Two of the more prevalent characters of the movie are Michiru and Hikaru. Michiru starts off as a spendthrift spoiled prince whom believes that money can buy anything and everything. He eventually learns though that money can’t buy the most important things in life like beauty, friendship, and the loyalty of his subjects. Hikaru starts off also extremely spoiled and rather fickle. He seems incapable of understanding the value of friendship or the use of courage. However, Hikaru must learn the value of both lest his father perish beneath the sword of Shabadaba and his Shinobi.
Presentation
Shonen Jump does a wonderful job mixing a heartwarming (and often tear-jerking) story with quite a good dose of high flying intense ninja versus ninja fighting. The story unfolds on the gorgeous Crescent Moon Island which has some of the most beautiful countryside ever drawn.The music does a good job remaining in the background and lending to the changes in scenes from dramatic to comedic. They also do a masterful job developing the characters of Michiru and Hikaru. The voice acting is childish seeming at times but lends greatly to the very emotional scenes of the movie. Out of all of it though, I admired the fighting scenes the most.The duels between Naruto (and his friends) and the Shinobi Shabadaba hired were intense and epic. The battle sequences flipped between each set of duals in turn. While in most series this seems to cut apart the action and slow it down a great deal, it did quite the opposite here. It made the battles even more intense. As far as the character animation, I must admit that it’s not my favorite style, but for the movie it is a good choice. Also the box itself is gorgeous and lends plenty of promises of action. The ending song is also quite beautiful and charming.
Extras
The extras are pretty typical on what you find on an Anime DVD nowadays. It features a wonderful audio commentary from some of the members of the American Cast. It’s quite humorous at times and does a wonderful job explaining some of their decisions. It also features an in depth character synopsis, a look into recording the dub of the movie from the voice actors point of view, and a rather lengthy conversation with the Producers of the movie.Add on a version the ending sans credits, the original Japanese trailers, a nice look into the art gallery, and the trailers for the newest video game and you have a good set. What really sets this movie apart though is the Trivia game. It basically tests your Naruto knowledge and gives you a ranking based on how well you do. It’s a lot of fun, even if you’re not a big fan of the series.
So just a quick list of the Extra’s:
-
Audio Commentary
-
The Story of Naruto: Growing up a Ninja (Basically a character synopsis)
-
Teamwork: The Art of Group Recording
-
Shooting for the Moon: A Conversation with the Naruto Movie 3 Producers
-
Clean Ending
-
Original Japanese Trailers
-
Production Art Gallery
-
Naruto Trivia Quiz
-
Video Game Trailers.
Overall the movie is cute and amusing. The theme of “There is more to life than money and material goods” is carried out well and beautifully. The character development with the minor characters of the movie is also carried out quite well. The scenery is breathtaking and exemplary and the action scenes will keep you rooted to your seat. If you enjoy high action packed ninja drama’s this is a must get.