The upcoming Doraemon 3D movie, Stand By Me, is scheduled to open in Japanese theaters on August 8, 2014.

It is a bittersweet event as it is the very first time the blue ear-less robot cat has been re-imagined in three dimensions, but it will also mark the end of the Doraemon franchise, which has a 45-year history.

Watch the trailer:

The movie has been predicted to focus on Doraemon leaving for good. Doraemon is a robotic cat sent by a boy in the future to the present day to help the boy's hapless grandfather, Nobita. They use gadgets to deal with problems and travel through space-time.

The narrator in the trailer states that this is "Doraemon's first - and final - story." Doraemon tells Nobita, "I can't stay here anymore."

The tagline at the end of the video reads, "To everyone who has experienced childhood."

Doraemon started out as a comic book in 1969 by manga creator duo Fujiko Fujio (Hiroshi Fujimoto and Motoo Abiko).

It was adapted into an animated series that ran for 1,787 episodes. It is still aired today.

Doraemon is pretty much a national treasure in Japan and a household name this part of the world, especially for babies born in the 1970s and 80s.