If I was more prone to calling anything a "favorite", I would say that Porco Rosso is my favorite Miyazaki movies. Or at least one of my favorites; it is a "Soaring" film. But as Miyazaki can easily be seen as one of the greatest imaginations in film history this would make Porco Rosso (if you accept it as the crown of his body of work) one of the greatest films of all time. But it isn't. If you can navigate your way through this paradox: though Miyazaki is one of my favorite movie makers, and Porco Rosso one of is best accomplishments, it is not, like Totoro and Spirited Away, one of the movies that makes Miyazaki so great.
Which is why I avoid "favorites".
I think what I appreciate about the movie so much is its ending. There are so few movies made today with a working ending. An ending that actually adds something to the story, that doesn't just happen to be when they ran out of tape or time. This is why I am so disheartened to hear that there is a sequel planned. I'd rather see a sequel to Ponyo which I found not more than average. I have no need to ruin a good thing with too much of it, which is what a sequel would do to Porco Rosso (a prequel is concieveable, but it could never match what makes the original good).
But we will see how Miyazaki handles it. He does tend to do things well.
Despite my gravitation to fantasy, what I like about Porco Rosso is its lack of fantasy. Porco Rosso is a good "anime" to show people who do not like anime. It has one fantastical concept, but it isn't actually all that important to the plot. It is just a humorful metaphor (and device. There are many good points about how Porco Rosso isn't really much of a 'pig') And a good one (except that bloody kiss....). Without it, the movie might be a little heavier that would be pleasant. But it doesn't actually affect the way the movie plays out, really. The historical relevance of the movie is also impressive.
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