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The delightful 1979 adventure yarn The Castle of Cagliostro was the first international hit for Hayao Miyazaki (Princess Mononoke, My Neighbor Totoro). Quick-paced, high-spirited and loaded with wit, Cagliostro is a dandy throwback to the caper pictures of the 1960s. International man of mystery Lupin III stumbles back into the picturesque European duchy of Cagliostro with his faithful and gruff sidekick, Jigen. They will encounter, in no particular order, a runaway bride, a magical ring, an evil count with a dastardly plan, an inspector bent on catching Lupin, perilous rooftop chases, hooded guards with superhuman powers, a well-used dungeon, a counterfeiting scheme, and an ancient mystery promising grand treasure. Lupin deploys an array of Bond-type gadgets, razor-sharp wit, and a surprise up both his sleeves. Despite the hail of bullets, this caper is great fun, never taking itself seriously. Miyazaki's career illustrates how limiting the term animé can be for these films; there are hardly more than 10 live-action films of this genre as entertaining. Far less mean than Hollywood fare, it nevertheless is for ages nine and up since it contains adult-orientated language and gunplay. The Lupin character has been featured in other animé films, but never as successfully or with as much fun as in Miyazaki's. The new English-language dubbing is excellent to boot. --Doug Thomas, Amazon.com

Release Date: Feb 18, 2002
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