When master thief Lupin III, a.k.a. "The Wolf" inadvertently steals a fortune in counterfeit bills from a casino, he is quick to realize the high-quality printing plates that made them are worth even more. Tracing the source of the money to the small European country of Cagliostro, Lupin and his team of colorful outlaws cross swords with the local count over his forthcoming marriage to the last princess of the Cagliostro family. It's fast-paced adventure as Lupin must battle fearsome ninjas, rescue a damsel in distress and uncover the key to the lost Cagliostro fortune. The first feature film written and directed by Academy Award winning anime pioneer and visionary Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away, Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, My Neighbor Totoro, Laputa: Castle in the Sky), the film was allegedly inspired by Prince Rainier of Monaco's wedding to American movie star Grace Kelly as well as Maurice Leblanc's 1924 novel Countess Cagliostro. In fact Lupin III creator Monkey Punch, originally conceived of the character as the grandson of M. Leblanc's Arsene Lupin: Gentleman Thief - a rogue Sherlock Holmes famous for swindling goods from the world's rich. "The Wolf"'s adventures have since became some of Japan's most popular stories and were made into three television series, five movies and numerous made-for-TV movies. The animated movie The Castle of Cagliostro was the second film featuring the Lupin character. In addition, a Sony Playstation game of Cagliostro was released in January 1997 and film footage from The Castle of Cagliostro was used in an early 80s laserdisc-based arcade game called Cliffhanger. Many features of Miyazaki's other works can be seen in this film, including the Mediterranean Riviera setting seen in Porco Rosso, the strong environmentally-conscious female protagonist familiar from both Nausicaa and Princess Mononoke, the mossy ruins from Laputa and the final location of the Cagliostro treasure which draws heavily from scenes within his 1971 take on Treasure Island.
