Studio Colorido’s 2018 film Penguin Highway, adapted from Tomihiko Morimi’s novel, is now available to stream free on YouTube. The article argues that it is the studio’s defining and most overlooked work, praised for blending childhood curiosity, scientific inquiry and fantasy within an ordinary suburban setting.

The story follows Aoyama, an exceptionally methodical primary-school pupil investigating unexplained penguins appearing around his town and a floating sphere that distorts reality. Directed by Hiroyasu Ishida, the film treats science and wonder as complementary, using summer streets, shops and fields to show that growing up can mean finding better ways to explore the extraordinary rather than losing imagination.