Naruto The Movie – Ninja Clash In The Land Of Snow
Reviewer: Tom Leins
Issue 98 Xmas 2007
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Snow business like show business!
The Lowdown: Naruto’s mysterious team-leader Kakashi charges Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke with escorting Yukie, a reluctant young movie starlet, to a remote, frozen wasteland that doubles as the set of her new film. However, the ‘Land of the Snow’ is crawling with rogue ninjas, hell-bent on snatching her priceless crystal necklace…
Review: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow is the first feature-length movie spawned by the consistently popular Manga franchise Naruto. In case you’re not a Naruto fanatic, Naruto himself is an orphaned ninja with a mysterious past. Despite his obvious clumsiness and lack of genuine ninja talent, the youngster is convinced that he has what it takes to become the next great village leader! His cohorts, the friendly Sakura and the aloof Sasuke, are well aware what a royal pain in the arse Naruto can be, but they stick with him because of his effervescent energy and fierce loyalty. However, any of you unfamiliar with Naruto can rest easy, as this movie has been engineered so that it functions as a no-strings-attached one-off, as well as part of the overarching mythology. (Chronology-wise things are slightly cloudy, suffice to say that the events featured herein either take place directly before of directly after episode 101!)
In the grand scheme of things, Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow is a fun, if slightly underwhelming, jaunt. Sadly, rumours that the movie was going to let slip some juicy details about orphan Naruto’s mysterious past proved wide of the mark. Instead, in a tangible attempt not to alienate newcomers to the franchise the creators have stripped things down to a back-to-basics level, which harks back to the earlier, less sophisticated style of the show. In truth, this is likely to prove to be something of a bone of contention for long-term viewers.
The special features are slightly stingy, consisting of a handful of trailers and an anarchic ten-minute bonus featurette, ‘Hidden Leaf Village Grand Sports Festival’, which may or may not be familiar to devotees of the franchise. It is definitely worth a watch, even if it is at odds with the comparatively ‘safe’ tone of the main feature. As an added bonus, if the re-dubbed version fails to excite you, anime purists can watch the movie accompanied by its original Japanese soundtrack.
It isn’t mind-blowing, far from it in fact, but Naruto The Movie is a fun, enjoyable little movie that will definitely appeal to fans of the original. The rogue snow ninjas offer up an interesting breed of foe, and the diva-like actress Yukie is an enchanting presence at the heart of the film, but Naruto The Movie is solid rather than spectacular.
FILM: 6
EXTRAS: 3
DVD Info:
Starring: Maile Flanagan, Yuri Lowenthal, Kate Higgins, Dave Wittenberg
Certificate: 15
Director: Tensai Okamura
Distributor: Manga Entertainment
Original Release: 2004
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 (Japanese), Dolby Digital 5.1 (English)
Visuals: 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Running Time: 82mins
Price: £17.99
Special Features:
Scene Selection
‘Special Footage: Hidden Leaf Village Grand Sports Festival’
Movie Trailers
‘Sneak Peek’ Trailers
