For four hundred years, spies and fortune hunters have tried to pull back the shroud of intrigue cloaking the tiny duchy of Cagliostro, a legendary source of a near-perfect counterfeiting operation with a secret treasure to boot. Many have died, and none have succeeded. Not even the debonair master thief, Lupin III.

Ten years have passed since Lupin's failed attempt to penetrate the forbidding island fortress at the heart of Cagliostro, and now he's hungry for another shot. He returns with his sidekicks Jigen and samurai Goemon to find much changed. The Duke and Duchess are seven years dead leaving their daughter Clarisse in a nunnery and Cagliostro in the clutches of a regent, the shrewd Count. The news of the moment is the Count's impending wedding to the now teenaged Clarisse, whom he has summoned back from the convent and imprisoned in the castle tower. Marrying her will be all he needs to solidify his power.

Can Lupin survive long enough to expose the counterfeiting syndicate, rescue Clarisse, defeat the count and solve a mystery half a millennium old? It won't be easy. On his first night at the hotel in town, he'll be attacked by an army of ninjas. Once inside the castle, he'll have to swim through gutters, bound across roofs, and crawl through dungeons dodging lasers, traps, not to mention the swarms of ninjas. On top of that, Interpol, an international law enforcement organization, is after him and rival thief, femme fatale Fujiko, is set on beating him to the loot.

Lupin will need all his wits, all his friends and all his gadgets. Let's hope he can keep his sense of humor. If anyone can do it, Lupin can!

Lupin the thief charms timelessly in a brilliant movie by famed writer/director Hayao Miyazaki. The plot of "The Castle of Cagliostro," dashing-rogue-dares-impossible-odds-to-rescue innocent-maiden-from-tyrannical-despot, is formulaic, yes, but Miyazaki executes it with virtuosity. He takes that familiar fairy tale picture, gives it dimensions of subplot, paints it with hundreds of delightful, whimsical details, then cuts it into a puzzle which he doles out piece by piece, teasingly, tantalizingly. In every scene, even as he regales us with car chases, gunfights and slapstick comedy, Miyazaki slides in some scintillating new snippet of information to snap into place. Where is Lady Clarisse and what's so important about her Ram's head ring? Who is the Count, how did he come into power and how far does his insidious influence reach? The mysteries of "Castle" are as engrossing as the action is thrilling and as the comedy is amusing.

Changing to a broader lens, it's pleasing to see "Castle" do what animation should: things live action cannot. Miyazaki takes full advantage of the medium, creating a delightful rubber reality. He allows Lupin to drive a car on the side of a cliff, to leap super human distances and to be hit on the head with a tree trunk and live. It all works because Miyazaki never breaks the rules of the reality he creates. It is understood that the laws of physics may be stretched, but never broken. The benefits are belly laughs and nail-biting action.

The simple, but overall detailed and polished animation is free from inconsistencies and signs of shortcuts, and at times it even impresses. One hilariously animated scene depicts Lupin hiding in a fountain and looking at the police inspector's undulating face through pouring water. In another effective scene, deadly, stylized ninjas attack Lupin's hotel room with insect-like movements that lend them a disturbing mystique. The entire midnight wedding scene is marvelous. The innocent Clarisse looks all the much more vulnerable when surrounded by hooded men with swords casting grim shadows on the walls.

As a final note, real effort went into the English translation, resulting in clever patter professionally delivered by competent actors.

"Castle" succeeds in everything it attempts in a suspenseful, exciting, clever, funny, and in short, very entertaining Lupin episode. For those who have yet to meet Lupin the thief and those who love him alike, enter "The Castle of Cagliostro."