2112: The Birth of Doraemon

Plot

In November 1969, manga artist Hiroshi Fujimoto struggles to conceive a new serialized manga for a school magazine. Sitting at his desk, he wishes for a time machine to plagiarize his own future ideas. In the 22nd century, on September 3, 2112, the Time Patrol pursues the time criminal Dolmanstein and his henchman the Black Mask above the Matsushiba Robot Factory, which manufactures cat-shaped babysitting robots. Dolmanstein and the Black Mask perform a time warp to escape, and the resulting shockwave strikes a newly built robot cat named Doraemon, causing a screw to pop out of his head and sending him tumbling.

He is rescued by a dancing robot cat named Noramyako, with whom he falls in love at first sight. At Robot School, Doraemon struggles academically due to his lost screw. Principal Teraodai suggests switching classes to utilize his special qualities, and Noramyako is in his new classroom, delighting Doraemon but angering bullies Jaibee and Sunekichi. They attempt to steal Doraemon's fourth-dimensional pocket, but Noramyako intervenes.

Despite encouragement from Noramyako, who gives him a dorayaki, Doraemon's grades do not improve before the graduation audition. During the audition, his gadgets fail, but a young baby named Sewashi presses a button, allowing Doraemon to pass. Sewashi's parents return home and, seeing Sewashi's attachment, decide to keep Doraemon as his babysitter.

Production

The short depicts Doraemon's creation, his life in the 22nd century, and his departure to the 20th century to aid Nobita, while also portraying the real-life biographical story of how manga artist Fujiko F. Fujio created the series. The voice cast includes Nobuyo Ōyama, Yoshiko Ōta, Keiko Yokozawa, Yūko Minaguchi, and others, with Fujiko F. Fujio providing narration. Director Yoshitomo Yonetani stated that Fujiko F. Fujio was dissatisfied with contradictions in previously published settings and origin stories, so the short aimed to consolidate and align them.

Release

The short film debuted in Japan on March 4, 1995, playing in theaters alongside the 16th Doraemon feature film, Doraemon: Nobita's Diary on the Creation of the World. In 2024, to mark Fujiko F. Fujio's 90th birthday, it became available for streaming on Prime Video in Japan as part of the "Fujiko F. Fujio's 90th Anniversary Film Masterpiece Selection," which also included many other animated shorts.