Doesn't know what it wants to be
Hi, I watched this film and found myself confused by what it wanted to be. The confusion for me is with how Porco Rosso is a conflicted 'adult' character but is over-shadowed by one dimensional characters and an overly light hearted atmosphere. I found it unwilling to give the protagonist the true rounded background he deserved and the film is imbalanced/confusing as a result.
Granted, Ghibli has mainly made films for children but this film needed to either make Porco less 'human' or allow more 'adult' depiction/discussion. Ultimately I don't understand Porco or the film by the finish as the serious undertones are largely underplayed. I found the punch up at the end quite brutal because the film hadn't wanted to seriously depict violence before.
Having said this I was very impressed with the animation (especially the flight sequences) and I did like this film (good ending too!). However, I think there needed to be a better balance between light and dark for this to have become stronger than the sum of its parts.