Doraemon Movie 10: Nobita no Nippon Tanjou

Nobita no Nippon Tanjou was certainly an enjoyable movie, and a great first impression for a person like myself who has never actually seen Doraemon, despite its overwhelming popularity in Japan. Albeit formulated upon a childish and roundabout plot line, this archetypal setup does not detract from the depth of its amusement and the value of its entertainment.

Opening up with a supposedly recurrent motif--that is, Nobito's tendency to attempt to run away--juxtaposed with the hunting excursions of a confused cavechild about to be sucked into a vortex, the film clearly aims to immediately earn the attention of it's intended audience (children).

The art is colorful ... and eye-catching, but not exceptional and clearly old-fashioned. The soundtrack and voice acting is par, but again, not spectacular. The characters are pre-established and not given any sort of development within the span of the movie, but they certainly aren't unlikable, they're just generically comedic and static. While I can't praise the movie for this, I don't find it particularly negative either--for the genre and pure entertainment purpose of the film, the kids fit the bill.

Overall, it's definitely something I enjoyed and would recommend to burn an hour or to entertain a group of bored children, but it's not something I would set aside time to watch again. It's funny, dynamic, and has the chummy, nostalgic vibe that would bring a warm pain to the chest of any adult revisiting it, but for someone watching for the first time, it can seem to drag along at times and serve no real purpose when it comes to intellectual analysis. It's a dated piece of art for dated folk, but otherwise, it's just a film to laugh at and appreciate for its unabashed mediocrity.

My overall take: Promising narrative hook, but disappointing resolution to the main conflict.

In this movie, Nobita and his friends all want to run away from home, so they run away to... the Pleistocene Epoch 70,000 years ago, before humans lived in Japan. The film starts out pretty strong. The premise itself is an intriguing one that provides insight into each of the main characters: it's not rare to see Nobita or Gian getting in trouble with their mothers, but why might spoiled Suneo or responsible Shizuka want to leave home? And what about Doraemon himself, who often takes on the role of a guardian figure ... for the kids? Connecting this story concept with the dispersal of humans into Japan is also a very creative idea. It's quite fun to watch the protagonists set up their own secret base in the Pleistocene.

Unfortunately, the primary conflict is where the film falters for me. The main characters barely contribute to defeating the villain other than unwittingly leading the time police to his hideout, which felt extremely unsatisfying. They don't even get to successfully escape from the hideout by themselves. So enticing premise aside, I've always found this story disappointing.