Doraemon: Nobita’s Art World Tales, on ANA

As a feline robot from the future, with a documented 1,963 retro-high-tech gadgets, Doraemon can teach Nobita a lot about science. Yet, he also encourages the young Japanese boy’s interest in art. Inadvertently, that leads to trouble in Doraemon: Nobita’s Art World Tales, the 44^th Doraemon movie, released during Doraemon’s 45^th anniversary celebration, which currently screens on ANA’s in-flight entertainment system.

Essentially, Doraemon is sort of a cat-lover’s Mr. Peabody, who decided to travel back from the future to look after Nobita, a rather average Japanese boy. They have gone through a lot over the last 45 years, but Nobita hasn’t aged a day.

Seeking inspiration for their art class assignments, Nobita and his pals have been using the “Entering Light” to transport themselves inside paintings. Then one day, a hole in the space-time continuum opens up right above Nobita, dropping a mysterious painting on him. Presumably, it is related to the rift that swept away Princess Claire in the prologue.

Regardless, Nobita’s painting appears related to the mysterious Arturian painting reported on the evening news. Believed to be a relic of a lost ancient civilization, the painting creates quite a stir, because of its unearthly shade of “Arturian blue.” When Doraemon and Nobita use their light to explore the painting, Princess Claire stumbles out of the exit portal.

When Nobita and his friends find Claire wandering the streets of Tokyo, they offer to help her return home, via the Entering Light. Of course, it isn’t that simple. Once they reunite Claire with her childhood friend Milo (or Mairo), she learns she has been missing for four years.

Although the king and queen are thrilled and relieved by Claire safe return, a conspiracy is clearly afoot. Paintings have been stolen from the castle and the newly reinstated Princess soon discovers an impostor has usurped her place. She needs Nobita and Doraemon to expose the culprit.

Although Doraemon is well-known among American anime fans, his popularity here has yet to reach the levels of other anime franchises, which is a little weird. He is enormously cute, in a Garfield kind of way, while his adventures are more complex than you might expect. Frankly, Nobita’s Art World Tales will have your head-spinning with all its time-travel, worm-holes, and other mind-bending elements. Plus, there is a dragon. Arguably, the film’s tone is similar to the average Scooby-Doo movie, but somewhat more sophisticated.

Yet, at every step, Doraemon has a gadget for everything, because that’s his thing. Nobita’s Art World Tales also depicts several endearing examples of Doraemon and Nobita’s mutual affection. It is a very sweet film, but it is also loaded with outlandish fantasy and science fiction elements.

Even though it wasn’t conceived as an entry-point, Nobita’s Art World Tales will still convert newcomers into fans. It is wildly inventive, yet warmly charming. Honestly, parents of bright preteens should consider introducing them to Doraemon. Unfortunately, the highly recommended Doraemon: Nobita’s Art World Tales is not yet widely available in American, but it currently streams on ANA flights.