History Anime / TheCastleOfCagliostro

*** Miyazaki's confessed admiration for the French animated classic ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Sg6qzpa_wc The King and the Mockingbird]]'' can be seen from the humongous trap-filled castle to the elaborate elevators.

* KarmicDeath: [spoiler:The Count manages to unlock the treasure, but by doing so, the clock tower automatically moves to noon and the clock's hands crush him to death. Even worse for him posthumously, Lupin appraises the treasure itself; a lost flooded city to be monetarily worthless except for historians and archaeologists.]]

In the West, this film has passed through more than a few hands. Game developer Creator/{{Stern}} used footage of ''Cagliostro'' and ''Anime/TheMysteryOfMamo'' to make a laserdisc game ''Cliff Hanger''. Then Asmik got to make another game based entirely on the film for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation. ''Cagliostro'' was then licensed in the early '90s by Creator/StreamlinePictures; their DVD release of the film was one of the very first anime released in the format (and one of Streamline's last releases ever). Creator/MangaEntertainment picked up the license in 2000 and gave the film a new dub by the Animaze studio (better known for their dubs of ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' and the ''Manga/GhostInTheShell'' franchise), then re-released it in 2006 with a boatload of extra content ([[ExecutiveMeddling but an altered opening at TMS's insistence]]). Creator/DiscotekMedia acquired the license to ''Cagliostro'' in 2014 and released both a DVD and Blu-ray (the latter for the first time in the US) in 2015; their release includes both the Streamline and Animaze dubs, re-translated subtitles for the film, and a re-creation of the original subtitles used in TMS's 1980 theatrical release of the film in the United States. A "family-friendly" version of the Manga dub was also created specifically for this release. A few months later, Creator/{{Disney}} released the Streamline dub as part of their Miyazaki box set, with Discotek's permission.

* AlternateDVDCommentary: A [[https://terrania.us/2017/06/15/cagliostro-redux/ fan-made commentary track]] was produced for ''Caglisotro'' back in 2004 (and revamped in 2017), and another one is packaged with the 2014 Creator/DiscotekMedia DVD (and 2015 Blu-Ray).

* ArtisticLicenceGeography: In at least one dub, Cagliostro is described as the world's smallest country, but many scenery shots make it clear that Cagliostro (even without counting the two massive lakes) is at least twice the size of the world's actual smallest country, UsefulNoteS/VaticanCity (the whole of which could snugly fit into Cagliostro Castle and its adjacent town).

* {{BFG}}: Jigen's massive PTRS-41 anti-tank rifle.

* CouldntFindALighter: Royal guard Gustav demonstrates the castle's laser defense system by holding out a cigarette to be zapped, then placing it in Zenigata's mouth. Not to be confused with the reason for Lupin's [[spoiler:long-jumping exhibition in the middle of the movie]] — he couldn't find a ''good'' lighter.
* CounterfeitCash: The Gothic Bills are counterfeit bills which can fool all but the most trained eyes.

* ExactWords: The film's DarkestHour ends when Fujiko telephones Inspector Zenigata about a critical fact-- Lupin is planning to be at the Count's wedding... and although the cop is off the counterfeiting case, his standing orders to arrest the thief anywhere in the world ''are still in force''.

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: The count activates the emptying of the reservoir lake, and the process sets the ClockTower to 12, crushing him between the hands.

** Averted at the rooftop when Jodo hits Lupin with a single bullet fired.

* InstantDogend: All of Jigen's smokes are battered and bent before he takes his first puff. Only some of Lupin's are.
** This detail is a CallBack to a story in the manga (partly adapted in the "Green Jacket" anime Miyazaki worked on) where Zenigata realizes Lupin is nearby because of a cigarette butt – Lupin smokes an expensive import brand no one else is known to use.

* KarmicDeath: The Count manages to unlock the treasure, but by doing so, the clock tower automatically moves to noon and the clock's hands crush him to death.

* LeaningOnTheFourthWall: As Lupin sees Zenigata arrive just after Goeman shows up, he comments, "And now the whole cast is here."

* LighterAndSofter: The movie is generally more light-hearted than the franchise had been by that time. It even got a fair amount of criticism at first because of the changes in characterization. Japanese fans of Lupin III were quite nonplussed when the film hit theaters, as Miyazaki had made the normally-obnoxious Lupin and his cohorts unrecognizably nice.
** It took the passage of years, and fans who were able to see the movie on its own merits, for it to gain the popularity and critical acclaim it has today.

** The MacGuffin that starts the plot and occasionally is referenced are the "Goat Bills", created in secret inside of the titular castle by the evil branch of the country's royal family with quite the HistoricalRapSheet (being allegedly one of the main reasons TheGreatDepression happened, among others). The operation has been going for so long that the Bills have achieved a legendary status as being virtually impossible to distinguish from the real deal (unless you are just that good at spotting them, like Lupin is).

* TheProphecy: The words inscribed on Clarisse's [[MacGuffin ring]] by her ancestor, Gotoh, is a key part of the plot – "Light will rejoin shadow and live again."

* RunawayBride: Clarisse starts off as a runaway ''fiancée'', but then turns into a proper runaway bride during the wedding ceremony when Lupin [[WeddingSmashers snatches her away]].
* RunawayFiance: See above. Clarisse bailed when the guards left her room to allow her to change into her wedding dress (presumably to rehearse the ceremony). But in spite of Lupin's efforts, she is recaptured, and this time [[GirlInTheTower imprisoned in a tall tower]].

** Lupin and Jigen's Casino de Monte-Carlo heist ends up with them financially empty-handed after it turns out the money they stole was counterfeit.
** The big "Treasure of Cagliostro" that the Count was after turns out to be [[spoiler:a beautiful ancient Roman city, well-preserved at [[UnderwaterRuins the bottom of a man-made lake]]; Clarisse's ancestors flooded it to prevent barbarians from sacking it. It's obviously something of incalculable value to Clarisse's country and will be cherished by archaeologists and historians, but it's just as obviously not something a GentlemanThief can swipe. Lupin promptly {{lampshades}} it; "This is a treasure for all mankind. Too big for my pocket, anyway."]]

* TamerAndChaster: Fujiko isn't fetisized nearly as much here as in most other ''Lupin III'' works, and she spends the whole movie in a camo spy outfit that covers her whole body. Lupin, for his part, isn't nearly as horny as usual, either.

* SceneryPorn: As expected from a Miyazaki-directed picture. The scenes set at the garden of the castle are especially garish.

*** Lupin's yellow Fiat has appeared in movies and shows ranging from ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' to Creator/{{Pixar}}'s ''WesternAnimation/{{Cars}}'' series. Thanks to this film's influence, if you see a Fiat in an animated work, there's a good chance it's going to be yellow.