For a 1979 movie, I must admit it's pretty awesome. Lupin III is a cool character, this movie makes use of his sense of heroism (that is more absent in the series). Although it is still a very "Hayao Miyazaki obvious plot film", it is still quite enterteining. If you haven't seen any Lupin III film, you should probably start with this one, as there is plenty of Lupin III animation to watch (including feature length movies +direct to TV movies +OVAs +series). It was not the first Lupin III film, but it is in my opinion the first one which was any good.

The Castle Of Cagliostro was the first full-length animated movie made by famed directed Hayao Miyazaki. And just to clear up a common mistake, this was NOT MADE by GHIBLI, it was made by Studio Telecom (which is owned by TMS), In 1979, 5 years before Ghibli opened. Anywho....

Iam just gonna say that Iam not much of an anime fan,I just can't get into it that much,there are anime movies I desire to see,but I whould never really call myself an anime fan. But Lupin III..... IAM A HUGE FAN, I have loved it since I first saw it on Adult Swim in 2003. But unfortunetly,this movie is almost the opposite of the anime and manga created by Monkey Punch(Katou Kazuhiko).

Its pretty much your average tale of the princess in distress and hero coming to the rescue, its the main characters that bring this movie to life. But this is also the flaw of the film , In the manga and anime, Lupin has one intention, the treasure or whatever target is because he is a theif, something that i think Miyazaki forgot while he was making this.And his friends are theives also, Jigen, expert gun man, and Goemon , expert swords man. This Lupin entirely forgets about his goal and only tries to save the princess. Lupin isn't entirely cruel in his manga and anime verisons,but his Priorities are clear,the treasure comes first. Oh how can I forget Fujiko!she is unfortunetly also out of character, she seems to be the one who is more a theif Lupin and she dosen't even betray Lupin and co.,something that is basically her trade mark in the series.Miayzaki also didn't use Jigen or Goemon very well at all, he left them doing nothing until the end of movie.

And lets not forget Zenigata, The detective whos only purpose in life is to arrest Lupin. He was out character because he just "took it lying down", in the manga and anime, he a rough cop who is completely obbessed with putting Lupin behind bars(so obbessed he actually raped a woman in the manga in order to catch him, don't ask). In Cagliostro,when his superiors told him not to touch the main bad guy in this movie, Count Cagliostro, and Lupin he actually listened to his superiors and did just that!!!!.The real Zenigata whould have just went after Lupin and Cagliostro without a secound thought. And his relashionship with Lupin was done entirely wrong, they acted like old friends instead of enemys. They have teamed up in the manga and anime but Zenigata was alot more reluctant, because he sees Lupin as his enemy.

Well, I know this was kind of a rant, but it needed to be said. So Iam just going to say this, If your a huge Lupin fan like Iam, you'll be slightly disappointed but still enjoy it. If your new to the series or no desire to to get into Lupin that much. See this one and you'll enjoy it.

How good is this film? When I first saw it in about 1996, I didn't know it was from the late 70's: I assumed it was another new 'manga' (as we mistakenly called them in those days), and furthermore I remembered thinking "Wow, this is so much better than all this other stuff."

'Castle of Cagliostro' is Miyazaki's first feature film - yeah the director of 'Spirited Away' doing an action/spy/heist/comedy film crossed with a 60's James Bond flick. It wasn't his first acquaintaince with the characters, though. He was the director for most of the first TV series of Monkey Punch's characters back as early as 1971.

'Cagliostro' is a classic and unique animated film. It's not just a historical curio: I think it's as good as most of the later Ghibli films, and better than some of them. For a start, this is that rarity among anime - a film where the characterisation, plot and scenery detail are in perfect balance. Anime is often justifiably criticised for overly intricate plotting at the expense of characterisation. Miyazaki is sometimes rightly criticised for spending too much time on luscious detail and setting, while the plot meanders. None of that here. The plot is tight and propelled perfectly by the narrative (he had a couple of other writers working with him here, and I don't doubt that's why. Plot has never been Miyazaki's forte), but at the same time it never gets more intricate than, say, 'Goldfinger' or your average live action heist film. There are surprises and twists (you know the ending is going to be unusual, but there's no way you'd have predicted exactly what happens).

The characters are nearly all great, too. I often think that some spaceship designs are classic - The Enterprise in 'Star Trek' or 'Discovery' in 2001. Here there's something instantly classic about the visual design of Wolf (Lupin) and especially his chain-smoking accomplice, Jigen. The Samurai guy is a bit weird - I can't quite understand how he was nescessary to the story, but nevermind. (*) Mine Fujiko is great as well. Even better, the interaction between these and all the other characters is perfect, and propels the story well. Jigen isn't your typical brainless/comic sidekick. At one stage he tackles his 'boss' and threatens to break every bone in his body unless he explains what the hell is going on.

'Cagliostro' has some fantastic action sequences. Ironically (this really appealed to me) the car chase near the start of the film is more smoothly animated than the car sequence in 'Spirited Away', over 20 years later, whereas some of the _character_ animation is done on twos. I guess it comes down to how fast something needs to move.

Steven Speilberg, who is often credited with calling this 'one of the greatest adventure movies of all time', was actually credited with a different quote on the cover of the Australian release VHS I watched back in the 90's. He was quoted as saying it contained 'the greatest car chase ever filmed'. That's a bit over the top. If he said that, he obviously hadn't seen 'The Burglars' with Omar Sharif, but let's just say that this film probably did for Fiat 'Bambino' 500's what 'The Italian Job' did for Minis.

Some of Lupin's roof-top acrobatics are truly breathtaking, and since it's a Miyazaki film, there's the obligatory aerial sequences - this time in a gyrocopter - an obvious nod to 'Little Nellie' in 007's 'You Only Live Twice'.

I can't think of anything bad to say about this film. I guess it could have been more perfect, but with a rating of 9 out of 10, this one belongs in your collection, even if your not an animation fan. A classic, as well as an obvious influence (IMO anyway) on 'Cowboy Bebop'. If you want a point of reference from within Miyazaki's later work, the only Ghibli film this remotely reminds me of is 'Porco Rosso'.

(*) he was nescessary to the story in the sense that he was part of Lupin's gang from the TV series, but he doesn't really contribute anything much to the movie.

Lupin III's film is a fun adventure. There's lots of action, some humor, and some really cool bits. (I like the ninjas!)

It suffers slightly, in my opinion, from feeling as if it's somehow a part of a series...as if it's a single episode cut out of the middle of an epic. Like a James Bond film or something. Nothing that happens is going to change anything significantly for the hero from start to finish, and you can feel it.

This was the first anime I watched with subtitles, when I was expecting it to be dubbed, and that fact might have affected my opinion.