Customer Reviews

Robot Carnival [VHS]

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

ROBOT CARNIVAL is what brought me into the world of anime. Back in 1988, after watching countless reruns of Robotech, I was ready to either move up or move on. I went to a comic book convention that happened to have an anime room. Inbetween programs like Those Obnoxious Aliens and Dirty Pair, they showed segments of Robot Carnival individually. I was absolutely stunned. None of the other shows, even though they were excellent, could hold my attention like the brief shorts Robot Carnival contains.

Many of the other reviews will tell you the basics of the movie, which combines several short films that just happen to have robots in them. All but two have no dialogue. "Deprive" is a straightforward action romp. One, "Cloud", is a metaphysical journey through the skies. Still another, "A Tale of Two Robots", is about as hysterical as any anime you'll ever see.

However, the clear winner of the set (worth every penny you'll pay for this out-of-print video) is "Presence". A man works on a robotic girl for years, tinkering and testing, all while keeping up a family and outer appearances. The robot is a toy to him. But as she learns and grows, she becomes almost real...too real. He makes a harrowing decision that haunts him the rest of his life. Not only is it possibly the most beautifully animated film I've ever seen, it says volumes with just simple glances and aside shots. Director Yasuomi Umetsu has yet to come up with another film even 1/10th as powerful as his masterpiece on display here. If you liked Steven Spielberg's A.I. (or at least the ideas at play), you owe it to yourself to see this take on robots that are just a bit too human.

Unfortunately, the old American release by Streamline is not perfect. They place the shorts out of the original release order; the Japanese version has more clarity in the way the shorts are positioned. The English dialogue is serviceable, but a subtitled DVD would be much appreciated.

Finally, this movie requires some effort. Some shorts are no-brainers, but a few really require you to think. A couple can make you cry. It's a deceptively simple package that holds a lot more than what appears on first glance.

After watching thousands of hours worth of anime and running a website with over 400 anime reviews, I can safely say this: Robot Carnival is easily one of the very best movies ever made, animated or otherwise.

Ok, why in God's name hasn't this been released on DVD yet? (don't EVEN get me started on MEMORIES). Truly great stuff, including work by Katsuhiro Otomo and a terrific soundtrack to boot. Beautiful, timeless animation.

I remember first seeing this on Sci-Fi back in 1993 as a kid when the channel did anime weekends. It was one of the first anime I had ever seen and to this day I still love it. The art and music play the emotions of the separate episodic like charactors, and display a wonderful visual wonderland for you to feast upon. I highly recommend everyone see this movie at your soonest ability.

I recently imported this movie on DVD and I recommend that anyone who wants this movie or who loves anime should do the same. Even though the subtitle translations weren't the best, it didn't matter since most of the shorts are silent. Robot Carnival is truly one of the first great anime movies and one of the greatest movies anywhere. It has something for everyone and for anyone who likes anime or manga this is a must-see!! It's a true classic.

Today very few animations have the ability to capture storyline, theme, and not to mention high quality anime. Robot carnival is one video that was really able to move me. Remember that short with the doll that came to life. That one creeped me out.

I am glad that Amazom.com is finally carrying this movie.This film, in my opinion, is one of the best anime films ever made.Its stories all seem to have a clever message embeded within them,such as how we all relate to love,war,technology,and so forth.I think that every fan of anime, or science fiction in general, should see this film.

Superior collection of animated segs by various top Anime directors, with each story centered around robots. From the whimsical to the heartbreaking, this film has it all. My personal fave seg is about a hugely successful engineer/businessman who returns to his long abandoned summer home by a remote lake, and the little girl robot that he created and left there to rust in his workshop so many long years ago. Beautiful.

The top Japanese anime directors of the late 80s joined to contribute their unique perceptions of human-robot relations and interactions in a series of animated shorts, about 8 in all. These brilliantly realized animation shorts combine with fabulous electro-symphonic music to create a panaroma of stories. From the teen-oriented "Star Angel" to the bleak, technology-run-amok tale called "Nightmare", this techno-Fantasia provides thoughtful insights into our human condition while delivering excellent animated entertainment. END

I find this anime to be very compelling. Whenever I have spare Time Im usually watching anime. For all you anime freaks that can sit through a few hours of straight animation I highly recomend that you get this movie. The animation is spectacular and the story lines are moving, At one point in this movie i had a tear roll down my cheek. Just goes to show how powerful animation is. HEY thanx for your time!

In 2003, I was able to buy this on DVD in a West-coast Chinatown. It was probably an unlicenced Taiwanese DVD, but since only a few of the segments need subtitles this is not a problem. Picture and sound quality are good enough, tho not outstanding for a commercial product.
I won't repeat what the other reviewers have said about Robot Carnival. It's a totally unique anime sampler that has never been duplicated. Every anime fan should see it. One interesting bit of trivia I have never seen any other reviewer mention: has anyone noticed that the strange hulking buildings built by the robots in the next-to-last segment also appear in the background of some of the earlier parts? It's a sort of visual connection between some of the separate stories. I suspect there are some other visual "Easter eggs" lurking in the various shorts. There are also some interesting stills toward the end about the history of the "Robot Carnival" war machine - the viewer has to interpret what they mean.
What other sci-fi feature, anime or otherwise, has such unique features?
THe Taiwanese DVD is worth searching for.