Why did Porco become a pig?
Although it was never mentioned in the movie, a press release states that he was disillusioned with humanity, and cursed himself to be a pig. Miyazaki stated that “When a man becomes middle-aged, he becomes a pig”. It seems that Porco is carrying a lot of baggage, and that has something to do with him quitting being a human. The official story goes as follows: Captain Marco Pagot (named after an Italian animator, who is a friend of Miyazaki) was an ace pilot of the Italian Air Force during World War I. He quit the IFA since he saw fascism on the rise, and he wanted to fly following his own will. He became a bounty hunter, assuming the name “Porco Rosso”. He crossed out his own face as a young man in the picture that Gina had hung on the wall of her restaurant, so that no one would know what he looked like as a human. Miyazaki said that Porco once intended to marry Gina, but then World War I broke out, and Gina was living on an island which was Austrian territory. As a military officer,
