Stand by Me Doraemon

Growing up watching tons of Doraemon, I feel obliged to see this like a ritual.

While the technical aspects excels incredibly, I feel the script is too sensational. Never in my life have we cried for a Doraemon episode, but this predictable story makes everyone sob.

On the whole, I cannot say I do not like it. But I cannot say I like it either. It seems it is made with a lot of sincerity and uplifting for kids who are a little insecure about themselves. But I think it is unnecessarily tear-jerking, as in the director's previous work The Eternal Zero. Just a little overly sensational. I cried a few times and I think it is the style of the director who likes to make you cry. But I think he could have achieved the same result without jerking audience's tears.

But I love the surreal and realistic graphics! The street scene and small room of Japanese house make me miss Japanese life so much. The use of light, the character's hair, the clouds, even the neighborhood scene, etc, give a very warm feeling. The ride in the future is fantastic. And Doraemon's gadgets are forever magical! There is also a strong moral that we have to do things by ourselves and never give up. Perhaps it is a Japanese virtue to sacrifice oneself for others. On that point maybe the story could have added more details.

O. The theme song is lovely and I still hum it from time to time.

I'm sorry but for a long time Doraemon fan this doesn't surprise me. Delight, yes, because it wraps up the story very nicely. But every single point in the movie you can find scattered all over the comic book, the movie was just collecting the bits from the comic book and bundle it into one and make a nice graphic for it. But it's really NOT anything new. It's a story all of us has already known before. I rated it 6/10 not because I don't like the story, because everyone who loves Doraemon can't possibly NOT love the story. But I don't like the fact that they didn't give me something new which I looked forward too. Also, the way it was presented was so over-the-top. I usually felt some emotion watching any of Doraemon's adventure movie series, like Doraemon and Dinosaurs, or Doraemon in the Animal Kingdom, in Robot World, etc. Even I can feel something in the normal weekly series. But because Stand By Me is very over-the-top, I can't believe the flow of the emotion one bit. It didn't get to me. This speaks volume since I'm a super crybaby and even nowadays I can still cry watching mere commercials!

Oh by the way, I'm 31, and have been watching Doraemon since I was Nobita's age.

Time traveling probably still remains as one of man's greatest dreams. Though impossible to achieve in reality, we always remember that there's Doraemon and his gadgets that can help realize those possibilities. Doraemon, the robot cat from the future, has traveled back in time along with Sewashi, Nobita's (aka Da Xiong) descendant. They went back to the past to help 10 year old Nobita fix the mess so his descendants need not suffer the consequences. Sewashi leaves Doraemon behind, installing a program in him that disallows him from going back to the future till Nobita attains happiness.

As you might already know, Nobita is known for his cowardice and wimpy behavior. Once he realized how powerful Doraemon's gadgets can be, he simply relies on them and attempts at making the game change. However, as you might expect, the gadgets have limitations. Ultimately, it depends on one's will and resolve that can truly break through the circumstances. Nobita fails and try again, growing out of his wimpy self and eventually overcomes the challenges.

Stand by Me has a very simple, engaging and easy-to-follow story. There's nothing too drastic or dramatic to expect, which could disappoint some who are looking for something stimulating. The entire story also has a hint of nostalgia. It's easy to identify with the young Nobita, since virtually everyone goes through that 'rite of passage' – of growing up. The character development of Nobita though not multifaceted, has enough depth and gives a good support to the narrative.

Visually wise, the 3D animated Doraemon might require some getting used to since it is not that 2D one which we are familiar to watching on TV. (Don't we all have some fond childhood memories of catching Doraemon on our local channel on weekend mornings?) Yet, this has got to be the cutest and most adorable Doraemon to date. With his vivid expressions, it's impossible not to like!

The entire 3D environment was also a masterwork. Not only were they very realistic, even the sound effects and background chatter were worked down to great details. Further, you really have to give it to the Japanese for having such great voice actors. They probably have the world's best, and thanks to them, the entire movie was truly 'animated'.

Overall, Stand by Me is one entertaining film that's surprisingly touching as well. This has to be the blockbuster of the Doraemon movies released thus far. Subtly but surely, Stand by Me gives you and me a stark reminder that 'your life is the sum of your choices'.

Some of the plots were old, but I still enjoyed watching this. Doraemon is the best, ever.

Very good movie. Though the storyline wasn't new, it was good enough. It was really a great heart-warming movie.