What Am I for Momotaro

Doraemon: What Am I for Momotarō?
Theatrical release poster
Kanjiドラえもん ぼく、桃太郎のなんなのさ
Revised HepburnDoraemon Boku, Momotarou no Nan'na no Sa
Directed byTakeyuki Kanda
Screenplay byNoboru Shiroyama
Based on
Doraemon
by Fujiko F. Fujio
Produced by
Starring
Edited byHajime Okayasu
Music byShunsuke Kikuchi
Production
company
Distributed byToho
Release date
  • August 1, 1981 (1981-08-01) (Japan)
Running time
46 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office$3 million[1]

Doraemon: What Am I for Momotarō? (ドラえもん ぼく、桃太郎のなんなのさ, Doraemon Boku, Momotarou no Nan'na no Sa) is a 1981 Japanese animated science fiction comedy-drama short film.[2]

It premiered in Japan on August 1, 1981[Note 1][2] on a double feature with 21 Emon: Welcome to Space!.

It is largely an expanded and modified version of the 1975 Doraemon, Bakeru-kun, and Another Story chapter "What Am I for Momotaro?", albeit removing all Bakeru-kun elements and characters.

Synopsis

For his school's summer vacation homework assignment, Nobita decides to research his town's history. He uses Doraemon's secret gadget, the "Time Camera", to photograph the past, but to his surprise, it captures the image of Momotarō and his companions hauling a cart full of treasure.

Meanwhile, a small picture held by a man named Dutch, a foreigner who Nobita's mother Tamako had just met, happens to depict a samurai dressed just like Momotarō, with the photograph-like picture having been passed down through Dutch's family for generations.

Thinking Momotarō might have been a real person, Nobita and Doraemon both go back in time to past Japan alongside Shizuka, Suneo, and Gian.

Cast

An unofficial English version, produced and released exclusively in Malaysia by Speedy Video, features an unknown voice cast.[3]

Character Japanese voice actor
Doraemon Nobuyo Ōyama
Nobita Nobi Noriko Ohara
Shizuka Minamoto Michiko Nomura
Suneo Honekawa Kaneta Kimotsuki
Takeshi "Gian" Gōda Kazuya Tatekabe
Tamako Nobi Sachiko Chijimatsu
Nobisuke Nobi Masayuki Katō
Dutch Takashi Kuwabara
Grandma Sachiko Chijimatsu
Grandpa Masayuki Katō
Oni Teiji Ōmiya
Village Chief Mahito Tsujimura
Villagers Reizō Nomoto
Toku Nishio
Kazuhiko Inoue
Ritsuo Sawa
21 Emon Kazuhiko Inoue

Production

The first Doraemon feature film, Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur, was released in March 1980, followed by Doraemon: The Records of Nobita, Spaceblazer in March 1981. Five months after Spaceblazer however, Doraemon: What Am I for Momotarō? released as a summer holiday film (making 1981 a year with two Doraemon films), but because it was the sole exception to the tradition of March releases for Doraemon feature films (at least until 2020's Doraemon: Nobita's New Dinosaur), it is often distinguished from the Doraemon feature films as a short film.

The title is a play on the catchphrase "What are you to her?" (あんた、あの娘のなんなのさ?) from the hit 1975 Japanese rock song "Port of Yoko, Yokohama, Yokosuka" (港のヨーコ ヨコハマ ヨコスカ).

Soundtrack

Theme songs

"I'm Doraemon" (ぼくドラえもん)
Lyrics: Fujiko F. Fujio / Composition and Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi / Vocals: Nobuyo Ōyama, Koorogi '73
"Blue Sky in the Pocket" (青い空はポケットさ)
Lyrics: Hiroo Takada / Composition and Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi / Vocals: Kumiko Ōsugi

Insert song

"Doraemon's Song" (ドラえもんのうた)
Lyrics: Takumi Kusube / Composition and Arrangement: Shunsuke Kikuchi / Vocals: Kumiko Ōsugi

Release

The short film was released in Japan on August 1, 1981.[2]

It screened theatrically in a double feature with the 21 Emon film 21 Emon: Welcome to Space!.

Reception

Box office reception

Because the short film was screened as a double feature with 21 Emon: Welcome to Space!, it grossed ¥500 million yen ($3 million) at the Japan box office.[1]

Notes

  1. ↑ In the Osaka area, it released two weeks earlier on July 18, 1981.

References

  1. 1 2 "Top 9 Japanese Films by Free Booking Distribution Revenue" (in Japanese). Kinema Junpo. Late February 1982 issue. Kinema Junpo Co., Ltd. 1982. 123 pages.
  2. 1 2 3 ドラえもん ぼく桃太郎のなんなのさ：作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ (in Japanese). Eiga.com.
  3. ↑ Malaysian English Dub Doraemon Archived 2019-05-24 at the Wayback Machine - The Lost Media Wiki
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