Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro

Title: Lupin III: Castle of Cagliostro
Rating: 4/5
Genre: Animé, Adventure, Mystery, Romance
Starring: David Hayter, Dorothy Elias-Fahn, Ivan Buckley
Director: Hayao Miyazaki
Language: Japanese (dubbed)

“Lupin! Don't you dare die before I get to arrest you!”

Allowing my partner in crime to deal with the required viewing, this has finally spurred me on to explore the origins of this mastermind. If you hadn’t already gathered by the number of his films already reviewed for this blog, his name stamped on the cover of a film is something of a seal of quality as whilst only occasionally capable of brilliance, never can be said to descend into mediocrity. But thus far we have only focused on his recent works, alluding to the fact that Miyazaki is a man who has been in the animation industry for over 40 years but never exploring it, and its potentially with this film that we see the man coming into his own; his full-length feature directorial debut, as well as co-writer, character designer and storyboard artist. His influence is smeared all around this piece, and so it comes as rather a shock when you realise just how much it doesn’t feel like a Miyazaki work.

With characters originally based on a TV show, this shows the continued exploits of the thief known as Lupin the third. A master thief in fact, even if his cheap green suit and battered yellow mini wouldn’t suggest so, but this is a man wanted by the police for multiple theft, each exploit shows him going after the next challenge, which naturally brings him the infamous Castle of Cagliostro. Filled with Royal Guards, laser detection systems, traps and pitfalls at every turn, it is this time Lupin desires nothing more than the most precious thing in the castle: the young maiden’s heart. Well that and the famous long lost treasure of Cagliostro, but mostly just her heart. With support from his gun-toting partner in crime and friendly master swordsman, he sets off to cause some chaos in the castle.

Aptly describing what all this entails is not a small task as it seems to incorporate such a broad spectrum of styles, from an almost ‘Scooby-Doo’ sense of mystery (but without the annoying gasps and punchlines) to an ‘Indiana Jones’ desire for adventure, all the whilst packed with witty puns and jokes that never stop hitting their mark. The animation itself looks visibly dated but is not made notably worse for it; the attention to detail is still beyond what is found in many other animations – perhaps the main indication of Miyazaki’s work to come – and the time is given to demonstrate this. The dubbing has been re-worked since its initial release meaning little is lost in the translation and the soundtrack contains some of the most fitting cheesy 70s Jazz music that comes to mind.

It still fits the ‘family’ title but this isn’t some cutesy kiddy crap; people swear (mildly, though for those with children, if watching the dubbed version you should be aware of mild expletives) at one another, Lupin gets cocky and makes mistakes, guns start blazing and people get shot – or more often start laughing at how many times they missed – and then there’s the inevitable thieving and trickery, spies and swords chopping at heavily armoured monsters. In fact, this film seems to have everything; action, adventure, suspense, mystery, intelligence, wit, charm and a pace that never lets up. This succeeds in treading a fine line, being both intelligent enough for the older viewers whilst never becoming complex or gratuitous enough to limit its audience. Hiyazaki’s debut may not be pushing any boundaries but it unquestionably does everything it says on the tin.