Doraemon: The Secret Gadget Museum/ Production Notes

Destination Films and Miramax has written the production notes in the summer of 2001, during production on the film Doraemon: The Secret Gadget Museum.

About the Blue Robot Cat from the Future
Have you ever heard of Doraemon? Well, he is a blue, earless robot cat from the future. He travels back in time to solve problems for Nobu, a 10-year-old boy from the present. He keeps load of gadgets from his 4D pocket to help Nobu get through his life very well.

History of Doraemon
Doraemon has debuted as a Japanese comic book in 1969. Japanese children love the franchise due to its humor and nonsense. It currently has an anime adaption, which aired back is 1979 and is still running to this day on TV Asahi.

Cast of Doraemon: The Secret Gadget Museum
In order to make a magnificent animated/live-action hybrid anime film, we need to hire a cast, and yes, we needed a good one.

Doraemon, voiced by the talented, Canadian voice actress Jillian Michaels, takes Nobu and his friends on a journey to a secret gadget museum. "It looks like a fun ride" Jillian said, "Doraemon is very popular in Japan and I'm very proud that it is in other countries too".

Nobu is very whiny and dependent, but he is actually very nice. "He can be a bit of a crying menace, but he is as sweet as any other kid. When you are a child that is dependent on an imaginary friend or a robot with contraptions from the future, Nobu is the kid you'll love." Michael E. Rodgers said while he talks about his character, Nobu. The Scottish actor resumes, "The film can get upside down sometimes and it can be a wee struggle. All you have to do is record your voice on a microphone to let the animated cartoon character come to life. Trust me, it's not that hard, right?"

Zippy can be like a sneaky liar, but he loves going on adventures, just like Doraemon and his friends. Rob Rackstraw, his voice actor, explains about Zippy in a calm, cool, and collected way. "I think Zippy seems to be a talented kid with lots of tricks on his sleeve. He can tease Nobu and make him unlucky, but he is actually Nobu's friend and cares about him a lot. That's what makes this film enjoyable for all ages."

Zippy also has a friend, Giant, who sings very terribly and looks like a normal neighborhood bully. "Giant is like a giant," Rob Rackstraw continues, "He is more brutal to Nobu than Zippy. He's like a normal neighborhood bully who steals comics all day and has a tight singing voice."

Ace Perfect is a kid who is the nicest boy. He can become friends and fall in love with Violet more often than Nobu. "He's a fun character to voice," Richard Nicholls, Ace's voice actor, explains, "He is a kid that'll never be stopped! Who knows, he might be a superstar someday!"

Richard later on explains about Ace's relationship with Violet, "He has a good relationship with Violet, which makes Nobu, the kid with the glasses and the yellow shirt, jealous sometimes. When you are a smart kid who enjoys everyday life and is good at everything, I think you may be sharing the same personalities and behaviors as Ace!"

Finally, we have Stan, a character played by Scottish actor David Tennant. He is the assistant to Doraemon and his kid friends. Stan does nothing but take naps, rest, disagree with Doraemon, and have lots of fun. "He's a great fun character to play," David says, "He is like a child in an adult's body, I mean, who doesn't have a childish attitude?"

David Tennant gets to interact with an animated robot cat and his friends, who are animated children. "Interacting with animated characters seems to be the best part in this film in my opinion" David Tennant explains, "I think it is magical for a live-action character to interact with hand-drawn cartoon characters that move. When you come across a film that has a mixture of live-action and animation, I think it's wonderful!"

David then explains about the method of the anime franchise, Doraemon, "I think this film and the anime series is pretty good. Kids get to experience a blue robot cat from the future that gets sent back in time to take care of a small, sensitive, 10-year-old boy named Nobu, who has lots of problems in his life, like he gets bullied a lot, gets zeroes on his exams, gets scolded by his parents, and gets extremely unlucky and miserable. Thanks to the help of Doraemon and his special contraptions from the future, Nobu will become a very happy kid with a nice, yellow shirt he always wears!"