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Johnny Depp to Guest-Voice on Doraemon Pirates Special

Johnny Depp, the international star of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, will voice a guest role on the Doraemon children's animated television series this month. He will appear as the "Pirate Captain Johnny" character on "Doraemon One-Hour! Pirates Special!! The Great Decisive Battle of the Pirates: A South Seas Love Story," which will air on TV Asahi on Friday, June 29 at 7:00 p.m.

The role, which will be similar to the Pirates of the Caribbean movie trilogy's Jack Sparrow, is the first Doraemon role played by a Hollywood star. The special has the robot cat Doraemon and his friends time-traveling to the Caribbean Sea at the end of the 16th century. Series regular Shizuka-chan will fall in love with a handsome pirate named Kenneth, who knows a certain Captain Johnny. TV Asahi is keeping the exact scene with Depp's cameo a secret.

The cameo came about when Doraemon chief director Kōzō Kusuba, a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean ever since the first movie, made Depp an offer for a "dream collaboration." According to the studio Shinei Animation, Depp reportedly agreed "because it's Doraemon," a series broadcasted in dozens of countries worldwide. Depp currently lives part of the year in France, where the anime has been dubbed for broadcast and the manga is readily available in bookstores.

Source: MTV Japan, Daily Sports

Images © Fujiko Pro, Shogakukan, TV Asahi, Shinei, ADK

Errata: Animation studio name corrected.