The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)

[ルパン三世 カリオストロの城]

Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Starring: Yasuo Yamada, Eiko Mauyama, Kiyoshi Kobayashi

Synopsis:
The gentleman thief Lupin III travels to the tiny Duchy of Cagliostro in search of the legendary counterfeits known as the Goats Bills and becomes embroiled in the Count of Cagliostro's plot to marry the daughter of the late Grand Duke to claim the family secret for himself.

Impressions:
There are basically two kinds of people who watch this movie: Lupin fans and Miyazaki fans. If you're a Lupin fan, you may react like many of the fans when the film premiered (or Monkey Punch himself), decrying the tamed-down take on Lupin. If you're a Miyazaki fan, you'll probably like if not love it as a charming little movie that kicked off Miyazaki's career as a feature film director. Given the sort of person Miyazaki is and what his values are, it's little surprise Lupin gets cast the way he is. I actually rather like that this is an older Lupin toning down the excesses that made him infamous. I'm definitely not that invested in the Lupin III franchise to get my dander up about it. This was my introduction to the character and anything else in the franchise I enjoy because of this movie. There's a lot to love here and unless you're die-hard committed to the more adult humor of most of the rest of the Lupin III franchise, there's little reason you won't be a fan to. This is one for the collection.

Rating:
Own It