Welcome to the Space Show

Welcome to the Space Show
Directed by	Koji Masunari
Written by	Hideyuki Kurata
Produced by	Tomonori Ochikoshi Atsuhiro Iwakami
Edited by	Masahiro Goto
Music by	Yoshihiro Ike
Production company	A-1 Pictures
Distributed by	Aniplex
Release dates	February 18, 2010 (2010-02-18) (Berlinale) June 26, 2010 (2010-06-26) (Japan)
Running time	136 minutes
Country	Template:Film Japan
Language	Japanese

Welcome to the Space Show (宇宙ショーへようこそ, Uchū Shō e Yōkoso) is a 2010 anime science fiction film.

Plot

Welcome to the Space Show, whose story "surpasses Star Wars in its scale" according to its producers, tells of the four adventures of five schoolmates and an alien dog in space during summer vacation.

The plot can be broken up into sections based on where in space things take place.

On Earth:

The story opens in the forest on Earth at night. Two aliens (an anthropomorphic boar and a one-eyed yeti) are rushing through the woods. The two are being pursued by a small figure surrounded by glowing orange light. They exchange fire, and the pursuit ends with the orange figure being caught in an explosion, and the collection of roots that the aliens were carrying being burned to a crisp.

The following morning begins by following the lives for the five children. Natsuki wakes up late, but still joins her family for morning exercises and breakfast. It is made clear that there is tension between Natsuki and Amane, Natsuki's much younger cousin; over various issues. Foremost among them is that Natsuki accidentally released their class pet, a rabbit named Pyon-Kichi. Kiyoshi is seen praying at his family altar before having breakfast with his mother, while Koji is shown getting into his parents car with a stack of books (about aliens and space) he wants to share with his class. Noriko is shown arguing with her little brother at her family's farm before getting on her bike and heading out to the school. From their interactions it is shown that the kids are going on a "trip", meaning that they will camp together up at the school by themselves for a week. Kiyoshi, being the oldest and very responsible, is in charge.

The children all arrive at school and discuss what to do. To stem the initial boredom, Kiyoshi suggests they go look for Pyon-Kichi. While searching, Koji slips down a ravine and discovers that the field below him has a crop circle carved in it. The children decided to investigate and Amane, who is still looking for Pyon-Kichi thinks she's found him just outside the circle, but it turns out to be a brown and white dog that's been injured. The children take the dog back to the school and dress his wounds and then go outside to play baseball. Natsuki hits what would have been a home run, but the dog suddenly jumps out the window and catches the ball in his mouth. To the children's surprise, the dog stands upright and begins to talk. He introduces himself as Pochi,from the planet Wan. He explains that he has been on Earth studying what appears to be a plant that has been extinct in space for billions of years and in recompense for saving his life, he offers to do something for the children. The kids unanimously (largely for Kiyoshi’s benefit) decide that they want to have a real "class trip" since the official trip had been cancelled starting that year.

On the Moon:

Pochi decides to take the children to the moon in his ship. The children discover that the dark side of the moon is actually a vast alien port of call. To get in, the children must pass through customs, since they are from a planet that hasn’t joined the Space Federation yet. The children are ushered into separate pods, where a friendly computer program asks them each a question in order to pass. They all pass, and are given "space passports" in the form of various types of jewelry. While the children are having fun exploring the moon, they are exposed to the most popular show around in all of space, "The Space Show" which is much like a variety show with music, dancing, and other segments. The place from which the show is broadcast is constantly on the move, so no one knows where it really is or what will happen next. It is run by a one-eyed tentacled alien named Neppo and a very pretty female named Marie, with whom Pochi professes to be friends with. Pochi sends the kids off to shop so he can make a report back to a central agency about needing to vamp up the security around Earth to prevent poachers from taking "Zughann" illegally from the planet. Unfortunately, the suggestion is taken very seriously, and the passage back to Earth is blocked, stranding the children on the moon.

Pochi explains that they can get back to Earth by taking a ship from his home planet, but traveling there would take them 20 years unless they are able to buy tickets for the Super Space Express, which is extremely expensive. The group decides to all get jobs to try and make money for the trip. They have varying degrees of succes, with Pochi wasting money on betting and Natsuki getting fired and incurring more debt on her first day. Kiyoshi and Amane have better luck at their jobs, and Koji makes friend with a young alien named Ink and her father, who is building a rocket. Natsuki has some snacks, but in a tearing a bag open passing alien accidentally inhales one of the random puffs and cries out "Zughann!". Natsuki is suddenly mobbed by aliens wanting to buy her snacks, but it also gets the attention of the poachers, who have also been skulking about the moon. When the group meets at the end of the day to count their earnings, it is discovered that the smaller, cheaper looking tabs that Natsuki received are actually collector's coins and are worth a lot. With that they are able to pay back the debt and buy the tickets on the Space Express. Before they leave, Ink gives Koji a map of the various places she and her father will be visiting in hopes they will see each other again.

On the Express:

The Super Space Express, which is an amphibian looking train; travels at faster than light speed and soon the group is fast on it's way to Wan. Along the way they meet a Space Show enthusiast named Goba, who has made it his job to try and track down where the Space Show is at any given moment. Goba also mentions about his search for the ultimate treasure the “Pet Star”, although nobody knows exactly what it is, only that it’s an awesome treasure. The poachers are also spying on the kids, hoping to steal Natsuki's bag, which still has some “Zughann” in it (identified by Pochi as wasabi root) but Goba crushes the spy bot when he sits down. Pochi has a nightmare about Marie and his past and wakes up to find that the Express gets stopped at a red light around a tunnel that goes through a space that has anti-matter in it. Kiyoshi expresses regret at getting everyone involved in such a situation, but Koji tries to reassure him that he is not at fault.

On Wan:

The group arrives, and the children discover that despite their misgivings about Pochi's character, he is actually a well renowned professor on his home planet. He takes them to his university and while doing some research, the poachers steal Natsuki’s bag. Pochi chases them down and manages to get the bag and the wasabi back, as well as apprehend the poachers. As they are being taken away, he notices a badge they have dropped and suspects he knows who they were working for. While Pochi tries to discover if wasabi and Zughann are indeed the same plant, he takes the children to his parents’ home where they proceed relax and are taken care of by Pochi's mother and Kiyoshi takes some time to help out at the clinic Pochi's dad runs. However, it is clear that Amane and Natsuki are still not getting along, in part because of what happened with Pyon-Kichi, but also in part from the change in behavior each other had when Natsuki moved in. However, they both decide to talk to each other honestly, so after steeling themselves the two meet but before they can talk; they are interrupted by a series of destructive blue tractor beams that destroy the house and injure Pochi's father badly, taking the wasabi root from the analysis tank it was in. The beams also go after Natsuki and her bag, but the other kids pull her to safety. As they scatter though, Amane falls on top of the bag and the beam takes them both to the ship above. The group despairs, but Pochi promises to still take the children home to Earth. Despite being scared and alone, Natsuki decides she must try to go rescue Amane anyway and the other children resolve to help her right away. Pochi agrees as well, and helps them by commandeering a jellyfish like ship without permission so they can chase after the Space Show.

At the Galatic Festival/On the Space Show:

Thanks to Goba, they are able to track the Space Show to the Galactic Space Festival. They also discover that the Space Show has announced that this appearance will be their last ever show. They split up to search, during which Koji runs into Ink and her father again this time with the completed rocket; and the Space Show reveals itself to a cheering crowd. This show is different though, as they have substituted the kidnapped Amane into what is usually Marie’s role and have created a giant, green fire breathing creature called the Behemoth. Realizing the creature has been created with the help of the wasabi (which has been determined to be a close relative, but not actually Zughann), Pochi and Natsuki use Ink’s rocket to reach the Space Show and ram it into the behemoth’s back while the others find another way over. Pochi goes to confront Neppo while Natsuki chases after Marie who has taken Amane into the bowels the Space Show. As Pochi and Neppo fight, it is revealed that the Space Show is actually the Pet Star, which was an ancient moon sized ship used for rescuing and preserving endangered species from any planet it could find. Neppo and Marie found it in the anti-matter zone and decided to take it, so that Neppo could attempt to attain godhood. While they fight, the Pet Star activates and starts sucking up members of the crowd with the blue tractor beams. It is also revealed that Neppo has kidnapped various aliens to work in his onboard sweatshops making toys as the Space Show has traveled about. Pochi eventually defeats Neppo, saying at the end that he wishes they could return to the time when they were all friends again. During this time the remaining kids have commandeered a small ship and use the water cannon it is equipped with to defeat the behemoth permanently. As wasabi is not Zughann, it’s creation was not perfect and it explodes when it hits the ground.

Elsewhere, with the other children following close behind, Natsuki has found her way into center of the pet star, where Marie has dumped Amane in a holding tank to be combined with another creature, which turns out to be Pyon-Kichi. In the center is an ancient being/machine called the Pet King (Petto-Oh) and it’s power is capable of rearranging DNA to combine two creatures into one. The Pet King is active thanks to the wasabi, and has a dumpy looking robot as an extension of itself that helps administer the exchange and draws crude pictures of what the new creature will look like. Natsuki confronts and begins to wrestle with the robot so she can free Amane. When the robot says the combo will help make Amane not weak, Natsuki becomes enraged and explains that Amane is already capable of taking care of herself, a fact that had upset her since they had moved in together because she wanted Amane to lean on her a little longer. Succeeding in tossing the robot aside, Natsuki moves to free Amane and Marie almost shoots her but Noriko arrives and tackles the dog woman. Marie is knocked several feet and is sucked into another one of the holding tanks while Natsuki finally reaches Amane and the two share a tearful reunion.

Now that everyone (including Pyon-Kichi) is safe, the children discover that the whole battle was televised and now they are all famous in space. After saying goodbye to all their new friends again, Pochi is able to use the jellyfish ship to take them back to Earth. On their way, Pochi asks permission to see Amane again after she has grown some more. Amane agrees and gives him a kiss on his cheek and everyone blushes. Down on Earth, the kids’ families are arriving at the school to pick them up. Noriko’s little brother runs ahead to the class room only to see a flash and the group climbing in the window. As everyone is leaving, he looks up and is shocked to see a spaceship returning the jungle gym to it’s rightful spot. Noriko dismisses it saying, “It’s just a normal UFO.” and goes back to texting on her phone. Koji asks his parents if they have any books on astronauts and Kiyoshi tells his mom about his wish to become a doctor. Natsuki and Amane fall asleep in the back seat of their care, but not long after are seen getting on Natsuki’s bike (drawings of Pochi are taped to the walls of their rooms so it can be assumed some additional time has passed) to go see the others. The movie ends with their mothers expressing how the children have all become such good friends.

Characters

Natsuki Koyama (小山 夏紀, Koyama Natsuki)

A fifth grade student who recently moved from town, the energetic Natsuki longs to be a heroine. Voiced by: Tomoyo Kurosawa

Amane Suzuki (鈴木 周, Suzuki Amane)

The youngest of the five main characters, Amane is Natsuki's cousin and in second grade. She is an amiable and reliable person who has a totally honest and gently personality. Voiced by: Honoka Ikezuka

Kiyoshi Satō (佐藤 清, Satō Kiyoshi)

The oldest of the group—being in sixth grade—Kiyoshi has leadership qualities: a strong sense of responsibility, honesty, trustworthiness, and kindness. Voiced by: Shōtarō Uzawa

Noriko Nishimura (西村 倫子, Nishimura Noriko)

Despite being a very timid fourth grader, Noriko always acts like her dream is to be an idol star. Voiced by: Tamaki Matsumoto

Kōji Harada (原田 康二, Harada Kōji)

Kōji wears glasses and is an avid bookworm brimming with curiosity about everything. He loves anything to do with UFOs, aliens, and the occult. Voiced by: Takuto Yoshinaga

Pochi Rickman (ポチ・リックマン, Pochi Rikkuman)

Looking like an ordinary dog at first glance, Pochi is actually an alien from the planet Wan. After the five schoolmates helped him after they found him injured, he rewarded them by inviting them to the moon. Voiced by: Keiji Fujiwara

Sources:

Production

The production staff of Welcome to the Space Show was announced in the February 2008 issue of Newtype magazine, and the film was originally given the working title The Space Show. The film reunites the production staff of R.O.D the TV (2003–2004), including director Koji Masunari, writer Hideyuki Kurata, and character designer Masashi Ishihama. It was animated by Japanese studio A-1 Pictures.

Masunari decided to cast child voice actors for the film's main characters through a series of auditions. The film was conceived with the themes of entertainment and friendship among children.

Scottish singer Susan Boyle, who became famous after her television performance in Britain's Got Talent, contributed the song "Who I Was Born to Be" as the film's theme song. Prior to the announcement, the film had been screened without a theme song.

Release

Welcome to the Space Show made its world premiere at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) in February 2010. It was screened alongside Summer Wars (2009) as part of the festival's Generation program. They were the two anime films out of a total of 28 screened at the festival. The film was also screened at the 57th Sydney Film Festival in June 2010 as part of the Kids Flicks program. It premiered in the United States at Otakon on July 31, 2010.

The first 22 minutes of the film can be seen at Aniplex's USA Youtube channel.

Reception

A review by the Yomiuri Shimbun encouraged families to watch the children's adventure film. While praising the artwork in village and lunar scenes, the reviewer also called the film an "explosive sense of moe". The film was criticized for its lack of originality, primarily because A-1 Pictures appears to draw too much material from the works of Hayao Miyazaki. Unlike Miyazaki's films, however, Welcome to the Space Show "has a much edgier attitude" and is more humorous.

Anime World Order reviewed the show at at the Otakon 2010 premier and praised it for it's imagination, but also echoed the issues such other reviewers as Tim Maughan have stated primarily about the length of the movie. Tim Maughan did comment on the similarities to works by Hayao Miyazaki stating that the film is "much edgier attitude than any of Miyazaki's works".

External links

• Welcome to the Space Show official website Template:Ja icon
• [1] Hawaii International Film Festival
• Welcome to the Space Show at the Berlin International Film Festival
• Welcome to the Space Show at the Sydney Film Festival
• Welcome to the Space Show (film) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia