‘Castle’ Featured in Celebration

Following is a review of the highlight of today’s screenings in the Los Angeles Animation Celebration at the Nuart, 11272 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles.

“Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro”(Japan) in Japanese with English subtitles; 9:45 p.m. 100 minutes.

The star of comic books, television series and feature films, “Lupin III” ranks among the most popular cartoon characters in modern Japan. Shun Miyazaki’s film, which takes the petty-thief-turned-intrepid-detective on new adventures in Europe, underscores the differences between American and Japanese animated features.

American films emphasize full character animation, musical numbers and comic stories. Japanese artists combine limited animation similar to Saturday morning television shows with highly sophisticated direction, cutting, editing and camera work. Miyazaki handles the car chases, shoot-outs and confrontations with the villains so skillfully that “Castle Cagliostro” could be remade virtually shot-for-shot in live action as a vehicle for Harrison Ford or Tom Selleck. The result is an exciting, upbeat film, but not a very impressive example of the animator’s art. ***

Other programs scheduled for today are: “New Belgian Animation,” 4 p.m.; “Sixth Program of Films in Competition,” 6 p.m.; and “A Tribute to Jan Svankmejer,” 8 p.m.