The Robot Carnival feature film is one of those projects that, in some ways, definitely felt a bit dated when it arrived decades ago. But some of that was intentional in trying to create a world with robots at times that had fallen behind the latest and shiniest thing. The film has seen a number of releases over the years from a few different distributors and now the folks at RetroCrush have decided to stream the film for free on their YouTube channel. With it largely dialogue-free, it’s an easy one to do so and to just enjoy for the visuals and music as well as some strong talent behind it.
Check out our review of the film.
- Opening 0:44
- Star Light Angel 5:14
- Cloud 14:24
- Deprive 26:21
- Franken’s Gears 33:24
- Presence 43:06
- A Tale of Two Robots, Chapter 3: Foreign Invasion 1:02:36
- Chicken Man and Red Neck (Nightmare) 1:13:59
- Ending 1:24:11
Segment 1: Opening (オープニング)
A boy finds a small “coming soon” poster advertising the Robot Carnival, and becomes frightened and agitated.
Director / Scenario / Storyboards: Katsuhiro Otomo
Character Designer / Key Animation: Atsuko Fukushima
Backgrounds: Nizō Yamamoto
Sound Effects: Kazutoshi Satō
Segment 2: Star Light Angel
Two teenage girls gets into trouble at a robot-themed amusement park. One of the girls finds that her boyfriend is now going out with her friend. Running away in tears, she finds her way to a virtual reality ride.
Director / Scenario / Character Designer: Hiroyuki Kitazume
Backgrounds: Yui Shimazaki
Sound Effects: Kenji Mori
Segment 3: Cloud
A lonely robot walks through time, and the evolution of man.
Director / Scenario / Character Designer / Backgrounds / Key Animation: Manabu Ōhashi
Animation: Hatsune Ōhashi, Shiho Ōhashi
Sound Effects: Swara Pro
Music: Isaku Fujita
Segment 4: Deprive
An alien invasion of robot foot soldiers attacks a city and kidnaps a young girl. Her companion, an android, is damaged in the process. Later, a mysterious man with superhuman abilities is then seen fighting waves of alien robots.
Director / Scenario / Character Designer: Hidetoshi Ōmori
Backgrounds: Kenji Matsumoto
Sound Effects: Jun’ichi Sasaki
Segment 5: Franken’s Gears (フランケンの歯車)
A mad scientist tries to give life to his robot with lightning, just like Frankenstein.
Director / Scenario / Character Designer: Koji Morimoto
Backgrounds: Yūji Ikehata
Sound Effects: Kazutoshi Satō
Segment 6: Presence (プレゼンス)
A man develops an obsession with a Gynoid he has been secretly constructing in an attempt to compensate for the lack of any close relationship with his wife and family.
Director / Scenario / Character Designer: Yasuomi Umetsu
Animation Production Assistance: Shinsuke Terasawa, Hideki Nimura
Backgrounds: Hikaru Yamakawa
Sound Effects: Kenji Mori
Segment 7: A Tale of Two Robots, Chapter 3: Foreign Invasion (明治からくり文明奇譚〜紅毛人襲来之巻〜)
Set in nineteenth century Japan, a Western invader in his giant robot attempts to take over Japan, but is challenged by locals operating a Japanese giant robot created for parade tricks.
Director / Scenario: Hiroyuki Kitakubo
Character Designer: Yoshiyuki Sadamoto
Mechanical Designer: Mahiro Maeda
Animation Assistance: Kazuaki Mōri, Yuji Moriyama, Kumiko Kawana
Backgrounds: Hiroshi Sasaki
Sound Effects: Jun’ichi Sasaki
Segment 8: Chicken Man and Red Neck (ニワトリ男と赤い首)
The city of Tokyo is overrun by machines, turned into robots of all shapes and sizes by a robotic magician, the titular Red Neck. They all come alive for a night of revelry, with only a single, drunken human (Chicken Man) awake to witness it.
Director / Scenario / Character Designer: Takashi Nakamura
Backgrounds: Hiroshige Sawai
Sound Effects: Junichi Sasaki
Segment 9: Ending (エンディング)
The Robot Carnival is stopped by a dune in the desert. Unable to climb the sandy obstruction, the Carnival stalls at its base.
Director / Scenario / Storyboards: Katsuhiro Otomo
Character Designer / Key Animation: Atsuko Fukushima
Backgrounds: Nizō Yamamoto
Sound Effects: Kazutoshi Satō
Plot Concept: A visual treat for the eyes and the mind, Robot Carnival is a Japanese anthology collection of nine short films. From funny to dramatic, artistic to entertaining, each story reaches towards the furthest corners of time and space to bring you a tale of robots, and the people who make them.
