Doraemon is a popular and long-running anime series based on the manga of the same name by Fujiko F. Fujio.  Its best-known adaptation originally ran from April 2, 1979, to March 18, 2005, while a reboot, that began airing a month after the first series' conclusion, is still airing to this day.  A total of 38 feature-length Doraemon movies have been released, as well as numerous short films. 

One of these short films, titled Ken-chan's Adventure, was a movie produced by the National Welfare Foundation for Physically and Mentally Handicapped, screened in 1980 and 1981 for the International Year of the Disabled Persons in 1981, before being televised on October 5, 1981.  It was screened until the end of the century across Japan, and the starring guest character Ken-chan was the mascot of the National Welfare Foundation for Physically and Mentally Handicapped for a time.  From the screenshots available, it appears that subtitles colored red are hardcoded onto the footage for hearing-impaired viewers.  Oyama Nobuyo, who served as Doraemon's voice actor at the time, said that he learned how to communicate with the disabled in a way that he had not known before thanks to the special, and that he felt it became an unforgettable work.  He wanted the special to be rebroadcast on television, although that opportunity has not been given. 

Many viewers recall how blessed they were with the opportunity to see this film.  It was later released as a picture book with Braille printing for the blind; however, much of the story is left out.  It plays a role-like learning tool to teach how children with disabilities and children without disabilities can get along with each other.  The book may have come with a handkerchief for the disabled.  The book was not sold normally, but instead, the book had been distributed to the Toka Museum and welfare facilities, as well as in libraries, community centers, school facilities, etc.  A notebook with illustrations based on the short film special was also released. 

Contents

Story

A disabled boy in a wheelchair named Ken Ikoma is transferred to the class of Nobita Nobi, who loves to collect butterflies.  However, due to his disability, the only butterflies he has ever collected were bought at shops.  Ken wishes to catch a butterfly on his own, with his own butterfly net and hands.  Nobita sympathizes with Ken, so with Doraemon and his friends, they travel back in time to the Cenozoic era, 30,000,000 years ago, to capture butterflies, but somehow a giant bird-like dinosaur appears there (despite being extinct 30,000,000 years ago), and the wheelchair collapses.  Ken will have to return to the wheelchair by himself but is able to briefly stand on his own to catch the butterflies, with the help of his friends.  Many ancient butterflies then appear, and Ken catches them by himself.  He was happy and thanked his new friends for the experience. 

Availability

Since the special has been only broadcast on TV once, it has never been released on home media and it's unknown if the National Welfare Foundation for Physically and Mentally Handicapped still has a copy of the special. 

Staff

Production: Social Welfare Corporation, National Welfare Foundation for Physically and Mentally Handicapped