Friday, July 4, 2008

Naruto The Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow


Naruto The Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (大活劇! 雪姫忍法帖だってばよ!!, Daikatsugeki! Yukihime Ninpōchō dattebayo!!, lit. Great Action Scene! Snow Princess's Book of Ninja Arts) is a 2004 film directed by Tensai Okamura and written by Katsuyuki Sumisawa based on the popular anime and manga series Naruto by Masashi Kishimoto. It was released in Japan on August 21, 2004. The popularity of the series has spawned several sequels, beginning with Naruto the Movie 2. The movie was released on DVD on April 28, 2005. The film chronologically takes place either right before episode 101, or right after it, though events in the film leave its exact place in the series continuity questionable. The ending song is called Home Sweet Home and is sung by Yuki. The English version replaced this song with "Never Give Up" by Jeremy Sweet due to licensing restrictions.

As a bonus, the short and non-canonical OVA Konoha Annual Sports Festival (木ノ葉運動会 Konoha Undōkai) was included with the Japanese release of the film. The ten minute opening short revolves around Naruto's inability to use the bathroom while participating in the tournament. It is notable because virtually every character, living or dead, in the Naruto universe makes an appearance in it (most of them standing in a restroom-queue). The dead 4th Hokage also makes an appearance in the shot.

In America, the film was released as a one-day showing on June 6, 2007. Instead of the OVA included with the Japanese release, the American release included a short featurette entitled "World of Naruto", as well as a behind the scenes featurette afterwards with interviews with the main English cast and select members of the main Japanese cast. The OVA will, however, appear in the U.S. DVD release. The DVD release is set for September 4, 2007. The movie premiered on Cartoon Network on September 8, 2007. The film also played at Cineplex Odeon and Empire Theatres cinemas in Canada, distributed via Bell ExpressVu to play the film at all cinemas at the same time. The film aired at the Great British Museum in London, U.K. on July 28, 2007 for a single showing. The film was also slated for one-day showings in Australia on October 14.

On November 13, 2007, a 3-Disc Deluxe Edition of Naruto the Movie was released in the United States. It has many extras and features that the standard U.S. DVD , released a few months earlier, did not include. It includes the ten-minute short "Konoha Annual Sports Festival" that was originally shown with the Japanese release of the film, the complete soundtrack to the movie, documentaries of the American voice recording of the movie, movie art postcards, and more.

VIEW TRAILER
VIEW MOVIE

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