is a 2010 Japanese animated science fiction film produced by A-1 Pictures and distributed by Aniplex. It was directed by Koji Masunari from a script by Hideyuki Kurata, and stars the voices of Tomoyo Kurosawa, Honoka Ikezuki, Shōtarō Uzawa, Tamaki Matsumoto, Takuto Yoshinaga, and Keiji Fujiwara. In the film, five children rescue an alien dog, and are rewarded a trip to the Moon in response. After events cause the group to become stranded in space, they must find a way to return to Earth before the kids' parents arrive.
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 revolves around five elementary school kids on their "school trip". In the process of looking for their missing class pet (a rabbit named Pyon-Kichi), the children rescue a dog they find injured in a corn field. The dog turns out to be an alien called Pochi Rickman, and he invites them to visit the Moon as a reward for helping him. However, through a series of strange events, they become stranded and must make their way across the galaxy to get to Pochi's homeworld, Wan, so that they may return to Earth. Along the way they are pursued by the aliens responsible for Pochi being injured in the first place. The aliens work for the host (called Neppo) of the universe's most popular entertainment, "The Space Show", which appears to be a variety act broadcast from a mysterious moving spaceship.
Neppo is bent on using the power of the ship, called the Pet Star, to become a god. However, the ship requires a particular power source to run; namely a substance called Zughan, which turns out to be a close relative of the wasabi root. As Natsuki is carrying some of the root with them in her bag, Neppo has thus targeted the group. When his thugs fail to retrieve the bag, Neppo goes himself; arriving just as the children and Pochi reach Wan. The Pet Stars tractor beams steal the bag, but they also take Amane as well.
This leads to a show down at an interstellar festival, where with the help of friends they've made along the way, the children manage not only to defeat Neppo and rescue Amane but also save the entire universe. The children are then able to return home (along with Pyon-Kichi, who had been kidnapped by Neppo's henchmen as well) and arrive at the school just before their parents show up to retrieve them.
Characters
A fifth grade student who recently moved from town, the energetic and tomboyish Natsuki longs to be a heroine. Natsuki and her mother Shimizu have just recently moved out to the country and are staying with Amane's family. Natsuki also has a great love of wasabi.
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 an honest and gentle personality. She starts the film annoyed with Natsuki, in part because her older cousin was responsible for Pyon-Kichi escaping his cage, and in part because Natsuki's personality appears to have changed (becoming more arrogant and lazy) since she has moved in. But in the end, she forgives Natsuki after her cousin rescues her and realizes it wasn't Natsuki's fault, it was Neppo's henchmen who kidnapped Pyon-Kichi.
The oldest of the group—being in sixth grade—Kiyoshi has leadership qualities: a strong sense of responsibility, honesty, trustworthiness, and kindness. Kiyoshi is a little bit hesitant to pursue what he wants and tends to second guess his own decisions. He takes the younger children's safety and well being very seriously though, and by the end of the movie has figured out what he wants to do with himself.
Despite being a very timid fourth grader, Noriko always acts like her dream is to be an idol star. She likes to wear trendier clothing and is embarrassed by her younger brother Hiroto. Noriko is also the voice of reason when Natuski and Amane bicker.
Kōji wears glasses and is an avid bookworm brimming with curiosity about everything. He loves anything to do with UFOs, aliens, and the occult. While on the moon, he meets and becomes friends with an alien named Ink, who works with her father Rubin as traveling repairmen. Ink's father has a rocket ship he has been building with spare parts for a long time and the children end up using it during the festival to help them reach the Pet Star.