Comments on: The Castle of Cagliostro

By: fourmi

fourmi — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 14:02:14 +0000

A great film indeed! Everything is there: action, humour and romance (a princess in danger is also the best character for a little girl…)And of course some great backgrounds.
About the “Roi et L’oiseau”: this is “the” reference for Myazaki,and you can feel it in most of his features…See for example the “Castle in the Sky” and you will recognize the robot.
He trully analyzed the film when is was young,scene by scene…A big reference for him.
And a master piece for us.

By: masayume

masayume — Thu, 28 Sep 2006 09:57:41 +0000

This is the best movie about Lupin III for sure. A very different view on the famous thief created by Monkey Punch. In “The castle of Cagliostro” Miyazaki depicts him as kind, passionate, funny, while the original character was harder, more dangerous, a real criminal. Monkey Punch did’t appreciate it, while people loved it.

By: Charley Parker

Charley Parker — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 12:09:00 +0000

Thanks, Brian. I wasn't aware of it. I fount this reference on Amazon under the French title: Le Roi et l'Oiseau (Original French Version). There is a description by a French reviewer that, along with yours, make the film sound fascinating.

By: Brian Moore

Brian Moore — Tue, 26 Sep 2006 03:05:23 +0000

One of my all-time favorite films! I saw the subtitled theatrical release in 1992 and it just blew my mind. There’s not a dead spot in the action, and the backgrounds are lovely.

It’s a crime that the original title sequence has been cut – it’s part of the story! Miyazaki didn’t waste a frame of film in this one.

As an aside – I’d read on the Miyazaki fan site Nausicaa.net that one of his inspirations for Cagliostro was Paul Grimault’s film “The Shephardess and the Chimneysweep” (known by several other names as well, such as “The King and Mr. Wonderbird”). Check out one of the inexpensive DVDs of this film to see a very familiar-looking castle tower …