Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro (1979)

Director:

Hayao Miyazaki

Writers:

Maurice Leblanc (characters)
Hayao Miyazaki (writer)

Release Date:

3 April 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

A Miyazaki classic returns the way it was meant to be seen!

Plot:

A flamboyant thief and his gang struggle to free a princess from an evil count's clutches and to learn the hidden secret to a fabulous treasure that she holds part of a key to.

Plot Keywords:

Count | Ring | Thief | Treasure | Casino

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Bob Bergen	...	Arsene Lupin III (voice: English version)
Yasuo Yamada	...	Arsene Lupin III (voice)
Eiko Masuyama	...	Fujiko Mine (voice)
Kiyoshi Kobayashi	...	Daisuke Jigen (voice)
Makio Inoue	...	Goemon Ishikawa XIII (voice)
Gorô Naya	...	Inspector Zenigata (voice)
Sumi Shimamoto	...	Lady Clarisse de Cagliostro (voice)
Tarô Ishida	...	Count Cagliostro (voice)
Kôhei Miyauchi	...	Gardener (voice)
Ichirô Nagai	...	Jodo (voice)
David Hayter	...	Arsene Lupin III (Manga Video English Dub) (as Sean Barker)
Dorothy Elias-Fahn	...	Fujiko Mine (Manga Video English Dub) (as Dorothy Melendrez)
Ivan Buckley	...	Daisuke Jigen (Manga Video English Dub)
Bridget Hoffman	...	Clarisse d'Cagliostro (voice: English version) (as Ruby Marlowe)
Kirk Thornton	...	Count Cagliostro (Manga Video English Dub) (as Sparky Thornton)

Also Known As:

Arsene Lupin and the Castle of Cagliostro
Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro
Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro (International: English title)
The Castle of Cagliostro

Runtime:

110 min | USA:102 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

French | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Japan:R (original rating) | Japan:U (re-rating) (2000) | Australia:M (DVD rating) | Singapore:PG | Finland:K-3 (DVD rating: 2009) | Finland:K-8 (video rating: 1997) | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | France:U | Spain:13 | UK:PG | West Germany:6

Company:

Tokyo Movie Shinsha (TMS)

Trivia:

In the Maurice Leblanc story "The Countess of Cagliostro" (1924), Clarisse was the name of Arsène Lupin's wife. In this film no event of that sort ever occurs.

Goofs:

Factual errors: Counterfeit money was referred to as Japanese Won. Won is from South Korea.

Quotes:

Daisuke Jigen: [suddenly angry] Hey... you knew that that girl we met today was the daughter of the Archduke, didn't you?
Lupin III: [scornfully] Oh... you mean I didn't tell you?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)

Soundtrack:

Fire Treasure

Best Animated Movie Ever

The second big screen outing of Lupin III is already one of the best Anime movies ever made, while rivalling anything Disney or Pixar has to offer. Green ogres, fat superheroes or a zillion gigabytes of computer animation still cannot compare to 12 frames of hand drawn charm.

For the uninitiated, Lupin III is the grandson of Arsene Lupin, the gentleman thief, created by Maurice Leblanc in the Twenties. He's always breaking into some impenetrable vault, or has a zillion gadgets up his sleeve to help with escaping if things go awry. He's also rather wacky and buffoonish, which makes his antics a joy to watch.

Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle), in his movie debut, tones down the out of control wackiness of the Lupin III TV show and gives Lupin a rather decent plot to dig his teeth into. This is not an excuse to string together a bunch of insane set pieces.

Seconds after robbing a Monte Carlo casino, Lupin and Jigen discover that every dollar note they have swiped is a fake. Only one place in the world is known to make these counterfeits and Lupin's underworld knowledge leads them to the tiny European country of Cagliostro (think Luxemburg, only much, much smaller).

Half a moment after crossing the border, Lupin and Jigen are involved in a car chase and rescue the Lady Clarisse from a bunch of goons. But she's promptly kidnapped again, though manages to leave Lupin a clue in the form of a strange wedding ring.

Their suspicions over the kidnapping lead them to the titular castle where they discover that an evil Count has seized control of the country, using - guess what? - funny money. And the ring is the key to a great treasure that can only be uncovered when the Lady Clarisse is married to the Count.

Lupin deliberately blows his cover to Inspector Zenigata (the perpetually stressed Interpol officer who is always chasing him) as a diversion, while he breaks into the castle to rescue Clarisse. What follows is scene after scene of hairs breadth escapes and impossible scenarios.

Miyazaki's attention to detail is what truly elevates this beyond typical animation quality. There are enough moments of quietness and atmosphere to balance out the loud scenes. A strong sense of setting also comes from the imaginative "photography". Too many animated movies disorientate the audience with frenetic direction and over-indulgence, but Castle Of Cagliostro works so much better by taking its time and choosing the best angles to cover the action. His trademark flying machines and overeating scenes make their first big screen appearance here.

Far from his typical sub-genre of eco-friendly animation, Miyazaki is obviously a big fan of Lupin and has made a movie that refuses to be missed. Even Spielberg called CoC "one of the best adventure movies ever." Any fan of Miyazaki should check out this film immediately.

One should be aware that the Maurice Leblanc estate doesn't entirely approve of the Lupin III franchise. As a result he is mostly known in the new Optimum Region 2 DVD version as "Wolf" (get it?). The Manga release of this film was entirely re-dubbed in English with Lupin restored but the new Optimum DVD uses the original English voice actors.