Doraemon: Nobita's Little Space War

Doraemon: Nobita's Little Space War is the 6th film installment in the Doraemon Film Series, adapted from the Doraemon's Long Tales issue of the same name. The film was released in Japan on March 16, 1985.

Nobita's attempts to make his own film after being kicked off from Gian and Suneo's film project inadvertly leads him to another adventure.... but this time, it's smaller. A finger-sized alien named Papi who escaped a military coup on his home planet ends up on earth, and befriending Nobita, Doraemon and Shizuka. And when the PCIA, the military syndicate hunting Papi pursues him all the way to earth, it's up to Doraemon and friends to liberate Papi's planet from dictatorship.

A remake, titled Doraemon: Nobita's Little Star Wars 2021 was released in 2022 after a delay caused by the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Doraemon: Nobita's Little Space War has the following tropes:

• Adaptational Badass:
  • Somewhat. In the remake, Nobita escapes capture by the PCIA soldiers (due to his Stone Cap getting stuck to his head, keeping him invisible) and manages to reach the group just as they are about to be executed. He then tries to save Papi from a deadly fall after the latter gets shot off of his bonds, though they both nearly fall to their doom until the Small Light's effect wears off.
  • In the first anime movie Gian single-handedly took down Dracorl's giant battleship all by himself, unlike the manga where the entire gang damages the battleship first. Averted in the remake, where the final battle is more faithful to the manga.
  • Suneo's tanks might as well be actual weapons in the remake when compared to the manga and original movie. In addition of having a larger array of weapons, they can now transform into jets, allowing for better maneuverability while in space. They also lack the antenna weakness the original have and are instead disabled with EMP missiles.
• Affectionate Parody: Of sci-fi and kaiju films in general.
• Asteroid Thicket: The ring around planet Pirika is made up entirely of asteroids, which the shuttle containing Doraemon and gang (save for Shizuka and Suneo) lands in-between to hide from PCIA forces. Later on as Suneo and Shizuka gets pushed to the frontlines, they pilot space-bound tanks while battling PCIA spaceships in an asteroid belt.
• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: Towards the end of the film, the effect of Doraemon's shrink ray has started wearing off - just in time as they're about to be executed. Doraemon, Nobita and their friends immediately grow to their normal size, which from the perspective of Papi and his thumb-sized brethren, are kaijus.
• 0% Approval Rating: Almost all of people of Parika hate General Gilmore. General Gilmore is so unpopular that he only believed in robots.
• Big Brother Is Watching: General Gilmore's poster in Parika is actually surveillance cameras of PCIA.
• Breather Episode: Both the original and the remake falls under this, being Lighter and Softer compared to their respective predecessors, with the gang facing finger-sized aliens, the stakes being confined to a single city in Planet Pirika, and the final battle being a relatively easy Curb-Stomp Battle for the heroes. In comparison, the 1985 version follows Doraemon: Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld, a movie filled with supernatural threats, an impending doomsday, and an all-powerful Demon Lord as it's main villain, while the 2021 remake comes after the bittersweet and emotionally heavy Doraemon: Nobita's New Dinosaur, a movie that deals with permanently losing friends and the gang going through life-threatening, perilous situations.
• Crazy-Prepared: PCIA's head officer Dorakoruru. Based on situation he faced, he can make successful strategy that can almost push Nobita and friends near to the death.
• Curb-Stomp Battle:
  • Yeah, Doraemon and friends, against the finger-sized aliens? Not a chance.
  • Even before they become giant-sized at the end, earlier on their modified model tanks, piloted by Suneo and Shizuka, have to fend off a wave of PCIA jets. They handle the invasion force well enough until Suneo's tank gets hit... and nothing happens. Turns out Doraemon's reinforced upgrades to their models made then extra-durable, allowing them to blast PCIA craft out of the air with ease.
• Cuteness Proximity: Upon meeting Papi for the first time, Shizuka can't help but fawn how cute the pint-sized alien is. Papi tells her off for that, as he's actually older than her^note same age in the remake, as Shizuka reminds him of his older sister.
• Damsel in Distress:
  • Shizuka is taken hostage when PCIA find her bathing alone in the gang's hideout, leading Papi to turn himself in in exchange for her freedom.
  • The remake adds in Papi's older sister, Pina, who is taken as hostage by the PCIA.
• Dangled by a Giant: For all versions of Doraemon: Nobita's Little Space War (manga, original anime, 2021 remake), towards the end of the final battle, after Gian took down Dracorl's battleship, he then grabs and lifts the finger-sized Dracorl by the collar while interrogating him.
• Delayed Reaction: Gian and Suneo storm into Nobita's room berating him and Doraemon for not coming to their space war movie's production on time, which causes Papi to become alarmed thinking there is another space war on Earth. It takes the two over a minute to freak out that there's a tiny person at their feet.
• The Dragon: Colonel Dracorl who acts as The Heavy leading General Gilmore's troops in rooting out resistance, and a sadistic Colonel Kilgore to boot.
• Ear Wings: Rokoroko's long ears, which also doubles as a protective blanket around his body, serves as wings allowing him to fly without the Takecopter.
• Giant Equals Invincible: After the Shrink Light's effects had worn off, with Doraemon and gang enlarging to normal size? They shrug off rounds from PCIA riflemen with ease, although they do feel momentary pain when hit by helicopters or tanks, and Doraemon warns the others to avoid being hit in the eyes.
• Giant Woman: A variant. When Shizuka is restored to normal size, she is a giantess compared to the finger-sized inhabitants of Parika.
• The Government: With mysterious intelligence service agency, totally dictatorship, posters around Parika, Parika's government under General Gilmore's rule looks really Orwellian.
• I Have Your Wife:
  • Shizuka was captured by PCIA, in exchange of Papi, who later make his Heroic Sacrifice to exchange Shizuka.
  • The remake adds in a I Have Your Sister variant, in which the PCIA holds Papi's older sister Pina hostage.
• Holding the Floor: Near the end when all the heroes are about to be executed via firing squad, they're given a few seconds for their last words. Papi vows that the resistance would still continue after his death, Gian threatens to clobber his captors and demands to be set free, Nobita goes I Want My Mommy! as usual ^note (manga and original movie only, he escapes the firing squad in the remake)... but Rokoroko, being ever talkative like before, then goes into a long-winded speech of how he'd like to thank his grandfather, his father, his past generations, dragging on and on and on until Gilmore ordered Papi's mouth to be tied up. Though this turns into the heroes' favour - the delay allows the Shrink Light's effects on Doraemon and the earth characters to wear off before they can be shot.
• Kaiju: The final battle pays homage to this genre, what with Doraemon and friends being restored to normal sizes, enough to tear apart Gilmore's forces.
• "King Kong" Climb: Parodied in the remake, where Nobita climbs back up the PCIA tower with Papi in his hand, after being restored to normal size.
• La Résistance: Freedom Party and citizens who against General Gilmore.
• Lilliputians: Papi and the rest of the aliens belongs to a race the size of human thumbs.
• Motor Mouth: Papi's pet, Rokoroko, have quite the mouthful. Expect an entire Wall of Text to show up in most (if not ALL) of his speech bubbles.
  "One day the President (Papi) came to me and said, "Rokoroko, you're a good dog, but you talk too much sometimes." So I thought about it, and wondered if it's the truth. I was somewhat embarrassed and I must have been annoying people all that, all the time. But I was grateful to the President for being honest. Of course, I tried my best to stop talking that much, unless it was absolutely necessary, but hey I can change, in fact ever since then I've only said a little, such as "wan" or "son", or..."
• Mouth Taped Shut: A variant: When Doraemon and gang, including their new friends Papi and his talking dog Rokoroko, face a firing squad. When the villain General Gilmore offers them their Any Last Words? request, Rokoroko starts going on a lengthy, pointless speech thanking his parents, grandparents, his theories on life, his pride and honor as Papi's best friend, his opinion on the judicial system... a speech that lasts for several minutes until Gilmore decides to have Rokoroko's mouth tied shut.
• Mythology Gag: A roundabout example from the remake, where a still-invisible Nobita tricks a guard into revealing where Papi and the others are being held. Something similar happened in Doraemon: Nobita's Great Adventure into the Underworld when Nobita asks for where Professor Mangetsu is imprisoned to one of Demaon's soldiers (in the original Doraemon's Long Tales series Underworld comes before Little Space War, in the remake it's the other way around).
• Open the Door and See All the People: While hiding in the resistance base and planning their operation to rescue Papi, a few resistance members heading for the back door opens up to a dozen PCIA soldiers, rifles raised and demanding for the rebels to step out.
• Primal Chest-Pound: Gian does this right before taking down the PCIA battleship.
• Public Execution: Papi, Doraemon, Nobita^note in the manga and original movie; he escapes capture in the remake and their friends are subjected to be executed by Gilmore's firing squad. It nearly happens until the Shrink Light's effects wears off.
• Riding in the Palms of Giants: Doraemon and friends meet Papi, their new alien friend from a planet of Lilliputians, and for most scenes on Earth Papi would either be carried in Nobita or Doraemon's hands, or kept in Doraemon's pockets. In the climax when Doraemon and gang revert to normal size thanks to the Shrink Light's effects wearing off, when Commander Dracorl's drones attacks, Nobita moves Papi away from the danger in his hands.
• Shot at Dawn: The fates of Papi, Rokoroko, Doraemon and gang (minus Shizuka and Suneo - in the remake, minus Nobita but plus Piina) after they're arrested, when Gilmore decides to have Papi and all his followers sentenced to execution. But thankfully the effects to the Shrink Ray starts wearing off.
• Shot in the Ass: Happens twice late in the story, and Played for Laughs both times.
  • Gilmore's firing squad opens fire right as Nobita has returned to his normal size (gigantic in the viewpoint of Gilmore and his henchmen) and is untying others. Given Nobita's size, the shots inflict nothing but minor pain.
  • As Doraemon and co. battle Gilmore's military forces, one of the tanks targets Shizuka and fires. The shot lands on her behind, and it doesn't manage to leave even a mark on her skirt.
• Shrink Ray: A variation, but Doraemon's Shrink Light plays an important role in this film, because Doraemon and friends need to shrink themselves down to the size of Papi and his fellow aliens.
• Space Is Noisy: Justified. The "sounds" reader read or heard is actually from spaceships and tanks.
• Skewed Priorities: Minor example in the manga, but when Doraemon tells the gang (sans Shizuka, who's recently captured by the PCIA) they'll need to take the trip to Pirika for the rescue mission to retrieve Shizuka and Papi, Suneo comments that his parents would be worried if they're not back before dinnertime. Gian calls him out on it, while Doraemon assures they can use the Time Machine in Nobita's room after all is said and done.
  Gian: [pulling an Angry Collar Grab on Suneo] Which is more important, saving Shizuka or dinner?
• Talking Animal: Rokoroko, Papi's pet dog. Not only can he talk, but he simply won't stop talking.
• Take Me Instead: When Shizuka gets captured by the PCIA, Papi turns himself in so they can set her free. This works as he planned in the original movie, however in the remake Shizuka realizes what he's doing and goes back to save him, with the boys arriving to help out.
• Took a Level in Badass: Shizuka in this story actually is one of the most formidable tank controller and actively taking part in the frontline as opposed to her usual support role or non-violent participation in the other stories.
• Truer to the Text:
  • The remake's new character designs are actually closer to the manga, compared to the original, with Gilmore, Dracorl, and the PCIA mooks wearing uniforms lifted directly from their printed counterparts.
  • In the original movie, Shizuka is present during the final battle but isn't shown attacking the enemy forces onscreen. The remake restores her fight scenes that were in the manga.
  • When PCIA sends out their whale-like battleship for the final battle in the original movie, Gian takes it down singlehandedly. In the manga and remake, it is first damaged by the entire gang firing on it using PCIA tanks as handheld blasters before Gian finishes it off.
  • Papi was given an Age Lift in the original film, where he was an adult that looks like a child. The remake makes him the same age as the kids just as he was in the manga.
• Unwanted Rescue: The gang rescue Papi when he gives himself up to the PCIA in order to save Shizuka. However, Papi berates them for interfering because in doing so they made themselves targets of the PCIA.