MovieChat Forums > Rupan sansei: Kariosutoro no shiro (1979) Discussion > This is NOT a Miyazaki film

This is NOT a Miyazaki film

posted 19 years ago by Jerinaf2
41 replies | jump to latest

I am always pissed to find that a lot of people praise this because it's a film directed by Miyazaki. First and foremost, this is a LUPIN film. This is not part of Miyazaki's canon of works. The only reason people are recommending this film is because Miyazaki's work has been getting recognition, thus reaching this caper film. Everybody thinks that just because Miyazaki has directed this film thus makes this a Miyazaki story. This is not so. The only stories Miyazaki wanted to tell demanded high-quality animation and standards, and unforunately, Castle of Cagliostro is lacking what Studio Ghibli has done. The only reason Cagliostro was created was because the company that made the Lupin series demanded another Lupin movie, much in the same way that Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh needed movies.

People have been praising this film, because Miyazaki just so happens to take the role of director. Don't be fooled from all this. Castle of Cagliostro is a LUPIN film, not a MIYAZAKI film. Or in other words, this a LUPIN III movie in which Miyazaki happened to take the role of director. A Miyazaki film is when the concept is completely written and fully storyboarded by Miyazaki himself, and that includes Whisper of the Heart. So just think of it this way, if the movie is released by Disney and it has Hayao Miyazaki's and Studio Ghibli's name slapped onto the back context, then it's a Miyazaki film. (Whisper of the Heart is a Miyazaki film)

There is a reason why Manga Entertainment distributed Castle of Cagliostro and not Disney. It's because Tokuma-Shoten did NOT publish the work. Miyazaki's stories demands high-quality animation, and the only way to achieve that was through the funding of Tokuma Shoten. Unfortunately for Castle of Cagliostro, they only made the film for other purposes.

People have been exposed to Hayao Miyazaki so much that they mistake this film to be part of Miyazaki's canon of works. They just don't know how the system works. For those who are thinking of purchasing this film because Hayao Miyazaki's name slapped on the top of the box, just say to yourself that it's NOT released by Disney. Period.

Oh, and also, there is a reason why Amazon.com has released a Miyazaki 6 Pack instead of a 7 Pack.

EDIT: A more updated take on this:
http://imdb.com/name/nm0594503/board/inline/31300796

[–] 19 years ago

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[–] shutterbug_iconium 19 years ago

I think he has solid points coz I felt in the first ten minutes this is not exactly a Miyazakian movie. He uses the surrealistic things in different ways like to describe some lendery things look how Lupin uses the car even through rocky roadsides. Miyzaki doesn't use this just to show you action. I guess it's a starting point for Miyazaki's career.Still no need a bone of contention whether it's a Lupin or Miyazaki movie it's at the end a Studio Ghibli movie.
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[–] futureboykonan 18 years ago

To serazatkonya: Actually, if you're acquainted with Miyazaki's earlier works, such as Puss in Boots (1969), Animal Treasure Island (1971), Alibaba and the 40 Thieves (1971), the first Lupin III series eps 7-23 (1971), Panda Go Panda (1972), Future Boy Conan (1978), and Sherlock Hound (1982), you'll notice that it lacks the seriousness and deep themes of his later work (post-Nausicaa), and instead concentrates on brilliant slapstick comedy. That's as Miyazakian as anything he produced once Studio Ghibli was formed in 1985, but in a very different way. It's "classic" as opposed to "modern" Miyazaki, and you can still feel its influence in later works such as Laputa, Porco Rosso, Howl's Moving Castle, and even Monmon the Water Spider.

[–] dragonstrider 18 years ago

Sure, and Batman Begins is just another Batman film, not a Christopher Nolan film. Even though it contains many of the director's usual themes...

Get over yourself. Just because a talented director took over a movie in your favorite series, it's not the end of the world. Just be glad that Miyazaki's subsequent success has brought more attention to the Lupin franchise.

[–] Otaku-sempai 18 years ago

You know what? Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is (technically) a pre-Studio Ghibli movie, too. I guess it's not a "real" Miyazaki film.

Kiki's Delivery Service and Howl's Moving Castle were adapted from books by other authors. I guess they aren't "real" Miyazaki films, either.

Castle of Cagliostro has a heroine who is a prototype for Nausicaa, Sheeta, Porco Rosso's Fio, even Mononoke's San. It displays Miyazaki's love for flight and aircraft, and his penchant for mixing action with comedy while maintaining a sense of peril. Castle of Cagliostro is every bit as much a Hayao Miyazaki film as Lord of the Rings and King Kong (2005) are Peter Jackson films or Jaws and War of the Worlds (2005) are Steven Spielberg films.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] GUNNAR_68 18 years ago

Well this is a public forum and you've stated your opinion...but that's all it is-YOUR opinion...Doesn't change the fact that this most definitely IS part of Miyazaki's canon to almost everyone else...

[–] robotech 18 years ago

How ironic.

The reason Cagliostro flopped at the box office when first released was that, to Lupin III fans of the day, Cagliostro wasn't a Lupin III film. Miyazaki had taken Lupin and his companions and made them far too nice. Lupin was no longer a manic, violent womanizer—in fact, he didn't even get to fire his gun at all, except in flashback. Fujiko was no longer a conniving, backstabbing tramp. And so on. Even the character designs had become Miyazakitized—the Lupin gang were no longer the spindly, caricaturish figures of the manga and the early TV series. They were hardly recognizable as the same characters as in the prior year's Mystery of Mamo.

True, it may not be as polished as Miyazaki's later work, and he was working with other people's characters. But he was working with characters with whom he was well acquainted, since he and Takahata directed 2/3 of the first Lupin III TV series.

Also ironically, the film may well be in large part responsible for the Lupin Funimation releases by and large flopping in America, for exactly the opposite reason: people whose only exposure to Lupin was the Cagliostro version were disappointed by the more "traditional" Lupin of the TV specials and other movies.

[–] mikethecoder 17 years ago

i am not really a Miyazaki fan... havent seen many of his works, just not my cup of tea i suppose. but i watched this lupin movie recently and i must say it was the best i have seen. i do not know if Miyazaki is to praise for that but it was the best... the story, animation, background scenes, and just so much more were more captivating here in this lupin film than any other. either way, Miyazaki did a damn good job on this film. im still not going to watch any of his other works though.

[–] Grisan 16 years ago

You are wrong...

[–] 16 years ago

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