 Originally scheduled for a March 2002 release, upon the request of  director Shusuke Kaneko (qv), Toho pushed it ahead for the usual  release date for Godzilla films (December of 2001) because March  already belongs to their Doraemon anime films (According to Toho,  they take a seasonal formula for their films: Spring is for  Doraemon, Summer is for Pokemon, and Winter is for Godzilla, so they  didnt want any schedule conflict with their films).