The Castle of Cagliostro is an early film in the long running Lupin III series.
Made in 1979, The Castle of Cagliostro looks, feels and sounds a little dated, but that is part of its charm. The feel of the time is presented accurately with the hairstyles, clothing and action music.
Although The Castle of Cagliostro is old, that does not make it bad. At the time it was made, it was considered to be years ahead of everything else. Certainly, it is a beautiful movie, and its animation and design can not be faulted in any way.
The Castle of Cagliostro is notable because it is the first film that anime visionary Hayao Miyazaki wrote, directed and designed. Miyazaki took a few liberties with the character design, adapting them all to his own style. Lupin, Jigen, Zenigata and Goemon look more refined than their previous incarnations while retaining the same general look, whereas Fujiko looks entirely different*.
Over the years, Miyazaki has been known for his ability to tell stories.
The Castle of Cagliostro is certainly not as epic as Princess Mononoke, but it is still a good little story that is consistent in theme and style with the Lupin III series.
The characterisation in The Castle of Cagliostro is just brilliant. I love that both the master criminal and the man out to catch him are both such charismatic characters.
The "evil" that is present in this film is a common one; the shadowy Count Cagliostro.
In the original Leonardo dub (produced by Streamline, the charming folks who brought us Leonardo dubbed Akira), the Count's badness is not very well portrayed; that version of the film seemed to ignore that Count Cagliostro was trying to force a pedophilic incestuous marriage into being.
Still, unlike Akira's Leonardo dub, I found this one to be enjoyable, before I found out about all of the editing and changing of dialogue.
For the first(?) time, The Castle of Cagliostro is available outside of Japan in its original form, unedited, and it shines.
The acting is perfect in the Japanese version, from Yasuo Yamada's established rogue Lupin character to Sumi Shimamoto's debut as the sweet Clarisse.
In the Japanese version, not one seiyuu is out of place; quality casting frequently leads to quality anime.
Watching this, you can really tell that Miyazaki knew what he was doing. Although this is Miyazaki's first feature length film**, he worked on television anime for several years previously (including several episodes of the Lupin III television series). He has applied everything that he learned there, and added some new things as well. Not one scene is too drawn out or not explored well enough. Not one character is there for the sake of being there. Of course the most time is given to Lupin and Zenigata, but the other regulars do have significant parts to play. This film proves that Lupin would be nothing without his companions.
Expertly directed, and with improved character designs that still remain faithful, The Castle of Cagliostro is indeed a film that will be enjoyed for many years to come.
*Although this is quite possibly due to the fact that she's in disguise... but that doesn't stop Lupin from recognising her.
**Unless you count that thing that he did that was essentially several episodes of a TV series stitched together and sold as a movie... which, of course, you won't.