Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2012

Did you ever want to see an animated version of Night at the Museum on overdrive set in an elementary school with three little girls as the protagonists? Yes? Read on. No? Read anyway—this is a pretty crazy effort.

Director Hitoshi Takekiyo developed this from a short he made, and he threw in everything he could think of. Grammar school girls Mako (Haruka Tomatsu), Mitsuko (Minako Kotobuki) and Miko (Sakiko Uran) vandalize their science lab but little do they know that a skeleton and anatomical model there come to life at night and rule the roost. These two, Goth (Hiromasa Taguchi) and Kunstlijk (Kouichi Yamadera), lure the girls back. While Goth has more noble intentions, Kunstlijk is aiming for revenge.

Despite this essentially being a kids, or pre-teen, movie, the plot gets more and more convoluted with the girls having to meet all sorts of challenges to get a wish granted. Action abounds as gun-wielding rabbits, motorcycle chases, time machines, and evil spirits mix it up. Naturally the girls are gangly cute, making the whole thing sweet yet thoroughly bizarre. English title: Afterschool Midnighters. (114 min)