Hayao Miyazaki's directorial debut is wonderfully joyous romp, and is well worth a watch.It's a much lighter take on the classic 'Lupin the 3rd' manga, which may be alienating to long time fans of the series.But replacement of the raunchier humour of the manga with the wonder and energy of Miyazaki is well worth it.It follows Lupin and his friend Jigen's Investigation into a large counterfeiting operation in the small European country of Cagliostro, and their discovery of an evil plot by the country's ruler to steal an ancient treasure from it's rightful owner.The plot isn't particularly complex, the likeable and iconic characters of the Lupin franchise carry it for the 1hr 40min run time.The animation is very simply drawn, but this helps it to be extremely fluid and bouncy.The simple characters aren't much of a problem anyway, they are all iconic and charming enough to the point were it doesn't even matter.The backgrounds and are beautifully detailed, especially the titular castle which is gloriously cliched in a good way.It's many traps, stairwells and towers set the scene for several exciting action sequences, especially the final chase scene (a signature of Miyazaki's works).To conclude, this film is well worth a watch even if its not the most substantial of Miyazaki's films.It's certainly extremely enjoyable and well executed,definitely has my recommendation.

"The Castle of Cagliostro" has one of those really kitschy '70s scores, which I found endearing right from the start; but it proved to be a fun caper flick throughout. Miyazaki weaves a classic adventure using all of the great elements at his disposal; a roguish thief, a centuries-old fortress and a fabled treasure in everyone's sights. The castle becomes a playground for cool set pieces and well-staged action. I really enjoyed this, and there's some beautiful animation here (obviously). Even something as simple as a car crossing a bridge is easy on the eyes. 7/10

Master thief Arsène Lupin III and his sidekick Daisuke Jigen steal billions from the Monte Carlo Casino but it turns out to be all counterfeit. Lupin decides to throw away the fake "Goat bills" and go to the Grand Duchy of Cagliostro to investigate. They rescue a damsel in distress pursued by thugs. She is captured but leaves behind a ring. She turns out to be Clarisse, the princess of Cagliostro who is being forced into marrying power hungry regent Count Lazare d'Cagliostro. The Count is making the fake bills and Inspector Zenigata from Interpol comes to investigate. Lupin sneaks into the castle to rescue the princess and runs into an old acquaintance Fujiko Mine. The Count intends to reunite the two families and find a 15th century hidden treasure.It's a fun escapist caper movie. I really love this movie for over an hour. It's got all the great simple characters. It stumbles a little by forcing a flashback scene which tries to connect Lupin and the princess unnecessarily. I was hoping for something more compelling as the treasure but this is a fun caper. It marks a great first full length directing effort for Hayao Miyazaki.

Lupin the Third was a name I was not at all familiar with before seeing this film. He's a popular character that started out as a Japanese manga comic and then eventually became a TV series that spawned a plethora of film adaptations. Lupin the Third: The Castle of Cagliostro is, arguably, the most popular of all the Lupin films for one reason and one reason only... Hayao Miyazaki. This is the very first feature length film from Mr. Miyazaki, the now legendary anime director. It's a fun and light hearted adventure film where the eccentric and noble thief Lupin the Third attempts to find the immense fortune of the Castle of Cagliostro, but on the way he falls in love with the princess of the castle who is set to marry the evil Count of Cagliostro. Lupin rearranges his priorities and sets out to save the princess in lew of the riches. It's a film that is simple, easy, and pretty entertaining.It's interesting to watch this film because it has Miyazaki elements all throughout, but you can tell that it is his first film. His style hadn't quite developed at this point and it is clear that this film was more of just an attempt to get his feet off the ground so he could go on to make more impassioned projects like My Neighbor Totoro or Spirited Away. That being said, he puts enough effort into Lupin the Third to make it a pretty dang fun film.There isn't anything very special here, nor does the story go any further than what you get on the surface. It is a very simple adventure story that doesn't try to incorporate any complexities or deep thought into it. But it's simply not that kind of movie, and I can gather that Lupin the Third isn't really that kind of character. He's a likable thief and there's not much more to it than that. The intrigue and fun just comes from seeing what kind of antics he can get himself in and out of. With that in mind this film gets the job done. It's fun and makes for decent escapism entertainment. There are some very creative Miyazaki-esque elements on the overall visual side of the film, but nothing like we see in his later spectacles. This is just a fun little flick that you don't have to think too much about. I don't have any strong opinions on any aspect of the film. It's just a pretty good little flick.