2020 has been a frustrating year, hasn't it? Between a global pandemic, racial tensions and a buffoon politician leading the world's biggest superpower, it seems like humanity is never gonna catch a break. Fortunately, there's always media to keep us occupied. And what better than to jump on-board with a series of essays in December and discuss the first film from one of my favourite living directors: The Castle of Cagliostro?
I should mention that this took a lot of work, as well as several disappointments and cancellations, to materialize. It wasn't even my Plan A for the December month of the year, that was reserved for something that never actually materialized. However, since I'm desperately itching to discuss some Hayao Miyazaki-related content (again), I figured I'd do exactly that. And I'm not alone, either! That's right, give it up for one of my more-recent acquaintances, and the man who single-handedly broke Twitter with an anti-vaxer roast: Old Chris Cringle himself!
Say hello, Santa!
Hi, and thank you so much for collaborating with me on this. I'll make a confession: before we talked about working on this together, I'd never heard of The Castle of Cagliostro, and I had absolutely no idea what to expect, but after watching it I'm so happy that you brought it into my life. It isn't often that I sit through a film just grinning, but this was so full of charm and whimsy, I can't imagine watching this and not enjoying it.
Indeed. Though it DID have to grow on me, but we'll discuss that shortly.
Anyway, I should note two things about this movie: firstly, it's a sanitized version of a long-running show, which also happens to be a fan-fiction spin-off of a French novel series. And secondly, it was Hayao Miyazaki's first feature film and second directorial work that he finished to completion...at the tender age of 38. I guess some people are late bloomers, huh?
Yes, I was a little apprehensive for about the first five or so minutes of the movie because it was clear that these were characters from an established series and I have pretty close to zero experience with anime aside from watching Akira a few times in high school and catching a little bit of Attack on Titan at a friend's behest fairly recently. I want to note for the record that I'm not anti-anime by any means; and I've even watched some anime-adjacent stuff with my kids, huge RWBY fan here, but growing up I just didn't have anybody in my immediate circle that was interested, so it isn't something I grew up with. But I don't want anybody thinking I'm somebody who looks down at it as an art form or anything like that.
All that rambling is to say, again, that I was a little nervous about not having any kind of pre-existing knowledge of what was immediately obvious is an established property. But that slipped away very quickly and I found this was like slipping into, say, a comic book from the 70s or early 80s: the writers did an incredible job of making these characters feel immediately familiar. Sure, I didn't know their history, but within the first few minutes I felt like I had a pretty good understanding of these characters and their motivations and what drives them. That isn't always an easy feat to pull off with existing properties, especially in our modern era where writers seem to have a tendency to want to dive into their knowledge of the lore rather than focus on telling a single comprehensive story.
I hope so, I'm already 30!
But yeah, a lot of Lupin III fans are mixed on this movie. It strays very far away from what the franchise is typically known for, blood, sex and drugs, and goes for a more traditional, James Bond-meets-Robin Hood style of storytelling. Even Lupin, who's shown in a flashback in the third-act as his usual, more classic self, is more Miyazaki protagonist here than the typical, grope-y lecher that fans associate him with.
But that's not necessarily bad, though. I don't think classic Lupin, especially what he was in the 70's, would've aged well in 2020, what with Me Too being a thing now. So sanitizing him to fit more in-line with Miyazaki's anti-fan-service style of characterization makes it stand out more. Think of it as a side-adventure with an older Lupin, I suppose.
And I appreciate him for giving it that more family friendly tilt. In spite of the PG-13 rating, this is a film I'd be perfectly comfortable letting my kids watch-and I probably will; it's right up the alley of my 10 year-old in particular. I'm not of the mindset that everything needs to be tailored to children-Lord knows they have plenty of movies to entertain them-but I also think making something edgy purely for edginess' sake almost never holds up. How many people in the 2020s are saying positive things about, say, Fritz the Cat? If sex or drugs or graphic violence or superfluous vulgarity enhance the story and make sense for the plot, let's do it! But if you're just throwing stuff into there to show how edgy and adult you are, and it doesn't do anything for the story, I think it's less likely that you've created something that people are going to be coming back to generations later. I know peoples' mileage on this idea tends to vary.
One thing about this film that definitely stood out, watching it in 2020, is how comparatively little the women characters get to do. The Princess does get a couple of minutes of fleeting heroism that was probably ahead of its time in 1979, but in a world where we've become accustomed over the last few decades to take charge and kick ass heroines, it really stuck out to me how much of the film the Princess spent as the damsel in distress, and I'm fairly certain that if somebody held it up to The Bechdel Test, it wouldn't pass. But I also don't think the women in this film were negatively portrayed either, and they certainly weren't objectified in any way.
I have my issues with The Bechdel Test, but it's definitely something that Miyazaki would improve upon as his career went on.
I guess we can start with a general synopsis of the movie, in case some of my readers are unfamiliar with it. And fair warning, there WILL be spoilers. Can't be a discussion without them, can it?
Spoiler warning for this now 41 year-old film! You've been warned!
You'd be surprised how many people still haven't seen it, Chris. Anyway, why don't you take it away?
The gist of the film is that our protagonist Wolf (although I don't think that's his actual name), a thief with a heart of gold, and his sidekick, whose name I did not catch but spends most of the film being extremely laid back and also chomping on cigarette butts-another sign of the films age is that these characters are constantly smoking-decide after getting bamboozled by counterfeit bills on their recent heist to drive into the tiny country of Cagliostro, where they've deduced the bills have come from, ostensibly to steal the counterfeiting equipment. However, they get quickly sidetracked by a chance encounter with a young woman wearing a wedding dress trying to escape from a bunch of soldiers. Wolf manages to briefly rescue her, but in short order she's gone again and what started as a fun if somewhat criminal caper turns into a rescue mission and our heroes realize there's a connection between the Princess, the arrogant count she's being forced into marriage with, and the counterfeit money that brought them there to begin with.
I should note that Chris and I watched two different versions of the English dub. It's complicated, but due to licensing issues, the one available on Netflix is the older, crustier dub with the weird names for the characters. But yes, Wolf's real name is Lupin III, and his buddy (not sidekick) is named Jigen. The Bride is also named Clarisse, and The Count, apparently, is her cousin, I think?
Yeah, there's some weird stuff in that Streamline dub that the Manga Entertainment dub cleaned up. It's too bad that that dub's not more readily-available these days...
Anyway, it's very much a James Bond-meets-Robin Hood type of movie. But it's fun! And I especially like that chase at the beginning with Lupin and Jigen in their...is that a Fiat? I think it's a Fiat. (I'm not very well-versed in cars, as I don't drive.)
I'm pretty sure you're right; I think it was a Fiat. I also think your analogy was pretty spot on there, but I'll just add a little to it: James Bond meets Robin Hood with a generous splash of Uncharted mixed in. Definitely picked up some strong Nathan Drake vibes from Lupin, and it struck me at several points throughout my viewing how much influence this film has probably had on video games in general. The movie's climax takes place both outside and inside of a clock tower, and it invoked in me strong vibes of Assassin's Creed and the Mario games, respectively.
And not to derail this conversation into video games but as an aside: were any of the artists on this involved with the marketing for the original The Legend of Zelda? I'm old enough to remember perusing through the instruction booklet (remember those?) for that game, and the similarities between the art on this movie and in that game-especially with Clarisse-were uncanny.
I should note that Chris and I watched two different versions of the English dub. It's complicated, but due to licensing issues, the one available on Netflix is the older, crustier dub with the weird names for the characters. But yes, Wolf's real name is Lupin III, and his buddy (not sidekick) is named Jigen. The Bride is also named Clarisse, and The Count, apparently, is her cousin, I think?
Yeah, there's some weird stuff in that Streamline dub that the Manga Entertainment dub cleaned up. It's too bad that that dub's not more readily-available these days...
Anyway, it's very much a James Bond-meets-Robin Hood type of movie. But it's fun! And I especially like that chase at the beginning with Lupin and Jigen in their...is that a Fiat? I think it's a Fiat. (I'm not very well-versed in cars, as I don't drive.)
I'm pretty sure you're right; I think it was a Fiat. I also think your analogy was pretty spot on there, but I'll just add a little to it: James Bond meets Robin Hood with a generous splash of Uncharted mixed in. Definitely picked up some strong Nathan Drake vibes from Lupin, and it struck me at several points throughout my viewing how much influence this film has probably had on video games in general. The movie's climax takes place both outside and inside of a clock tower, and it invoked in me strong vibes of Assassin's Creed and the Mario games, respectively.
And not to derail this conversation into video games but as an aside: were any of the artists on this involved with the marketing for the original The Legend of Zelda? I'm old enough to remember perusing through the instruction booklet (remember those?) for that game, and the similarities between the art on this movie and in that game-especially with Clarisse-were uncanny.
I have no idea. I WILL say that that clock fight inspired the one in The Great Mouse Detective. Bet you didn't know that!
I didn't! But that just makes me appreciate it that much more. It was a great scene. All of the action scenes in this movie were really well done, honestly. It felt a little bit like watching a Fast and Furious movie: if you're willing to suspend disbelief, there's a lot of holding your breath, edge of your seat close calls.
Yeah, the movie inspired a lot of Western animators and directors. The box cover for the movie even has a quote from Steven Spielberg singing its praises.
But yeah, I like the "grounded goofiness" of the movie's world. It's silly enough that Lupin and Jigen can do aerial jumps over poles that aren't physically possible, yet tangible enough that a shot to Lupin's chest can lead to a stream of actual blood. Though I'll say this: the fact that Lupin recovers from amnesia in the third-act so quickly has always bugged me. I've volunteered in an old age home for many years, and amnesia doesn't go away that quickly...
I did enjoy that he was so banged up and badly injured at one point that they'd essentially mummified him, and then he sits up and says "let's go" and that's the end of it. Wolverine-esque healing factor, and I respect it.
But jokes aside, Spielberg is a heck of an endorsement and it makes me wonder why I'd never heard of this movie before you put it on my radar. Am I living in a bit of a bubble or is this something of a niche film flying under the mainstream radar, and if it's the latter, why? It's so good, much more enjoyable than anything Disney was putting out in that time (I'm a moderately big Disney fan but I don't think anybody is in denial about what a dry period it was for them post, I don't know, 101 Dalmatians maybe, all the way up to whenever The Little Mermaid came out).
I know that Americans tend to be way too western-centric in the media they consume and were much more so back then, but even in an age where foreign films tend to become cult classics over here, I've never seen or heard any buzz for it and that's disappointing because it's a genuinely fun and delightful experience.
I didn't! But that just makes me appreciate it that much more. It was a great scene. All of the action scenes in this movie were really well done, honestly. It felt a little bit like watching a Fast and Furious movie: if you're willing to suspend disbelief, there's a lot of holding your breath, edge of your seat close calls.
Yeah, the movie inspired a lot of Western animators and directors. The box cover for the movie even has a quote from Steven Spielberg singing its praises.
But yeah, I like the "grounded goofiness" of the movie's world. It's silly enough that Lupin and Jigen can do aerial jumps over poles that aren't physically possible, yet tangible enough that a shot to Lupin's chest can lead to a stream of actual blood. Though I'll say this: the fact that Lupin recovers from amnesia in the third-act so quickly has always bugged me. I've volunteered in an old age home for many years, and amnesia doesn't go away that quickly...
I did enjoy that he was so banged up and badly injured at one point that they'd essentially mummified him, and then he sits up and says "let's go" and that's the end of it. Wolverine-esque healing factor, and I respect it.
But jokes aside, Spielberg is a heck of an endorsement and it makes me wonder why I'd never heard of this movie before you put it on my radar. Am I living in a bit of a bubble or is this something of a niche film flying under the mainstream radar, and if it's the latter, why? It's so good, much more enjoyable than anything Disney was putting out in that time (I'm a moderately big Disney fan but I don't think anybody is in denial about what a dry period it was for them post, I don't know, 101 Dalmatians maybe, all the way up to whenever The Little Mermaid came out).
I know that Americans tend to be way too western-centric in the media they consume and were much more so back then, but even in an age where foreign films tend to become cult classics over here, I've never seen or heard any buzz for it and that's disappointing because it's a genuinely fun and delightful experience.
Like I said, it's niche even by Miyazaki's standards.
I'd like to point out something real quick here too: this movie was cobbled together in 6 months, yet has the polish of a movie that was in development for double that. It's not without its limitations, some of the animation fluidity feels a little stiff nowadays, but it's proof that you don't always need a big budget to make something special.
That's incredible. With the exceptions of the few things we mentioned earlier that do make the film feel a little dated, this has the overall look and feel of something that easily could have been released in the last five years. Obviously it isn't computer animated, but like you just said, it's remarkably polished. To be put together in such a narrow window of time is pretty astonishing.
I wouldn't go quite that far, but it definitely looks like a mid-80's film. It also has an excellent use of colour for something made on such a tight budget. It's clear the small team at TMS Entertainment that worked on it really cared.
Yeah, on reflection, you're right, I'm overselling it a little bit. But also if I went in completely blind, there's not a chance I would have guessed 1979 and certainly no way I'd think, "This entire film was made in a mere 2/3 of the time it takes a human being to have a child".
Indeed.
I guess we can focus on the character themselves. I know we've already touched on Lupin and Jigen, as well as Clarisse, but I think a lot of the credit goes to Detective Zenigata and Fujiko as well. I know that fans of the Lupin III franchise take issue with how dumbed-down Fujiko's sex appeal is here, as well as how she's now a blonde instead of a brunette, but I think it works with the kind of story Miyazaki's telling here: she's the Player Two to Lupin's Player One, a sort of friendly rival in the game of thievery. She also, interestingly enough, is the one who ends up winning the game in the end, not Lupin.
I'd like to point out something real quick here too: this movie was cobbled together in 6 months, yet has the polish of a movie that was in development for double that. It's not without its limitations, some of the animation fluidity feels a little stiff nowadays, but it's proof that you don't always need a big budget to make something special.
That's incredible. With the exceptions of the few things we mentioned earlier that do make the film feel a little dated, this has the overall look and feel of something that easily could have been released in the last five years. Obviously it isn't computer animated, but like you just said, it's remarkably polished. To be put together in such a narrow window of time is pretty astonishing.
I wouldn't go quite that far, but it definitely looks like a mid-80's film. It also has an excellent use of colour for something made on such a tight budget. It's clear the small team at TMS Entertainment that worked on it really cared.
Yeah, on reflection, you're right, I'm overselling it a little bit. But also if I went in completely blind, there's not a chance I would have guessed 1979 and certainly no way I'd think, "This entire film was made in a mere 2/3 of the time it takes a human being to have a child".
Indeed.
I guess we can focus on the character themselves. I know we've already touched on Lupin and Jigen, as well as Clarisse, but I think a lot of the credit goes to Detective Zenigata and Fujiko as well. I know that fans of the Lupin III franchise take issue with how dumbed-down Fujiko's sex appeal is here, as well as how she's now a blonde instead of a brunette, but I think it works with the kind of story Miyazaki's telling here: she's the Player Two to Lupin's Player One, a sort of friendly rival in the game of thievery. She also, interestingly enough, is the one who ends up winning the game in the end, not Lupin.
As for Zenigata, he's the stereotypical, dedicated cop trope in film form, always over-dedicated to his job. He's so dedicated that he's willing to defy Interpol and arrest The Count once he finds out that he's the one responsible for the counterfeit ring of goat bills. I also like how he exposes the hypocrisy in political affairs when he's advised not to pursue his job because Cagliostro is a protected country, only to have the UN leaders bicker over their vested interests in these bills. (Also, is it just me, or does the American representative look a lot like Reagan?)
Fujiko was a really fun character and while I understand why she wasn't a bigger part of the film, I kind of wish she had been. It's odd to me that anybody would have a problem with a character who is essentially a professional thief periodically changing their appearance to evade the law, but hardcore fandoms are going to hardcore fandom, I guess. Anyway, I agree with you that the friendly rival dynamic worked well here; I think between The Count and Zenigata, Lupin's hands were already full and a third antagonist would have been overkill.
Zenigata was a stellar character in this, too, like you said absolutely nailing the cop-that-lives-for-his-job trope but also displaying a good sense of self-preservation and a code of honor. Even while I spent the entire film rooting for Lupin, at no point was I necessarily rooting AGAINST Zenigata. Calling their dynamic in this film similar to, say, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck doesn't really feel entirely wrong, even though it doesn't feel entirely right, either. I got the sense that Zenigata knows somewhere deep down that he's better off being the dog that's chasing the car when it comes to Lupin; and in crunch time he was all in on taking down The Count.
Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, with a bit of Wile E. Coyote and The Roadrunner for good measure. They begrudgingly work together to stop Count Cagliostro, but at day's end they're still enemies.
Speaking of Count Cagliostro, we have to mention him. Miyazaki's only ever done a traditionally evil villain in his films twice, and this guy's one of them. He wants to marry his underaged cousin against her will so he can inherit her bloodline, and he has his stereotypical henchmen in Joto and Gustav. He even peels away his layers slowly as the film wears on, to the point where he's actually quite threatening in the climax.
Though his death...man, talk about a brutal chef's kiss!
His slow evolution throughout the movie from rich, arrogant dickhead to genuine sociopathic menace is another testament to the strength of the story. In animation, we typically get loud, bombastic villains that chew up the scenery. The Count was decidedly not that but I think that's what makes the final act of the film more effective. I'm always a sucker for villains being undone largely by their own hubris and poor decision making. His death was very satisfying. One thing we didn't really talk about was his small army of ninja(?) assassins! I can't really articulate how but they were one of the standouts of the movie to me. Their visual style was distinctive and there was something just really unsettling about them. They should have been our first clue that The Count was bad news. Not just any villain is going to have a pack of those things running around the castle.
Fujiko was a really fun character and while I understand why she wasn't a bigger part of the film, I kind of wish she had been. It's odd to me that anybody would have a problem with a character who is essentially a professional thief periodically changing their appearance to evade the law, but hardcore fandoms are going to hardcore fandom, I guess. Anyway, I agree with you that the friendly rival dynamic worked well here; I think between The Count and Zenigata, Lupin's hands were already full and a third antagonist would have been overkill.
Zenigata was a stellar character in this, too, like you said absolutely nailing the cop-that-lives-for-his-job trope but also displaying a good sense of self-preservation and a code of honor. Even while I spent the entire film rooting for Lupin, at no point was I necessarily rooting AGAINST Zenigata. Calling their dynamic in this film similar to, say, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck doesn't really feel entirely wrong, even though it doesn't feel entirely right, either. I got the sense that Zenigata knows somewhere deep down that he's better off being the dog that's chasing the car when it comes to Lupin; and in crunch time he was all in on taking down The Count.
Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, with a bit of Wile E. Coyote and The Roadrunner for good measure. They begrudgingly work together to stop Count Cagliostro, but at day's end they're still enemies.
Speaking of Count Cagliostro, we have to mention him. Miyazaki's only ever done a traditionally evil villain in his films twice, and this guy's one of them. He wants to marry his underaged cousin against her will so he can inherit her bloodline, and he has his stereotypical henchmen in Joto and Gustav. He even peels away his layers slowly as the film wears on, to the point where he's actually quite threatening in the climax.
Though his death...man, talk about a brutal chef's kiss!
His slow evolution throughout the movie from rich, arrogant dickhead to genuine sociopathic menace is another testament to the strength of the story. In animation, we typically get loud, bombastic villains that chew up the scenery. The Count was decidedly not that but I think that's what makes the final act of the film more effective. I'm always a sucker for villains being undone largely by their own hubris and poor decision making. His death was very satisfying. One thing we didn't really talk about was his small army of ninja(?) assassins! I can't really articulate how but they were one of the standouts of the movie to me. Their visual style was distinctive and there was something just really unsettling about them. They should have been our first clue that The Count was bad news. Not just any villain is going to have a pack of those things running around the castle.
I also like how Lupin, essentially, wears The Count out by...being himself.
If I have any personal complaints on the character side, it's probably Goemon. He's cool, slick and badass, but he's not in the film all that much. And he gets very few lines to boot.
I was completely perplexed when Goemon showed up. I was trying to figure out if I'd somehow missed something. This whole caper has been Lupin and Jigen and then suddenly here's their pal who almost looks like he just walked off the set of a Street Fighter game. Was it ever explained where he'd been for the entire first hour of the movie? This was before cell phones so I know he didn't just get an "off on an adventure, meet us at the castle to fight ninjas at 5:30!" text. Was it just a thing where they were trying to shoehorn a little more in for the long-time fans and just had to hope it made sense?
If I recall, Goemon usually tags along as backup in Lupin's adventures. He also tends to keep largely to himself, so as to avoid detection from police.
As you do, when you're a good-hearted thief who lives outside the law. I respect it. We should all be so lucky to have a friend who shows up when we're besieged by a gaggle of ninjas.
Touché!
Speaking of characters, I'm curious what you thought of the voice acting. Having watched two different tracks of the movie, we're probably gonna differ on that.
It was fine. Nothing to laud, nothing to loathe. Like I mentioned earlier, my background in anime is pretty scant, but if I learned one thing from my co-workers over seven years of working at GameStop, it's that people have incredibly strong opinions about watching the English dub and those feelings overwhelmingly seem to tip toward "don't!". But there wasn't anything in this that came off as especially bad. I suppose we've been spoiled by 30 years of animated films that rely heavily on celebrity voice casting but I had no lofty expectations and was not disappointed.
Interesting. I've seen bits and pieces of the Netflix (or Streamline) dub on TMS's YouTube channel, and I remember finding the voice acting a little crusty and flat. Perhaps the most-notable thing about it is that one of the original voices for Mario was in it.
As for the Manga Entertainment dub, which is hard to find now, it's actually quite good. The VAs ad-lib several lines that weren't originally in the script, and there's a bit more profanity in it, but it has really good voices performing really well. I especially like how the voice of Solid Snake was chosen for Lupin himself.
David Hayter? Interesting! If I re-watch this anytime soon, I'll seek that cut out. The Netflix cut is pretty light on the cussing. They say "Hell" a couple of times and I think that's it. I'm pretty sure the PG-13 rating (which didn't even exist in the 70s) is pretty much exclusively because these guys smoke like they're on an episode of Mad Men. I'm a sucker for good ad-libbing, though.
Believe me, some of the best lines were ad-libbed:
"Dad? I'm not THAT old!"
"Well, I do think of you as a father figure."
"I forgot to mention the potholes."
"I bet you also forgot to mention the piranhas and crocodiles!"
"Hey, shut up!"
Really makes it for me.
I missed out on all the fun. Which isn't to say there weren't a few lines of clever dialogue that got me chuckling out loud, but I don't recall anything endlessly quotable. I'll remember this way more for the story beats than for anything anybody directly said. I did really enjoy the exchange at the end of the film where the Princess has become an enormous simp for Lupin and he's just like "wow thanks love you like a little sister". I think we've all been shot down in a similar way a time or two in our lives.
Well, maybe not Idris Elba. That man is astonishingly handsome. It is, frankly, unfair that we have to compete with that.
Hah!
And while we're on it, what'd you think of the music? It's not Joe Hisaishi scoring it, that starts with Miyazaki's next film, so it's not quite as memorable as Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke, but it's got some really good, light jazz going for it.
It wasn't anything terribly memorable but it was mellow and airy and suited the movie well, I thought. It's not anything I expect to catch myself humming at my desk at work but if I can be brutally honest, Disney is so hell-bent on making each successive movie out-earworm the last that it's really a pleasant change of pace to watch an animated film with no real musical number to speak of, just appropriately moody background stuff you don't even really have to notice unless you want to.
Believe me, some of the best lines were ad-libbed:
"Dad? I'm not THAT old!"
"Well, I do think of you as a father figure."
"I forgot to mention the potholes."
"I bet you also forgot to mention the piranhas and crocodiles!"
"Hey, shut up!"
Really makes it for me.
I missed out on all the fun. Which isn't to say there weren't a few lines of clever dialogue that got me chuckling out loud, but I don't recall anything endlessly quotable. I'll remember this way more for the story beats than for anything anybody directly said. I did really enjoy the exchange at the end of the film where the Princess has become an enormous simp for Lupin and he's just like "wow thanks love you like a little sister". I think we've all been shot down in a similar way a time or two in our lives.
Well, maybe not Idris Elba. That man is astonishingly handsome. It is, frankly, unfair that we have to compete with that.
Hah!
And while we're on it, what'd you think of the music? It's not Joe Hisaishi scoring it, that starts with Miyazaki's next film, so it's not quite as memorable as Spirited Away or Princess Mononoke, but it's got some really good, light jazz going for it.
It wasn't anything terribly memorable but it was mellow and airy and suited the movie well, I thought. It's not anything I expect to catch myself humming at my desk at work but if I can be brutally honest, Disney is so hell-bent on making each successive movie out-earworm the last that it's really a pleasant change of pace to watch an animated film with no real musical number to speak of, just appropriately moody background stuff you don't even really have to notice unless you want to.
It also, unlike Disney movies, shuts up on occasion to let the natural sounds creep in. I like that!
A novel concept and one I wish more animated movies today would consider.
Yeah...
I guess I'll ask you this now: was there a specific moment or two that caught your fancy? I happen to really like the Fiat chase, but I'm also fond of the clock fight.
Both worthy scenes, but I think the one that absolutely tickled me the most was when Lupin disguises himself as Zenigata and then tricks The Count's men into chasing down and beating up the real Zenigata while he slips into the castle. It got a good guffaw out of me and plays into that Looney Tunes dynamic with them that we talked about. I also remember one of the characters, probably Lupin, at one point attempting to swim upstream into the flow of a fountain and that got me good.
It helps that the film, true to Miyazaki form, has excellent spatial geography, enough that I can picture in my head where specific scenes take place relative to one-another.
Leading back to my point I made earlier, I actually have a confession to make: I didn't love this movie the first time I watched it. I actually almost shut it off about 40 minutes in out of boredom, only stopping myself because my instincts took over. I ended up not regretting it at the end, but the movie had to grow on me.
Even now, while I love it, it's not my favourite from Miyazaki. I, honestly, would've even pulled out that clip from Spider-Man 2 where J. Jonah Jameson laughs at Peter Parker's request for an advance a few years ago if someone had called it one of the best action movies ever made. It's still excellent, yes, but the man's made better movies since. Then again, he's also made worse movies, so...
Interesting that we had such different initial impressions of the film. Did you have pre-existing familiarity with the franchise? I wonder how much seeing it in a vacuum affected my experience. I think not having any kind of expectations was probably a boon.
A novel concept and one I wish more animated movies today would consider.
Yeah...
I guess I'll ask you this now: was there a specific moment or two that caught your fancy? I happen to really like the Fiat chase, but I'm also fond of the clock fight.
Both worthy scenes, but I think the one that absolutely tickled me the most was when Lupin disguises himself as Zenigata and then tricks The Count's men into chasing down and beating up the real Zenigata while he slips into the castle. It got a good guffaw out of me and plays into that Looney Tunes dynamic with them that we talked about. I also remember one of the characters, probably Lupin, at one point attempting to swim upstream into the flow of a fountain and that got me good.
It helps that the film, true to Miyazaki form, has excellent spatial geography, enough that I can picture in my head where specific scenes take place relative to one-another.
Leading back to my point I made earlier, I actually have a confession to make: I didn't love this movie the first time I watched it. I actually almost shut it off about 40 minutes in out of boredom, only stopping myself because my instincts took over. I ended up not regretting it at the end, but the movie had to grow on me.
Even now, while I love it, it's not my favourite from Miyazaki. I, honestly, would've even pulled out that clip from Spider-Man 2 where J. Jonah Jameson laughs at Peter Parker's request for an advance a few years ago if someone had called it one of the best action movies ever made. It's still excellent, yes, but the man's made better movies since. Then again, he's also made worse movies, so...
Interesting that we had such different initial impressions of the film. Did you have pre-existing familiarity with the franchise? I wonder how much seeing it in a vacuum affected my experience. I think not having any kind of expectations was probably a boon.
To answer your question: no. I'd probably have never even picked it up had it not had Hayao Miyazaki's name on the cover (this was back in early-2011, when I was relatively new to the works of Miyazaki.) I'm also not surprised by your confession, since My Neighbor Totoro really only fully-clicked with me after my dad's heart attack 6 years ago.
I guess I also think the film itself could've used some ironing out. A lot of it's excellent, but you can sort of see the 6-month crunch in certain places. Bless the crew on board for caring, but even by Miyazaki's own standards this is pretty basic. It's really just a pleasant side-romp and stepping stone for a greater career down the road, and you can see it in how much the director wanted to be his own boss free from the restraints of typical anime production.
That's not to say there isn't his usual thematic fingerprint here, though. There are definitely ideas of the fickleness of money and the incompetence of politicians at play, and they're both quite effective. But I guess between the story being paper-thin and Clarisse's relationship with Count Cagliostro qualifying as jailbait...I dunno, I guess I'm being stingy when I call this beneath Miyazaki on a superficial level.
There was a lot about everything surrounding Clarisse that wouldn't pass any kind of smell test in 2020. The character herself was fine, but what you mentioned about her being pretty clearly underage and how that's treated almost as a gag as it was winked at by Lupin in one scene was a bit uncomfortable. But also, it's virtually impossible to enjoy anything produced before, I don't know, 2014 or so if you're going to hold it up to modern purity tests. So I didn't let it become something that took away from my enjoyment of the film for what it was, but it's probably something that should be mentioned for anybody who has never seen this and is on the fence about watching.
Yeah, it's possible I'm also being really stingy and unfair.
Either way, it's still lots of fun. And like I said, Miyazaki's done both better and worse since then. Anyway, closing thoughts?
I'm truly glad you got me to watch this movie. It had a little bit of everything: comedy, action, adventure, and even a little emotional heft. Is it The Shawshank Redemption or Goodfellas? Well, no. And the characters, while fun, aren't going to live in my head rent free like Jason Voorhees or Indiana Jones do. But I think it deserves to be seen and enjoyed on its own merits as the fun, light-hearted romp that it is. I don't think it's something I'm going to go back to endlessly over the years, but I'm looking forward to showing it to my kids in the near future, and between it and My Neighbor Totoro I'm very much looking forward to exploring more of Miyazaki's work.
Believe me, it's only uphill from here.
As for me, despite any issues I might have with facets of it, I don't want anyone to think I'm being unfairly critical of The Castle of Cagliostro. It's a pleasant side-romp in the Lupin III franchise, contrary to what diehards may say, and it's still lots of fun. If anything, I'd say to give it a watch for that Fiat chase in the first-act alone. That short sequence is already a mini-masterpiece outside of the rest of the movie. In short, I give this movie a pretty solid 4/5.
I'm curious if you'd agree on the score.
I think that's pretty fair. It would be in the 3.5-4/5 scale for me as well.
And I'd ask the diehards to put aside their preconceived notions of what they think these characters should be and try to enjoy this movie for what it is.
Preaching to the crowd there, Chris.
A big thank you again for helping me out with this piece. I know it wasn't easy working around your schedule, or mine, but I appreciate you doing it anyway. Any last words you want to say before we end this?
I am just as appreciative of you for asking me to collaborate! I enjoyed this immensely, and I hope your readers do as well, and hopefully we can work together again in the future. Hopefully in a post-COVID world, and hopefully that world is around the bend! Thanks!
I'm truly glad you got me to watch this movie. It had a little bit of everything: comedy, action, adventure, and even a little emotional heft. Is it The Shawshank Redemption or Goodfellas? Well, no. And the characters, while fun, aren't going to live in my head rent free like Jason Voorhees or Indiana Jones do. But I think it deserves to be seen and enjoyed on its own merits as the fun, light-hearted romp that it is. I don't think it's something I'm going to go back to endlessly over the years, but I'm looking forward to showing it to my kids in the near future, and between it and My Neighbor Totoro I'm very much looking forward to exploring more of Miyazaki's work.
Believe me, it's only uphill from here.
As for me, despite any issues I might have with facets of it, I don't want anyone to think I'm being unfairly critical of The Castle of Cagliostro. It's a pleasant side-romp in the Lupin III franchise, contrary to what diehards may say, and it's still lots of fun. If anything, I'd say to give it a watch for that Fiat chase in the first-act alone. That short sequence is already a mini-masterpiece outside of the rest of the movie. In short, I give this movie a pretty solid 4/5.
I'm curious if you'd agree on the score.
I think that's pretty fair. It would be in the 3.5-4/5 scale for me as well.
And I'd ask the diehards to put aside their preconceived notions of what they think these characters should be and try to enjoy this movie for what it is.
Preaching to the crowd there, Chris.
A big thank you again for helping me out with this piece. I know it wasn't easy working around your schedule, or mine, but I appreciate you doing it anyway. Any last words you want to say before we end this?
I am just as appreciative of you for asking me to collaborate! I enjoyed this immensely, and I hope your readers do as well, and hopefully we can work together again in the future. Hopefully in a post-COVID world, and hopefully that world is around the bend! Thanks!
From your lips to God's ears. And remember, do track down the Manga Entertainment dub at some point. It's really good!
But anyway, I'll see you all next time...whenever that is (hopefully soon, since I like writing opinion pieces.)
But anyway, I'll see you all next time...whenever that is (hopefully soon, since I like writing opinion pieces.)
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