Pigs Might Fly: Applying Literary Analysis to Porco Rosso

Its pig-faced protagonist aside, Porco Rosso is one of Miyazaki's least fantastical films – but that doesn't mean it's straightforward. Allegory and Russian Formalism are just two of the analytical methods that can be employed when studying this rich text, writes Paul Jackson. Additional keywords: Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, Japanese cinema, Studio Ghibli, screens in the classroom, middle years, senior secondary, World War II, Second World War, WWII, anime, Princess Mononoke, Ponyo, My Neighbor Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, animation, fabula, syuzhet, The Princess and the Frog, anthropomorphic, war, fairytales