Doraemon

Synopsis

Continues the story of Doraemon: 2112-nen Doraemon Tanjou

This movie functions as a prequel to the main series, depicting Doraemon’s life before he journeyed to the 20th century. It covers how he was made, the accident that caused his incomplete condition, the loss of his ears, meeting the Nobi family, and his decision to time travel and help Nobita.

In this installment

Nobita Nobi's misfortunes are so severe that his descendants in the 22nd century remain impoverished because of his blunders in the 20th. Hoping to improve their social standing, the family's servant—a robot cat called Doraemon—journeys back in time to set Nobita on the right path toward prosperity. Unfortunately, Doraemon, a malfunctioning robot the family obtained by chance (though they decided to keep it anyway), is hardly more capable than Nobita. The robot cat takes Nobita on numerous adventures, and while Nobita's life certainly becomes more exciting with this feline helper from the future, whether it has genuinely improved in the way Doraemon intended remains uncertain. Note: The majority of the episodes have been lost; a fire destroyed most of the film prints. Out of the 52 segments originally produced, only 21 are known to survive (two of which have no audio).

Background

Note: The series has been poorly preserved, and never released on any format, nor has it ever been re-aired. Nearly all the footage within the series (except for the opening and closing credits) was destroyed in an accidental fire sometime after the series was cancelled. Surviving reels from the show are occasionally shown at Doraemon fan conventions in Japan. In addition, the audio of several episodes still survives. Still images from episodes 1 and 24 exists.