Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a giant Doraemon blimp. That’s right, a huge airship inspired by the blue cat-robot is taking to the skies of Tokyo and Osaka to celebrate the release of the latest Doraemon film.
In what’s turning out to be a busy year for new movie releases, ‘Doraemon: Nobita’s Sky Utopia’ is hitting cinema screens on March 3 2023. This is Doraemon’s 42nd film adventure. It follows the titular cat robot, Nobita and friends as they journey to find a mysterious land above the clouds, where everything – including Nobita's grades – is perfect. The whirlwind adventure will involve time travel and being airborne, hence the promo blimp.
The actual unmanned 17-metre-long blimp taking to our skies, sadly, doesn’t have a time warp function. But it will have images of Doraemon and friends Nobita, Gian, Shizuka and Suneo, who all appear in the new movie.
Osaka is the first confirmed destination for the blimp on Saturday February 25 at Expo ‘70 Commemorative Park. The ticket application for this event has closed, but you should be able to see the blimp if you’re in the area. It’s appearing at 11am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm.
As for fans in Tokyo, you can now apply to view the blimp up close and take a photo with it before it takes off. The blimp will take flight near the Tama Riverbed three times on Sunday March 12 at 11am, 1.30pm and 3.30pm. The deadline closes on Sunday February 26, so get your online application in before then if you want to maximise your chance of seeing Nobita and his friends in the sky.
For more info about the Doraemon blimp, check the website.
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