As Nobita, Shizuka, Gian, and Suneo are auditioning for a role in their school's play based on "Journey to the West", the coveted role of Son Goku is hotly contested. After suggesting that the real Great Sage Equal to Heaven should play himself, knowing that the story is only a legend, Nobita and Doraemon go back in time to find their own fake Monkey King, but arrive in present day with the story's demons having taken over the world. The only way for things to go back to normal is for Nobita and pals to reenact the tale...for real!
Direction
Shibayama's perfect balance of silly and genuinely tense
Practical Effects
Hand-drawn demon designs that still slap decades later
Writing
Meta premise that mocks itself while committing fully
Director
Tsutomu Shibayama
Nobuyo Oyama
Doraemon (voice)
Noriko Ohara
Nobita (voice)
Michiko Nomura
Shizuka (voice)
Kaneta Kimotsuki
Suneo (voice)
Kazuya Tatekabe
Gian (voice)
Masayuki Kato
Nobita's Father (voice)
Sachiko Chijimatsu
Nobita's Mother (voice)
Ryoichi Tanaka
Teacher (voice)
Keiichi Nanba
Motohira (voice)
Masaru Ikeda
Xuanzang (voice)
Yuko Mizutani
Rinrei (voice)
Hidekatsu Shibata
Bull Demon King (voice)
Takkô Ishimori
Golden Horned King (voice)
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This film adapts the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West, a cornerstone of East Asian pop culture that also inspired Dragon Ball — making this a fascinating parallel universe take on source material most Western viewers barely know.
The 1988 release marked the ninth Doraemon feature film, landing during the franchise's absolute peak popularity in Japan — this was peak Fujiko F. Fujio era before the creator's death in 1996.
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