Welcome to The Space Show is a family science fiction anime film by A-1 Pictures. While at summer camp, five kids rescue an injured dog, who turns out to be an alien. As a thank you he takes them to a station on the far side of the moon, however the journey back proves to be more difficult - especially when some poachers start chasing them for the wasabi they happened to be carrying with them.
It has been released on DVD and Blu-ray in the UK by Manga Entertainment, who produced a dub in association with Aniplex and NYAV Post.
Tropes:
- Alien Non-Interference Clause: The Space Federation prefers to leave primitive planets like Earth alone besides observing.
- Aliens Speaking English: Pochi learned Japanese as he had to spend a significant amount of time on the planet researching.
- Artificial Gravity: The pendants the kids are given not only give them Translator Microbes, they also regulate gravity around them so they experience Earthlike gravity wherever they go. This is apparently pretty standard policy for most worlds within the Space Federation, although they do encounter one world whose leader refuses to install the appropriate technology for the pendants to work and so Amane and Natsuki find themselves smashed flat and unable to move as soon as they step off the train.
- Artistic License – Space:
- Making the whole far side of the moon a huge space port even though the Apollo program took place (a lander with the US flag can be clearly seen)
- Describing a Super Nova as the birth of a star. Understandable as a kid (Kouji) makes that statement. On the other hand, the space show was singing "Happy Birthday" to the event.
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Natsuki lampshades this trope, admitting that she always wanted to be the hero rescuing the damsel in distress, but when her own cousin needed rescuing she just felt scared and helpless.
- Call a Smeerp a "Rabbit": The "horses" that Pochi bets on are more like giant seahorses.
- Caught on Tape: The entire final showdown of the movie is seen by virtually everyone who watches the Space Show.
- Fainting: Noriko faints when Pochi first speaks, then does it again when he apologises.
- Free-Range Children: The kids are essentially entirely unsupervised at "summer camp," with nary an adult in sight. This allows for them to follow Pochi into space for a week without any adults being the wiser.
- Living Ship: Most notably an express train ship which is a long segmented insect/dragon with fleshy walls in the inside.
- Naked People Are Funny: Noriko's little brother displaying everything to the world - from the back of a cow.
- Running Gag: Whenever Natsuki encounters an animal, she pets it starting from the lower back and going up the spine. Every creature she does this to shows displeasure when she does it. when she does it to one of the big cow/lizard things Pochi's parents have, it chases her around the field, with her yelling out "I'M SORRY!"
- Subspace Ansible: Pochi's request to have travels to Earth banned is processed and accepted immediately, leaving our human heroes stranded on the moon.
- Translator Microbes: The jewellery-style passports they are given translate all spoken and written languages.
- Weirdness Censor: The federation have built a huge city on the dark side of the moon that's visible from space but apparently hasn't been noticed by Earth satellites.
