Editing Porco Rosso (section)

==Homage to early aviation==
{{more citations needed|section|date=October 2016}}
[[File:Museo Vigna di Valle Macchi 2009-06-06.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Aermacchi]]'s seaplanes at the [[Italian Air Force Museum]]]]
The fictional "Piccolo" aircraft company depicted in the film is based on the Italian aircraft manufacturers [[Caproni]] and [[Piaggio Aerospace|Piaggio]]. The jet shown in the last scene is very similar in concept to the [[Caproni Vizzola Ventura|Caproni C-22J]], an aircraft designed by Carlo Ferrarin, a designer for Caproni, whose name is notably used in the film for Marco's Air Force pilot friend. The jet-amphibian also has a [[V-tail]], slightly reminiscent of the [[Fouga CM.170 Magister|Magister jet trainer]]. The [[Savoia-Marchetti S.55]], [[Fiat C.R.20]] and [[Macchi M.39]] are featured in the movie.<ref name=Fanacea>{{cite web |url= https://fanacea.it/porco-rosso-miyazaki-aviazione-italiana/ |title= Il Porco Rosso: il volo di Miyazaki nell'aviazione italiana |language= Italian |website= Fanacea |date= September 21, 2016 |access-date= February 6, 2021 |archive-date= March 7, 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210307190137/https://fanacea.it/porco-rosso-miyazaki-aviazione-italiana/ |url-status= live }}</ref>

Porco's air-force friend Ferrarin was inspired by the Italian Air Force pilot [[Arturo Ferrarin]] who flew with an [[Ansaldo SVA|Ansaldo SVA.9]] from [[Rome-Tokyo Raid|Rome to Tokyo]] in 1920.<ref name= "Bendazzi">Bendazzi, Giannalberto (2015). [https://books.google.com/books?id=dZvhCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA221 ''Animation: A World History''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612144910/https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=dZvhCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA221 |date= June 12, 2018}}, Vol. III, p. 221. CRC Press. {{ISBN|1-31751988-4}}</ref> Additionally, the [[Caproni Ca.309]] light reconnaissance aircraft, known as the "Ghibli", was the namesake for Miyazaki's and Takahata's animation studio.

Porco's plane is named after the [[Savoia S.21]], but is based on the [[Macchi M.33]].<ref>''Hayao Miyazaki: master of Japanese animation : films, themes, artistry'', Stone Bridge Press, Inc., 1999, p. 164</ref> While in Piccolo's engine shop, the engine to be used in Porco's rebuilt Savoia S.21 also has the word "Ghibli" visible on its rocker covers—in design it is a narrow-angle V-12 engine, similar in form to racing engines of the period. Piccolo mentions that it was used in a racing aeroplane for the [[Schneider Trophy]] race in the year before.

In the early 1930s, Italian seaplane designers set world speed records (such as the [[Macchi M.C.72]] designed by the Italian airplane designer [[Mario Castoldi]]). One of the test pilots killed during the attempt to set the speed record was named Bellini, the name given to Porco's pilot friend in the film. Italian top fighter aces [[Francesco Baracca]] and [[Adriano Visconti]] also appear in the film.<ref name=Fanacea/>

Marco Pagot, the real name of the main character, is also a homage to the Pagot brothers, pioneers of Italian animation (Nino and [[Toni Pagot]] were the authors of the first Italian animated feature film, ''[[The Dynamite Brothers]]'', and Nino's son and daughter Marco and Gi Pagot<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cartoons-honor-italian-animation-brothers-134193|title=Cartoons honor Italian animation brothers|author=Eric J. Lyman|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]], April 17, 2017|date=April 17, 2007|access-date=March 27, 2020|archive-date=November 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191103112205/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cartoons-honor-italian-animation-brothers-134193|url-status=live}}</ref> were Miyazaki's collaborators in the production of ''[[Sherlock Hound]]'').

Meanwhile, the character of Curtis is likely to have been named after the American aviation pioneer [[Glenn Hammond Curtiss]] who, along with the [[Wright Brothers]], founded the [[Curtiss-Wright Corporation]]. Curtis' airplane is a [[Curtiss R3C]], which was built for the 1925 [[Schneider Cup]] race (which Porco refers to when he first meets Curtis). His character is also an oblique reference to [[Ronald Reagan]], in that his ambitions lie not only in Hollywood, but also the Presidency. The rest of Curtis' character appears to come directly from the adventure film heroes portrayed by [[Errol Flynn]] at this time—indeed, they share a jaw line—including his buccaneering derring-do, willingness to fight, and overall demeanour combined with romantic ardour.

[[File:Setouchi SEAPLANES Quest Kodiak 100(JA03TG, "L'ala Rossa") left front view at JASDF Miho Air Base June 2, 2019 02.jpg|right|thumb|Setouchi Seaplane's Kodiak 100 in ''L’ala Rossa'' livery]]
In 2017, Miyazaki and producer [[Toshio Suzuki (producer)|Toshio Suzuki]] collaborated with Setouchi Seaplanes, a Japanese company flying [[Daher Kodiak|Kodiak 100]] seaplanes in Japan's Seto Inland Sea area, to design a special edition ''L’ala Rossa'' livery for Kodiak 100-0143.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chordas |first1=Peter |title=A One-of-a-Kind View of Japan's Inland Sea |url=https://setouchifinder.com/en/detail/7129 |agency=Setouchi Finder |date=28 March 2018 |access-date=June 8, 2023 |archive-date=June 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623034311/https://setouchifinder.com/en/detail/7129 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Hashimoto |first1=Hiroki |title=飛ばねえ豚は…宮崎駿監督ら監修、水陸両用機が離陸 |language=Japanese |url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASK8B3VTQK8BPITB00J.html |work=[[The Asahi Shimbun]] |date=10 August 2017 |access-date=July 1, 2023 |archive-date=July 1, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230701023206/https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASK8B3VTQK8BPITB00J.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=特別塗装機（ラーラ ロッサ） |language=Japanese |url=https://www.setouchi-seaplanes.com/kodiak100/lala-rossa/ |website=Setouchi Seaplanes |access-date=8 June 2023 |archive-date=June 23, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230623034309/https://www.setouchi-seaplanes.com/kodiak100/lala-rossa/ |url-status=usurped }}</ref>

Miyazaki revisited the theme of aviation history in his 2013 film ''[[The Wind Rises]]''.