PARIS: TV Asahi is throwing a Dorayaki Party at Mipcom on 14 October to celebrate the return of Doraemon, Japan’s time-travelling robotic cat, to French screens after a 10-year hiatus. Voice actors Emmanuel Curtil and Brigitte Lecordier will dish behind-the-scenes stories about reviving the beloved animation series at the Cannes event.
The party marks the launch of 13 freshly dubbed episodes hitting French audiences from 3 October—the first French-language version since 2015. The new season drops first on YouTube France before rolling out across Anime Digital Network, Amazon Prime Video and Pluto TV.
Paris-based distributor Soupir is orchestrating the multi-platform push, backed by a promotional blitz dubbed Bonjour Doraemon featuring voice cast videos, YouTube Shorts and exclusive previews.
Curtil—the French voice of Jim Carrey and Disney’s Goofy—leads the cast as Doraemon. He’s joined by Lecordier, famous for voicing Son Goku in Dragon Ball, who plays Nobita Nobi and co-directs the dubbing alongside Louis Lecordier.
“I hadn’t come across Doraemon before, but I had the pleasure of dubbing it alongside my long-time friend and collaborator, Brigitte Lecordier,” says Curtil. “I am very happy to bring this cheerful and intrepid little hero to life.”
Lecordier calls the blue cat “a legendary figure throughout the world of animation” and says she feels “so lucky” to work on the series.
Created by Fujiko F. Fujio, Doraemon debuted as manga in 1970 and hit Japanese television in 1979. The series has since spawned over 2,000 episodes and become a cultural juggernaut across Asia.
TV Asahi head of animation sales and development Maiko Sumida says Japan and France share “a deep cultural affinity.”
Soupir founder Charles Courcier, reckons the new dub will help Doraemon become “as beloved in France as it is around the world.”