A Doraemon movie was released on October 2nd—yes, the same Doraemon from our childhood that we used to watch for hours after coming home from school, glued to the TV screen and unwilling to tear ourselves away.
The movie is titled Doraemon: Castle of the Undersea Devil, and it is currently showing in theaters. It is available in multiple languages, including Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu.
The story seemed quite interesting, and watching the trailer evoked a sense of nostalgia, so I was really excited to see this movie.
So, the story goes like this: one day, Doraemon, Nobita, Suneo, Shizuka, and Gian are discussing where to go for their vacation—the mountains or the sea.
Doraemon: Castle of the Undersea Devil Story
Nobita is timid; he doesn’t want to go into the water, so he prefers the mountains.
However, Gian and Suneo are dreaming of a beach trip.
That’s when Doraemon comes up with a new solution: they should go to the ocean, but specifically to the areas where mountains exist—because there are massive mountains underwater as well.
For instance, the Mariana Trench is about 11,022 meters deep—exceeding the height of Mount Everest—so there are certainly many mountains there; the group decides to go there.
But once they are underwater, they discover “Poseidon,” a defense system created by people 7,000 to 8,000 years ago. If this system were to activate, there is a very high probability that the entire Earth would be destroyed—and a situation is developing where that system might actually activate.
So, what exactly is Poseidon? Who created it? What are the reasons behind it? You will discover all of this in the movie.
My Experience Watching Doraemon: Castle of the Undersea Devil
The concept is quite good, and the film is interesting to watch; however, after seeing it, I realized that it would appeal more to children.
Speaking of nostalgia—which is what I went in looking for, thinking it would be fun to relive childhood memories—I did get that feeling. However, a few things felt off.
The biggest issue was the Hindi dubbing; the voices weren’t the ones I remembered from childhood. I still come across videos of the original on Instagram while scrolling, so those voices are etched in my memory. Here, different voice actors were used, which somewhat dampened the nostalgia factor.
Then there’s the animation; it’s quite different. This is a remake of a movie with the same title released in 1983, so the animation has been updated and changed.
The animation is actually quite good.
In fact, it’s excellent. While it does evoke some nostalgia, it doesn’t fully capture that feeling because the movie has a few flaws. That said, if your children enjoy this kind of movie, you should definitely show it to them; they’ll likely enjoy it.
What Works in Doraemon: Castle of the Undersea Devil
The movie’s greatest strength is the ocean sequence—I really loved that part. I also enjoyed the mountain scenes, the characters’ friendship, and their car. The story itself was quite interesting, too.
As for the climax, while it wasn’t exactly spectacular, I found it quite enjoyable to watch for those few moments.
Where Doraemon: Castle of the Undersea Devil Falls Short
On the downside, the story starts quite well. Everything goes smoothly until the ocean sequence begins and the underwater federation is revealed.
If there is a threat massive enough to destroy Earth, it should have been portrayed more effectively. There should have been more depth or layers to the plot—like the distinct missions seen in older Doraemon movies such as Doraemon: Nobita’s Space Heroes.
Those elements were enjoyable to watch. Here, however, the makers’ primary motive seems to have been simply to churn out another Doraemon movie without putting much thought into it—just “here it is.”
Does It Capture the Magic of Old Doraemon Movies?
Consequently, the movie doesn’t leave much of an emotional impact. We’ve seen many older Doraemon movies that really tug at our heartstrings, whereas this one only manages to strike an emotional chord briefly at the very end; otherwise, it falls short in that regard.
Doraemon: Castle of the Undersea Devil Review Verdict
Overall, it is a “time-pass” movie that children will enjoy more. I wouldn’t recommend it to adults unless you are a huge Doraemon fan; only then should you go to the theater to watch it.
I would rate it 6.5/10.
Alternatively, you could wait, as it will eventually be released on an OTT platform; you might prefer to hold off and show it to your kids there.