 What’s blue and white and read all over? That would be Doraemon, a time-traveling robot cat from the 22nd century who ranks as the all-time most popular comic-book character among Japanese kids. “Stand by Me Doraemon” has been a big hit* among fans, retelling the character’s origin* story and most popular adventures. The plot of the feature combines details from several different episodes. The big blue cat is basically the best friend a clumsy*, lazy and all-around hopeless kid like Noby could ask for. Popping up through Noby’s desk drawer one afternoon, Doraemon announces that he’s been sent back in time by Noby’s great-great-grandson to spare* him the bad marriage and even worse future that awaits if someone doesn’t take action. In the show, that proves to be an ongoing challenge, since the kid is always getting into trouble. For the sake of the film, however, all can be solved by addressing the franchise’s million-yen question: namely, whether Noby will end up with Sue, the cute oval-eyed girl who’s always hanging around. Ideally, Doraemon’s task would be to give Noby the confidence he needs to improve at school, stand up to bullies* and woo* Sue when the time comes. But Noby is clumsy at even the simplest tasks — like the time he studies extra-hard for a math quiz only to discover that the teacher has scheduled a spelling test. Luckily, Doraemon comes equipped with a bag full of cool inventions, including the Hopter (a propeller beanie that allows the wearer to fly around town), Time Kerchief (which rewinds the clock a few seconds to undo mistakes) and self-explanatory Invisible Cloak. With toys like these, who can blame Noby for wanting to take a shortcut*? And yet, while Doraemon seems to have the perfect device for every situation, that doesn’t stop Noby from goofing up* how each of them is supposed to work, sparking a seemingly endless succession of “be careful what you wish for” lessons. Plot-wise, the new feature plays things pretty close to the original. (SD-Agencies) | 