This is a master class in how to make a heist movie feel like a fairy tale. Miyazaki's direction pulls you into a world where the theft matters less than the rescue, where every frame moves with such obvious joy that you can feel the animators' hands in it. The Castle of Cagliostro doesn't waste time on moral complexity or backstory, it trusts you to want Lupin to win, Clarisse to escape, and the count to fall. Watch it once for the story. Watch it again for how a single director turned a pulp character into something that makes you believe in romance and adventure the way you did as a child.

Master thief Lupin the Third discovers that the loot from his latest casino robbery is nothing but near-flawless counterfeit bills instead of a fortune. With his partner Jigen, he travels to the small European nation of Cagliostro to trace where the fakes came from. There they rescue Clarisse, daughter of the late Duke, who is fleeing Count Cagliostro's plan to seize her family's treasure by forcing her to marry him. Lupin sets out to help her, which means facing a castle full of traps, a dungeon and a squad of skilled assassins. Fujiko, Goemon and Lupin's longtime pursuer Inspector Zenigata all turn up with motives of their own. As everyone gathers at the castle, Lupin recalls a visit there ten years earlier, and its hidden secrets begin to surface. The film mixes action, adventure, comedy and mystery.