is a Japanese anthology original video animation (OVA) and anime film released in 1987.

The film consists of nine shorts by different well-known directors, many of whom started out as animators with little to no directing experience. Each has a distinctive animation style and story, ranging from comedic to dramatic storylines. The music was composed by Joe Hisaishi and Isaku Fujita and arranged by Joe Hisaishi, Isaku Fujita, and Masahisa Takeichi.

Segments

"Opening" / "Ending"

The takes place in a desert. A boy finds a small "coming soon" poster advertising the Robot Carnival, and becomes frightened and agitated. He warns the people in his village, most likely to escape, when a huge machine with many robots performing in niches on its exterior grinds its way right over the village. Once a magnificent traveling showcase, it is now heavily rusted, damaged by decades of weathering in the desert, while its many machines wreak havoc as the village is destroyed beneath its might.

In the segment (the ninth segment of the OVA), the Robot Carnival is stopped by a dune in the desert. Unable to climb it, the Carnival stalls at its base. As the sun sets over the traveling relic, flashback stills recall the grandeur of the Carnival at the peak of its existence – an unparalleled engine of mirth that brought joy to the various cities it visited. At sunrise, the gigantic machine charges forward with a burst of power, and surmounts the dune. The final push proves to be too much for the aged contraption, and it falls apart. The bulk of the OVA's credits are then shown, followed by an epilogue.

In the epilogue at the end of the credits, set several years later, a man discovers an orb among the remains and brings it back to his family. It is a music box, featuring one of the carnival's robot ballerinas. As it dances, the children applaud. The ballerina finishes its dance with a leap into the air; the explosion that follows destroys the shack where the family lived, leaving "END" in enormous letters lying in its place. The family's pet llama, seemingly the only survivor, struggles to regain its footing.

;Staff

:*Director / Scenario / Storyboards: Katsuhiro Otomo, Atsuko Fukushima

:*Backgrounds: Nizo Yamamoto

:*Sound Effects: Kazutoshi Satō

"Franken's Gears"

was directed by Kōji Morimoto. A mad scientist tries to give life to his robot with lightning, just like Victor Frankenstein did. During a vicious thunderstorm, the robot is successfully brought to life, and mimics his creator's every movement. Overjoyed, the scientist dances with glee, trips, and falls. Seeing this, the robot dances, trips, and falls on the scientist, killing him.

;Staff

:*Director / Scenario / Character Designer: Koji Morimoto

Note: some cameos of Akira movie characters appear in the background characters

;Staff

:*Director / Scenario / Character Designer: Hiroyuki Kitazume

A limited-edition Region 2 DVD of Robot Carnival was released in Japan through Beam Entertainment on November 25, 2000. A Region 1 DVD of Robot Carnival was released in the United States by Discotek Media on September 1, 2015 and a Blu-ray was released on March 27, 2018 and a Ultra HD Blu-ray on December 28, 2021.

Streamline Pictures English dub

The script for the English-dubbed version of "A Tale of Two Robots" is slightly different from the original Japanese version and even adds a few lines that are not present in the original version. In addition, a passing reference to Japan's 1854 opening to foreign trade is removed and the foreign antagonist's English dialogue is re-recorded.

Some versions of the English-dub of the release by Streamline Pictures shuffled the order of the segments and modified the "Ending" segment by removing the still images of the "Robot Carnival," placing the two animated segments next to each other, and placing all of the credits at the very end of the OVA. The still images of the "Robot Carnival" were most likely removed due to Streamline's practice of removing all onscreen kanji from their anime releases in order to "Americanize" them. Carl Macek stated with certainty that the reason for the "shuffling of segments" was due to considerations regarding the theatrical exploitation of the OVA.

The various segments were received separately and then subsequently assembled to fill out 2000 ft reels. In order to keep the actual distribution of the theatrical release in a manageable state, the segments were arranged to minimize reel changes – otherwise, it would have required additional reels (and therefore, additional reel changes) to keep the product in its original order and would have added to the cost of the distribution. The decision was mutually agreed upon between Streamline and APPP regarding the credit sequence and the use of still images – the original production company did not have the proper neutral closing credits required for international distribution available; therefore, it was mutually decided to create this new closing.

See also

  • List of package films
  • Neo Tokyo – an Otomo anthology film from 1987.
  • Memories – an Otomo anthology film from 1995.
  • Genius Party – anthology films from 2007 and 2008.
  • Short Peace – an Otomo anthology film from 2013.

References

  • Anime News Networks "Buried Treasure" article on Robot Carnival