English Dub Movie Review: Lupin the III “The Castle of Cogliostro”

This thing still holds up.

Overview (spoilers below)

Lupin the III, the world’s greatest thief, has been around for 50 years. Created by Kazuhiko Kato (better known as Monkey Punch) in 1967, Lupin has provided countless adventures for avid fans world wide. At the same time, Hayao Miyazaki is widely regarded as one of, if not the best, anime movie director of all time. Little known to me until just recently, Lupin the III “Castle of Cogliostro actually marks Miyazaki’s directorial debut, releasing in 1979. Being that 2017 marks the 50th year anniversary of Lupin the III, the limited theatrical viewing of “The Castle of Cogliostro” is the perfect way to commemorate not only this wonderful series but also celebrate the illustrious career of Hayao Miyazaki.

For me, I’ve only been familiar with Part 3 and Part 4 of Lupin’s adventures. Watching this film and being able to see the early days of Lupin is a true delight. It’s like being able to use a time machine to go back and see exactly why (in this case) Lupin the III has been around for fifty years and withstood the test of time. The Castle of Cogliostro is nothing short of an amazing adventure. Even though it was my first time seeing the film, it felt comfortable and familiar. Why? Because this movie really feels like one long extended episode of the anime. The animation is superb, as noted by John Lasseter (of Disney/Pixar fame) in the films special introduction interview.  One of the things that I noted when not entirely enraptured by the adventure, is the amount of silence that is used in favor of natural ambiance of the scenes. At one point while Lupin is swimming through a rapidly running aqueduct, all that can be heard is the rushing water. In any other movie, there would’ve been some sort of background music to add to the suspense as Lupin was swept away in the swift current, or even make the scene seem funnier as Lupin hilariously tried to swim up a waterfall. The use of silence is used more than once in a very effective manner throughout this movie. On top of that, the story itself has been executed amazingly. “The Castle of Cogliostro” follows Lupin’s adventure as he attempts to save a princess from the clutches of evil, simultaneously getting tangled up in one of his biggest plots ever. Literally. The magnitude of the events that occur in “The Castle of Cogliostro” would certainly turn the entire world upside down and send society into a frenzy if something similar happened in our day and time. Things get so out of hand, that Lupin even has to actually team up with his long time rival, Inspector Zenigata of Interpol! I’ve got to hand it to Monkey Punch. There are quite a few modern movies whose villains/antagonists seem to have very similar motives or aspire to be like Cagliostro himself, or the plot is fairly similar to “Castle of Cogliostro”. One of the best things about this movie is that literally from the opening moment of the film, the action starts. Another cool thing about this movie is that it actually ties into Lupin’s past a little bit, giving us a brief look at his younger days when he was self-admittedly “still wet behind the ears”. True to Lupin’s style, this movie is full of action, comedy, mischief, suspense and even a little touch of romance and drama. This film really has a little bit of everything in it…. And of course, there is the treasure. And boy, what a treasure it is!

Our Take

To say that I enjoyed Lupin the III: Castle of Cogliostro would be an understatement. Sure, I went into the theatre thinking “Yeah, this probably plays just like a long episode of Lupin”, which it does. Yet, I have to admit that there was something special about this film that prevented me from glancing away from the screen even once the entire time. Even at parts of the movie where it seemed to move slowly or that I might become bored of watching the movie, I was able to notice subtle nuances that drew me into the film even more. I was entranced. By the time the movie was over, I couldn’t believe that the two hours had flown by so quickly. I was ready to watch the entire movie over from the beginning! To make this viewing even more special there was an introductory interview with John Lasseter of Disney/Pixar fame, as he gave laudable recognition and praise to this work of art. However, the REAL treat was at the end, when Monkey Punch himself spoke a few words about working on the Lupin series itself, as well as “The Castle of Cogliostro”.

I had the fortune of sitting next to a couple while in the theatre, Hazel and Wayne Van Zandt. Wayne actually owned “The Castle of Cogliostro” at home and seen it before, while Hazel was entirely new to the adventures of Lupin. By the end of the movie, even Hazel could be quoted as saying “This movie really is special, a true work of art. It was amazing”. I think she knew just how special of an occasion it was to be able to see this movie on the big screen. This movie is so good that people who are familiar with Lupin’s escapades, such as me, will certainly enjoy it. People like Wayne, who owns a copy of the movie himself, will come to the theatre just to watch it one more time. And even newcomers who have never seen the movie or series before, like Hazel, will find themselves laughing out loud at Lupin’s antics, and enjoying themselves for the entire duration of the film. Do yourself a favor and check out Lupin the III: Castle of Cogliostro for your own sake. Add it to your list of “Must Watch Movies”. This is one of, if not THE movie, that makes you realize that cartoons are for everyone, young and old alike. It really is special.

SCORE
10/10