Among these gambling, thieving, dirty pirates however, Porco Rosso stands as the ace pilot and feared by all. Whilst war is on the brink of initiation, Bush Pilot 'Pirates' roam the Italian coast, robbing ships, tourists and living the life few people could experience. The story follows a humanoid pig known as Porco Rosso ('Crimson Pig' in English Translation), a bush pilot during the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s when Mussolini was a strong ally with Hitler. The premise is simple, subtle and imaginatively compelling.
It wasn't until I saw Porco Rosso that I found my oasis in animation, a film that has no reason to be a cartoon due to its sheer realism and setting. From that point on, he created some of the most memorable, brilliant and detailed masterpieces the western world ever saw - most having something to do with world issues and human's spiritual touch with nature.
His first motion picture released in the late 70s was Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro, which proved to be a world success. Hayao Miyazaki was Japan's inspiration to open their eyes to new horizons and show the world their hand in art. It wasn't until a great artist came along in the mid-1970s that was to make Disney look like a second class citizen in the animation business. However, Japan had primarily made cartoons involving their traditional, cultural and supernatural themes that the world felt alienated to. Over the decades, Japan has established itself in the animation scene as a contender, creating some of the most mind boggling realistic, detailed animation the world has ever seen.