7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A tiny mountain village in a remote woodland region. Five primary school kids have come together in this idyllic spot in order to spend their summer holidays at a camp. At first the children enjoy carefree days amidst unspoiled nature far away from adult supervision. But their life changes dramatically when they come across what they believe to be a small dog, badly in need of help. The creature - known as Pochi - turns out not to be a dog at all but an alien on an important mission. It seems there is a mysterious substance on earth that is coveted throughout the universe. Pochi had almost found it but was so badly injured during a fight that he had to give up his search. Thanks to the children's help, the alien survives - and decides to reward them generously. "Where would you most like to travel?" is the question Pochi puts to his rescuers. Their answer is prompt, if vague: "As far as possible!" Pochi suggests they try the moon first of all, and so, the alien whisks away the kids to the satellite next door. This marks the beginning of an absolutely amazing adventure. During the course of their travels they discover that the substance coveted throughout the universe is in fact also integral to Japanese cuisine - and it just so happens that one of the kids has some of this mysterious substance in his pocket.
Starring: Tomoyo Kurosawa, Honoka Ikezuki, Takuto Yoshinaga, Tamaki Matsumoto, Shotaro UzawaForeign | 100% |
Anime | 91% |
Fantasy | 20% |
Family | 14% |
Sci-Fi | 2% |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Japanese: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Pink Floyd may have hipped us all to the wonders of The Dark Side of the Moon, but according to Koji Masunari’s often manic Welcome to the Space Show, that hidden side to Earth’s satellite is anything but dark. It’s a hidden wonderland that resembles a lunar amusement park, replete with rides and a coterie of odd looking characters that need to be seen to be believed (and maybe not even then). It actually takes a while for a gaggle of young Japanese school children to even get to the moon (and from there, to quote a certain Pixar character, “to infinity and beyond”), but even before the kids get that far, Welcome to the Space Show has already introduced a few other odd looking characters, including two bizarre aliens who seem to on a reconnaissance mission of some kind on planet Earth. It’s summer in Japan, a time when evidently kids are shipped off to camps at vacated schools, where they supposedly learn self-sufficiency. That’s what brings a handful of young nascent explorers together, and when they undertake a reconnaissance mission to find a lost rabbit named Pyon-Kichi, an unexpected discovery leads to a series of bizarre adventures. In a huge cornfield which has been imprinted with supposedly alien created crop circles, the kids find a badly injured dog. They take the dog back to the school where they’ve been staying, where upon the canine’s recovery, they are surprised (to the point of one of them repeatedly fainting) when the dog stands upright like a human and begins talking to them. The dog turns out to be an alien named Pochi Rickman (is Alan an alien, too?), and when Pochi offers the kids a sort of wish fulfilment as a reward for having helped him, the stage is set for a Space Show of increasingly weird parameters.
Welcome to the Space Show is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cinedigm and GKids with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Animation lovers should certainly check out this release, for it is one of the most visually audacious pieces of filmmaking in recent memory, one which pops magnificently in high definition. Rarely has such a carnival assault of colors been flung at viewers' eyes, with everything from bright, bold primaries to really appealingly subtler pastel hues showing up in fantastic variety. Line detail is very crisp, clean and stable. Contrast and black levels are both solid and consistent. In fact the only issue here, and it's a very minor one, is slight banding, typically showing up in segues and the like in the very lightest gradients. Otherwise this is a top tier presentation of a very ingeniously designed film.
Welcome to the Space Show features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes in both Japanese and English, mixes which are indentical save for the voice work (interestingly, there's some English material, including a song, on the Japanese track as well). There's good, immersive surround activity courtesy of a glut of sound effects as the kids and Pochi tool around the universe, and the film's charming score also spills very naturally through the surround channels. Dialogue is very cleanly presented and well prioritized. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range is fairly wide.
Welcome to the Space Show is a rather sweet little story that's blown up into almost gargantuan proportions, and that disconnect may deprive the film from finding its natural audience. Younger tots, kids who will certainly thrill to the odd characters on display, may simply not have the patience to sit through the extended running time and repetitive story structure. If patient parents can get their charges to sit still for more than two hours, there's a lot here to love. The moral of the tale may be pretty obvious (friends are good), but it's delivered in a whimsical if too convoluted way. The big selling point here is the absolutely incredible design aesthetic. They say that if you remember the sixties you weren't really there, but for anyone wanting a bit of a psychedelic flashback without having to take any drugs, this Blu-ray will easily fill that (black?) hole. Technical merits are very strong, the supplementary material has some great stuff, and Welcome to the Space Show comes Recommended.
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