Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow

It's a pretty well done movie. The story is interesting and unfolds well. Being a movie, the budget is higher, so the technical section is much better.

New jutsus come out that are very good and even Sakura herself has one! I can not believe it!

My biggest fear was that this movie would ruin the original series for me, but thankfully that didn't happen at all.

Good: This movie gets really good especially in the third act getting near the ending. I am so glad I watched it because of how much fun the movie was.

Bad: One thing I wish the movie did was give more screen time to Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi. Also, throughout a good portion of the movie, the princess was rude and a bit annoying at times.

I really enjoyed this flick, however, I probably gave it a higher score than necessary mainly because unlike every Dragonball Z movie, this film actually has a rather good running time of more than an hour and a half. So it has a better developed story, good action scenes, and of course some good comedy as well. The story has our gang having to escort a bit of a spoiled actress to a realm known as the land of snow. However, as easy as this sounds it does not play out this way as a strong gang of ninjas attacks again and again. Seems our actress has a secret and it is up to Naruto and pals to defeat this ninja clad in special armor. The fights are great showcasing all the young ninjas special talents as well as their teacher and there are a couple of surprises along the way as well. The animation is to be expected just like the television show with a few nice visuals along the way. Though I may only be saying this because I love snow and living here in Alabama I haven't seen any first hand in ten years or so. The characters are their usual selves and you will probably find the actress annoying at first then feel for her then dislike her again. The bad guys are typical, nothing to special about them, in fact Gaara from the television show is more menacing and a way better bad guy than any displayed here. Still, I really enjoyed this movie and hope to see the other Naruto movies released soon.

This movie is a theatrical side story of the acclaimed any TV show, Naruto. Naruto is the story of young ninjas training to become better at their skills. Each character has their own history and story to tell, main character amongst these is Naruto, the boy cursed with a demon sealed within his body and forced to live a bullied life because of the discrimination against him.

However, Naruto is strong willed and determined to prove the towns people of Konoha wrong, quite often causing many other people to be enlightened by his fiery spirit. In this story, Naruto and his two team mates; Sasuke and Sakura along with their instructor, the famous master of over 1000 techniques, Kakashi have been assigned to be a bodyguard for a famous actress as she travels the world filming.

However, there is trouble afoot when a band of dangerous and powerful ninjas attack the film crew claiming that the actress is in fact a princess of the land of forever snow where they have had the misfortune of arriving. The Ninjas are working for the actress' Uncle, who turned traitor to her father 10 years ago, who is after something called "The Hexagonal Crystal", claiming the princess knows where it is.

The princess is as cold as the snow where she was born and refuses to be moved by anyone not even as those who protect her fall into more and more serious danger, Naruto knows she has the will to defeat her uncle if only she would stop running away from her fears. But can he convince her to change, and what will happen in the meantime, how many more innocent lives will be stolen by her vicious Uncle.

This is a fun and exciting movie that acts well as a fun side story for the Naruto TV show. It harnesses nothing particularly amazing but is definitely a fun film that is greatly enjoyable with a good blend of emotions, action and special effects.

Naruto is one of those animes you can either take for what it is and enjoy it, or expect something more and generally not care for it at all. I have not watched a proper episode of Naruto properly, but I understand Naruto both has legions of some surprsingly varied, devoted fans varying from ages eight to eighteen, and Naruto has legions of dislike from certain people.

Whilst this movie: "Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow" was the first thing I properly watched something related to Naruto, and I didn't really know what to expect from him, I can both see why Naruto has become such a big anime icon, and another, I really don't understand the hype he has, and why he is boldly compared to animated gems like "Princess Monoke". However though, "Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow", if you take it for what it is, is a fun, entertaining film that both has some slick, impressive action, and generally is a well-made piece of fan service.

The plot of 'Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow" involves Naruto protecting a famous, popular actress named Lady Yukie. Lady Yukie is the actress who plays a character in a series of films called Princess Gale, and, to Naruto's surprise, she is also the princess of the Land of Snow. One of them is secretly taking Lady Yukie back to her home the members of the film crew named: Sondayu, so she can continue to rule the land, and Naruto tries to prevent Yukie from running away from her fate. However, an evil man named Doto is after Yukie's hex crystal, so he can unlock the treasures of Yukie's home.

Judging by the plot, you can probably guess 'Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow' isn't the most revolutionary or complex plot ever, but, you can sense Naruto doesn't really need it. 'Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow' generally makes the most out of the simplistic plot, by having both old and new characters, such as Yukie herself, have generally strong character development, and register many types of different emotions generally well at the right times. 'Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow' also keeps itself full with energy, and the plot has generally good pacing, and has a plentiful balance of satisfying, slick action, and some well-written, humorous dialogue between Naruto and Yukie, and other characters alike.

Of course, a Naruto film wouldn't be complete without having stellar visuals and character animation, and 'Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow' arguably, has the strongest animation the Naruto team has done. The action scenes are all slickly done, and all have smooth, consistent fight choreography. Each environment in the Naruto film, from the sweet, peaceful home of Naruto, the icy caverns of Snow Land, all have stunningly attractive colour design, and are strong in detail.

Those reasons aforementioned are the reasons why I can understand Naruto is so popular. However, Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow has some glaring weaknesses on how I cannot understand why Naruto is so big. Naruto: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow has a plot that generally treads on thin ground, and Naruto tries to hard to do sudden, dramatic changes in tone and it seems like Naruto is lost on its audience. The film simply tries too hard to be something else at times, but it is faithful to the show's original spirit.

Whilst Naruto himself, is a generally likable character, his English dubbing is incredibly grating and forced. Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow generally offers nothing spectacular, but it doesn't really need to.

Overall, as somebody who is new to Naruto, and appreciated this film for what it was, 'Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow' is a fun, surprisingly well-done spin off for Naruto devotees. Whilst this film will not get me into the franchise completely, I do generally like and respect Naruto, and he really is cool, and not as bad as some people making him out to be. If you go in not expecting anything more than what you get, for both newcomers and Naruto fans, "Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow' is generally a good time.