Doraemon the Movie 2011 - Nobita and the New Steel Troops
I guess the good part is that I enjoyed the first thirty minutes or so.
Basically, Suneo has a flying robot and Nobita boasts about having one that's bigger than a house. And circumstances lead to one another and soon he's assembling a super robot in an alternate mirror-verse, and a little after, well, he's flying around and stuff. It's all silly and cute and the robot is hand-drawn and everything is sunny and well with the world. As the kids mess around with the robot, there's a sense of wonder and fun that's sorely missing in the rest of the movie. For a moment it captures a bit of what made Nobita's Dino 2006 so special.
I mean, it has a giant ballet-dancing robot:
And then, they discover that the robot has functions outside of doing backflips or swimming or dancing--indeed, it turns out to be a weapon of mass destruction, and the proof is in the really goddamn good effects animation that accompanies the demolition of a building:
It's a very effective tone-shift and in its wake (with half the city in shambles) the children are stunned, and even Nobita agrees to leave the robot alone. The very color with which the viewer regards the world has changed: the blue skies, the sunny lighting, all are gone in favor of the orange facade of a sunset, bolstering the impression that play-time is over. Of course, things don't go as planned, and after some more complications and an exciting chase-sequence the first part of the movie comes to a close, and with that, my enjoyment of the film as a whole.
By this point I really was all-in on this movie - while it lacked the careful concern with which Nobita's Dino set-up its character dynamics, the boisterousness with which the events were handled & the great animation made it a very pleasant watch.
Then came the rest of the movie.
Nothing makes sense. Things happen and the characters do things with the placid assumption that it'll all work out--nonsense after nonsense, the world is endangered, whatever. Without the basics established there's nothing to care for in the movie outside of external assumptions brought in by being a fan of the property. There's a particularly horrible mascot-character named
but they're all pretty bad, so it doesn't feel fair highlighting him in particular. Not even the loli moe robot waifu character voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro works - the character revelations that should theoretically make you care for her fall flat.
It's a good looking movie, at least. The characters are animated with a nice flair and the thick lines accentuate their presence in a very pleasant way. I just wish the movie itself had been better. If I have to compare it to Nobita's Dino, I'd say that this feels like its summer blockbuster equivalent, lacking heart and possessing only a great abundance of explosions.
I guess the good part is that I enjoyed the first thirty minutes or so.
Basically, Suneo has a flying robot and Nobita boasts about having one that's bigger than a house. And circumstances lead to one another and soon he's assembling a super robot in an alternate mirror-verse, and a little after, well, he's flying around and stuff. It's all silly and cute and the robot is hand-drawn and everything is sunny and well with the world. As the kids mess around with the robot, there's a sense of wonder and fun that's sorely missing in the rest of the movie. For a moment it captures a bit of what made Nobita's Dino 2006 so special.
I mean, it has a giant ballet-dancing robot:
And then, they discover that the robot has functions outside of doing backflips or swimming or dancing--indeed, it turns out to be a weapon of mass destruction, and the proof is in the really goddamn good effects animation that accompanies the demolition of a building:
It's a very effective tone-shift and in its wake (with half the city in shambles) the children are stunned, and even Nobita agrees to leave the robot alone. The very color with which the viewer regards the world has changed: the blue skies, the sunny lighting, all are gone in favor of the orange facade of a sunset, bolstering the impression that play-time is over. Of course, things don't go as planned, and after some more complications and an exciting chase-sequence the first part of the movie comes to a close, and with that, my enjoyment of the film as a whole.
By this point I really was all-in on this movie - while it lacked the careful concern with which Nobita's Dino set-up its character dynamics, the boisterousness with which the events were handled & the great animation made it a very pleasant watch.
Then came the rest of the movie.
Nothing makes sense. Things happen and the characters do things with the placid assumption that it'll all work out--nonsense after nonsense, the world is endangered, whatever. Without the basics established there's nothing to care for in the movie outside of external assumptions brought in by being a fan of the property. There's a particularly horrible mascot-character named
Judo/Pippo
It's a good looking movie, at least. The characters are animated with a nice flair and the thick lines accentuate their presence in a very pleasant way. I just wish the movie itself had been better. If I have to compare it to Nobita's Dino, I'd say that this feels like its summer blockbuster equivalent, lacking heart and possessing only a great abundance of explosions.
