Dr. Slump and Arale-chan: Hello! Wonder Island

どくたーすらんぷ あられちゃん はろーふしぎじま

Aired: 1981

A theatrical anime mid-length film produced by Toei Doga (now Toei Animation) and distributed by Toei. The first film entry in the Dr. Slump franchise, released as part of the 1981 summer Toei Manga Matsuri festival lineup, based on Akira Toriyama's smash-hit gag manga from Weekly Shonen Jump. The 25-minute short follows the high-energy android girl Arale, built by hapless inventor Senbei Norimaki, as she and her Penguin Village friends (the alien infant Gatchan, schoolmate Peasuke, teacher Midori Yamabuki, Senbei himself, the comical alien overlord Nikochan, and others) set off on a tropical adventure to the mysterious 'Wonder Island.' Distilling the irreverent humor of the TV series into a kid-friendly vacation romp, this debut film established the formula that all subsequent Dr. Slump features would build upon.