmajer Blu-ray

Best Audio:

BFI Blu-ray

Audio Notes:

BFI Blu-ray for both original Czech and English dub audio in lossless format

Additional Info:

Athanor The Films of Jan Svankmajer Blu-ray has exclusive extras

Director: Marcell Jankovics

Best English-Friendly:

US Arbelos Blu-ray

Best Video:

US Arbelos Blu-ray, encoded by FiM

Directors: Aaron Horvath & Michael Jelenic

Best English-Friendly:

Universal 4K Blu-ray

Best Video:

2D version: Universal 4K Blu-ray

3D version: Turbine Germany 3D Blu-ray

Best Audio:

-

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