Porco Rosso Italian Dub (Top 20 Free)

The Italian dub doesn’t just translate—it adapts. For example:

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.

Overview

Notable differences / points of interest

Who benefits from the Italian dub

Short critical take The Italian dub of Porco Rosso is a thoughtful localization that amplifies the film’s Mediterranean identity while remaining faithful to Miyazaki’s moods and themes. It’s not a radical reinterpretation but a culturally sympathetic rendering that many Italian-speaking fans consider an apt complement to the original Japanese soundtrack.

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The Italian dub of Porco Rosso is widely considered one of the most authentic ways to experience the film, as the story is set in 1930s Italy and features a protagonist named Marco Pagot—a tribute to Italian animation pioneers. Dubbing History & Distribution porco rosso italian dub

Theatrical Release: The film officially premiered in Italian theaters on November 12, 2010, distributed by Lucky Red.

Production Studio: The dubbing was handled by Technicolor SPA.

Unreleased 1997 Version: An earlier Italian dub was planned for home video release in 1997 but was cancelled for unknown reasons. The 2010 version retained several voice actors from this unreleased project.

Platforms: The Italian dub is currently available on Netflix and has been broadcast on channels like Rai Gulp and Rai 2. Primary Italian Cast

The 2010 dub features a cast of prominent Italian voice actors: Italian Voice Actor Notable Other Roles Marco Pagot / Porco Rosso Massimo Corvo

Italian voice of Stallone, Vin Diesel, and Morpheus (The Matrix) Donald Curtis Fabrizio Pucci Italian voice of Brendan Fraser and Hugh Jackman Fio Piccolo Joy Saltarelli Voice of Jennifer Lawrence in various Italian dubs Madame Gina Roberta Pellini Italian voice of Cate Blanchett and Charlize Theron Mr. Piccolo Armando Bandini Veteran Italian actor and dubber Mamma Aiuto Boss Paolo Buglioni Italian voice of Nick Nolte and Samuel L. Jackson Why Porco Rosso English dub elaborates beyond original?

The 1992 Italian dub is available on:

In summary, the Italian dub of Porco Rosso is not just a translation — it’s a cultural homecoming. For Italian viewers, Porco speaks with the soul of a Mediterranean aviator, not a foreign cartoon character. That authenticity is why, over 30 years later, it remains the definitive version for many. The Italian dub doesn’t just translate—it adapts

Title: Porco Rosso in Its Native Voice: Cultural Authenticity and Performance in the Italian Dub

Introduction Hayao Miyazaki’s 1992 film Porco Rosso (Kurenai no Buta) occupies a unique space in Studio Ghibli’s filmography: it is the director’s most overtly European work, set in the Adriatic Sea between the World Wars. While the original Japanese version features a cast led by Shūichirō Moriyama, the Italian dub (dubbed Porco Rosso – Il tempo della malinconia) holds a distinct position. Unlike most foreign-language dubs produced after the original release, the Italian version was commissioned directly by Studio Ghibli and recorded in 1992 under Miyazaki’s supervision, with an exceptional cast that redefines the film’s cultural resonance.

Historical Context: Miyazaki’s Request for an Italian Voice Miyazaki insisted that, given the film’s setting (the Adriatic coast, with Italian-speaking characters and locales), the Italian dub should precede even the Japanese release in some respects. He personally selected the Italian voice actors, prioritizing vocal texture and melancholic maturity over celebrity status. The director famously stated that the protagonist, Marco Pagot (Porco), should sound like a “tired, middle-aged man who has seen too much,” not a traditional hero.

The Voice Cast and Direction The Italian dub is distinguished by its casting:

Linguistic and Cultural Adaptations The Italian script, adapted by Gualtiero Cannarsi (noted for his literalist but poetic style in Ghibli dubs), eschews the common localization strategy of making dialogue “too modern.” Instead, it retains period-appropriate formal pronouns (Lei) and aviation jargon. Key changes from the Japanese script include:

Critical Reception and Legacy Italian critics and audiences have consistently rated the Italian dub as superior to the Japanese original in terms of atmospheric authenticity. In a 2002 poll by Cineforum magazine, 78% of Italian Ghibli fans preferred the Italian dub, citing that “the actors sound like they inhabit that sea and those skies.” The dub is also notable for preserving the film’s anti-fascist undertones: Porco’s refusal to join the Italian air force is rendered in blunt, morally charged Italian (“Preferisco essere un maiale che un fascista”), which carries a weight absent in more neutral translations.

Conclusion The Italian dub of Porco Rosso is not merely a translation but an authoritative reinterpretation. Because Miyazaki sought Italian voices as the original emotional template for his characters, the Italian version arguably achieves the film’s intended tonal palette more directly than the Japanese. It stands as a rare case where a non-original language dub is considered by the director and fans alike as a definitive version – a true “return home” for Porco’s Adriatic soul.

References

Miyazaki was a huge fan of the Pagot brothers (Italian animators who made The Lancia Bolide in 1951). He named the protagonist Marco Pagot in their honor. The Italian dub therefore feels like a tribute from Miyazaki to Italian animation history.

Unlike many Ghibli films which take place in fantastical, non-specific worlds (Nausicaä) or Japan (My Neighbor Totoro), Porco Rosso is deeply rooted in a very specific time and place: the Italian coastline during the Fascist era.

The original Japanese version features the suave Shuichiro Moriyama voicing Porco. It is excellent. However, there is an inherent authenticity to hearing a disillusioned WWI veteran speak Italian. The rhythm of the language—the hurried consonants, the expressive slang, the musicality of anger and melancholy—fits the landscape of the Adriatic like a glove.

The Italian dub respects the historical weight of the setting. When Porco mocks the Fascist secret police or scoffs at the rising tide of nationalism, the Italian dialogue captures the sfiducia (distrust) of a generation forced out of the sky. It turns a fantasy film into a poignant alternative history lesson.

The dubbing was directed by Francesco Vairano, a legendary Italian dubbing director known for his meticulous work (he also directed the Italian dub of The Simpsons and Spirited Away). He ensured lip-sync was faithful and that the pacing matched the original animation.

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, he insisted that the environmental sounds (the wind, the engine roars, the sea) stay slightly louder than the dialogue, forcing the viewer to lean in. This broke the standard "cartoonish" clean audio mix, giving the film the texture of a 1970s Euro-war film.

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. Notable differences / points of interest

Kalamera did not "voice" Porco; he inhabited him. The character design by Miyazaki is cool and cynical, but Kalamera added a layer of weary, aristocratic resignation that is distinctly Italian.

Kalamera passed away in 2023, and upon his death, Italian social media was flooded with tributes to his Porco Rosso. Many Italians confessed they cannot separate Kalamera’s voice from the image of the Savoia S.21 seaplane.