The entire town runs on transformation, and Dororin can't do it. That fracture, that one kid who doesn't fit the magic everyone else takes for granted, is the real heart of this Anpanman film. Cream Panda sees him anyway, and that friendship becomes the only transformation that actually matters. The animation moves with genuine warmth around characters who are learning that you don't need to be what everyone expects to belong somewhere.

Anpanman and his friends are invited to the Bakeru Carnival in Obake Town, a place where anything can turn into something else and where skilled shape-shifters show off their talents to entertain everyone. Dororin, who lives in the town, is poor at transforming and cannot truly enjoy the festivities. A chance meeting with Cream Panda leads to a friendship, and the two head into a forest to find the Black Cape, a cloak said to hold the greatest transformation power in the world. Baikinman wants the cape too, planning to use it to rule Obake Town, so Anpanman, Cream Panda and Dororin must defend it. The film is a comedic fantasy adventure.