still mesmerizes me after all these years!!!!!!!!!!! love the way the music intensifies the imagery!!!!!!!!!!

plot synopsis a steampunk skull kid chases Richard Hammond through robot hell for no particular reason

This is amazing. I love the animation and the weird designs for all the robots, and both of the main characters have a ton of characterization just in their animation. You can tell the poor drunk is completely overwhelmed, while his red-cloaked pursuer looks flustered and somewhat desperate just through those crazy flailing arms. I haven't seen any other films have a similar interpretation of robots as shambling, asymmetrical things, and they look very cool here.

If you've ever seen Fantasia, one of the last shorts in the movie consisted of the Devil himself over a mountain with all these evil spirits dancing about. If you combine that with the Legend of Sleepy Hollow, it's remarkably similar to this movie, just a combination of those two with robots.

One of the few aspects I admire in this short is how this done in a nearly western animation style, particularly in the drunkard and the movement of the characters.

It's been over a decade since I saw this anime, but the image of a pogo robot jester who can mechengeist things to life and the dude trying to escape were things I've always remembered. I am so glad you uploaded this. Thank you.

I love "Nightmare" more than all the rest of Robot Carnival. It's a GREAT work of art all on its own. Course, I feel the same way about Fantasia's "Night on Bald Mountain". I love the style of the various machine-demons, some of them even look like deep-sea fish! I wish I could figure out what's supposed to be happening towards the end, though, with the female mannequin creation that the biker robot defaces for some reason, and the giant goblet.

Lets just call this "Night on Bald Mountain the Techno Remix"

this song was used in the trailer for the anime stuff on scifi channel way back when. been trying to find it ever since.

each Robot Carnival short touches down on the dichotomy between sentient machine and man. this one especially shows that even machines can have empathy. think of the drummer robot as man, the machines he produces as the product of man and the drunk guy as natural forest animals caught in the middle. deer in the headlights if you will. notice how in reality man tries to save the endangered species of the world but we continue to ruin everything

When I first saw this in Sy-Fi's Saturday anime movie block, I couldn't help but wonder why the red caped bot was chasing after the homeless guy. Looking at it now, my guess is that the robot devil doesn't want any witnesses but I doubt that anyone would believe him even if he did remember any of it with a sober mind. As far as the man's concerned it was all just a bad dream, a "Nightmare".

talk about freaky. love it! I haven't much thought on this one (yet), but I'm quite into how a few of the other shorts (the opening and "tale of two robots") have a lot of references to foreign powers invading what seems to be a "classical" japan.

I'm glad I'm not the only one getting serious "A night on bald mountain" Vibes here.

This is my favourite short from that movie. Kinda reminds me of Night on Bald Mountain and that Disney versionof Sleepy Hollow.

I watched this over and over as a kid. Loved the character. And after years of not watching it I still loved it.

Robot jester: Wait I only want to tell you about your motor scooter warranty! Drunk Guy: *DRIVES LIKE A MAN INSNAE* WEBNTNSBTGJSABFOTGKNMRKS!!!!!???!

こっちのロボットカーニバルはまだ平和だな。てか追っかけてくるロボット可愛いなw

I'm impressed by the messy design of the junk-robot at 5:15 and the way they animated it !

This is a take on Night on Bald Mountain and Sleepy Hollow

This was my favorite one out of the whole movie. The music is just awesome and the artwork kicks ass.

I was too young to remember a lot of Robot Carnival but I remember this for sure.

Red is one of my favorite anime characters. Reminds me of another character Toby from Unico In The Island of Magic.

This reminds me of the segment of Fantasia when the demons controlled the night, it's very similar except for the guy trying to get away. This whole movie kicks ass.

I just watched this again, for the first time in a long time, and had a bit of insight. The robot in the red cape is obviously following the... inebriated man, but his intent may have been misinterpreted. The robot in the red cape may be a gatekeeper, or even guardian, trying keep humans out of the dangers of the mechanical night. The drunk merely fled in terror, possibly from impending safety! This would also explain the apparent conflict with the larger robot, who might care about the human.

I remember watching it when it first came out, at the CFO in NYC wayyyyyyyy back in 1988. Still the first awesome anime I saw, then Wings of Honneiamise, then Akira, and so on and so forth.

音楽が久石譲している…最高だ

I first saw this movie back when they had Saturday Anime on sci/fi channel. It has been one of my favorites ever since. Thanks for posting this!

Watching this as a kid i figured the robots were demons in a bet with god and had to get rid of all the humans in a night or they would lose

Lol, this particular short scared the daylights out of me when I first saw it (I was 7 or so). When Dad and I would watch our VHS, I'd ask him to stop it just as this one was coming on. XD

Oh yeah, and this is straight on Night on Bald Mountain shit too.

Bot God: Fat tiddy bird creature? Not my finest work...

Out of all of the shorts, this one I liked the most, really wild and menacing looking machines, and a really cool sound track.

I haven't seen these in so many years! I used to love this cartoon. This has got to be cyberpunk genre.

Nice Tribute to Disney's Fantasia and the Legend of Sleepy Hollow. Well done.

watching this before bed 😉

Ya this video is basically an homage to Night on Bald Mountain, old disney movie. It reminded me of it almost immediately. They all come out at night, mess things up and terrorizing. Then they all disappear and things go back to normal.. except it's all crazy ass robots, lol. Also the random "chicken" dude is different and I Think he might need some counseling after that. Nice short thou

The music sounds like it was made by the same composer of Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, even the robot witch reminds me of the main villain from that game.

I'd watch this over and over again as a kid... I just love the music.

holy shyte. I just like the way some of the older anime looks, and such creative and kick ass robot designs!

CGかと思うくらいヌルヌル動くな 一体何枚かけてんだろ

To me it feels like the robots in this short just represent anarchy. Some look like they're trying to build or accomplish something, but most of them are running around crazily and there's no communication or order, so everything collapses and explodes.

Even the big fat monster robot reminded me of a character from the film "Heavy Traffic".

I first saw this when it came on TBS back in 94 along with Vampire Hunter D. Just like you guys, this was my introduction to what anime really was.

I can't believe I never knew a thing about this film until tonight. Thank you!

brings me back to the day when scifi channel did the "Saturday Anime" thing. i used to always wake up for that, these were my saturday morning cartoons haha.

I saw this when i was like 10. im 25 now. its still my fave. I even taped it way back when it aired. still have the tape stashed somwhere....

I think this one is my favorite of the non-verbal shorts.

This is one of the movies that got me into anime! Thanks a lot for the upload

The music is also used on an HK ATV series called 勝者為王 II.

Just from what I've seen, I think it's an allegory about arms races. Early on, two giant robots fight for the fate of feudal Japan in "A Tale of Two Robots", only to leave the Japanese robot victorious but the city in ruins. It begins a cycle of robot wars where all the world develops robots to defeat each other. This one seems to be about a robot overlord that is the result of that same robot arms race about a century later.

I absolutely love the music for this short.

I would think that Disney's night on bald mountain better fits this feel... This was so amazing to see from start to finish though... I found it easier to sit through then Fantasia though...

I remember seeing this on sci fi anime on saturday morning. Thanks for posting

Some of these shots are direct parallels to Night On Bald Mountain. This is not a bad thing. Had this on vhs as a kid, it's amazing.

These are discontinued so thanks for posting them

robotic version of chernabog,this is a homenage to fantasia last short.

Hell yeah Scot me to it's heart warming know that people still remember!

Looks like Stu Pickles really lost control of his life this time.

Night on Bald Mountain, Robot Style! Wow! :D

The bgm rocks.

This episode of the anime comes out on the movie "Blank check" with that kid who calls himself Mr. Macintosh lol! when hes in his mansion.You can see it playing in the background on his big ass TV or many TV's to make one big ass one

LOL, 'birdzilla' at 5:25. XD

I would say his alter ego was really what was chasing him, his fear was the world that really existed as opposed to the drone existence that prevailed. When he woke up he saw his "nightmare" was real.

robot carnival changed my life. too wicked

I heard this was considered the anime verison of our "Fantasia". So this could be equal to the Chernobog video.

I love this one. I remember the music from when I was a kid

I saw this at an anime con. The guy playing it summed it up as a "Robot version of Night on Bald Mountain" Pretty fitting, but it also has a touch of Sleepy Hollow Anyway, glad I was able to find it

night on bald mountain for robots

Woe be unto those with so narrow a vision. Because they have freedom to do what they wish they are able to create whatever they want. These creations have implicit meaning no matter if it was intended or not. Just because the different stories have different tones does not imply each one is bereft of meaning. Nor does it mean there is a lack of overall theme to the set. I've always seen this compilation as a general look at human robot interactions, from love to a forbidden lust and all between.

I agree with you ridley. THat's the way I always took it.

that mixed with The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, methinks.

found a vhs copy of this Santa Monica CA library.. Joe dirt job.

i think the person who made his was trying to show how technology could turn against and overtake us.

Oh god I forgot there were chicken boobs in this AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!

@BloodyBobJr It's a mix of NIght on Bald Mountain from Disney's 1940 Fanstasia combined with the later Disney short animated adapation of "Ichabod Crane".

this animation makes my hands hurt

ghosts in the machine.

I think that a better music score would make this animation much greater than it looks.

@MBMaster83 ... That is the single greatest VHS of all time.

@MBMaster83 Hell yeah! Thank goodness for Sat Anime! I watched Record of Lodoss War, 8-Man After, and a few others. One of the things that introduced me to anime.

This was the best one by far

if anyone is interested to know, Isaac Asimov (the father of robot Sci-Fi's) called the fear of robots "the Frankenstein Complex"!

my childhood....

I remember watching this on Scifi Channel on the old Saturday Anime block.

I don't know, but I went to Japan two times and I can say, with my French point of view, that Japan's society is very mechanic and robotic by high presence of machines, the way to live, the telephone lines at the roof,etc. Japanese people have a different view of machine than the rest of the world (at least this is what I think by viewing movies like this one and Otomo's ones). I know a Japanese woman, I should ask her what she thinks about this setence.

yeah I agree sleepy hollow is a prime candidate for being the inspiration

This was made about ten years before Sleepy Hollow

Absolutely brilliant stuff.......

MY FAVORITE

i've never seen Robot Carnival 1987. Is this Nightmare part of this 1987 movie,or something else?

The speed at which technology grows can leave you behind if you don't pay attention. If you try and fight it you might be left high and dry. Helped implied by the protagonists initial inebriation and then stuck high and dry sober, but also with the question of is that inhuman progression really a good thing?

@MBMaster83 Saturday Anime... I remember Demon City, 8-Man, Cassah- Robot Hunter, D (Vampire Hunter), Project Ako, Tank Police, etc. Man brings me back... good times... good times. But we don't have to let those times go away. We can change the world for our kids if we want. Cuz look at the cartoons they have now.. it's nothing compared to what these had. (Life, Passion, Originality) Or we can just get them on DVD or Blue-Ray for them to see cuz they'll never see a VHS.. wow think about that

@KandiStomper I couldn't agree with you more. Thanks to the Sci-Fi Channel (back in the mid to late 90s) it exposed be to alot of the old and more classic anime movies.. Hell, I'll even admit I watched Project A-Ko! Todays stuff doesn't have what this stuff has at all..

Not being able to communicate has nothing to do with anarchy, since anarchy means no authority, no leadership but instead equality and solidarity so everybody (and not just a portion of human kind) moves forward. I would say that, besides the obvious nightmarish -for humans- awakening of the machines, it shows (through the perspective of the robots) their effort to do as much as they can the only time they act freely and not under commands from humans..

Plus another Disney work - "Legend of Sleepy Hollow". ; )

This was their take on fantasia.

LSD maaan...

You put it to the Point !!!

Well if we all go the transhumanism route and submit to A.I. and allow machines to become one with human beings and allow them to Govern over us, this in a nut shell is just one of the possible outcomes.

That was badass