Masashi Kishimoto’s Naruto manga premiered in its full form in the November 1999 issue of the weekly Shōnen Jump magazine and October 3, 2002 saw the release of the ever-popular anime series adaptation of the manga.  The Naruto manga is one of the best-selling manga series of all time with 126.5 million volume copies sold in Japan alone.  Naruto tells the tale of a young ninja named Uzumaki Naruto as he grows up in the Hidden Leaf Village (Konoha), discovers his true powers/talents, develops both friendships and nemeses, and tries to deal with the destructive spirit of a Nine-tailed Demon Fox that was sealed in him soon after his birth leaving him an orphan and pariah.  His main goal in life is to become the Hokage (leader of Konoha) to prove to everyone his inherent worth and protect those that are dear to him.  The anime series aired until February 8, 2007 when it was then replaced a week later by Naruto Shippūden to highlight the time-jump that occurs in the manga series.  Three movies aired under the Naruto banner, with the remaining Naruto movies coming after the switch to Naruto Shippūden.  While sometimes quite gory and dark, Naruto has an excellent sense of humour and is popular among both kids and adults for its large cast of characters spanning several generations as well as its eventually quite weighty and complex plot.

Naruto the Movie: Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow  (2004)
Gekijōban Naruto Daikatsugeki! Yukihime Ninpōchō dattebayo!!
(劇場版 NARUTO 大活劇! 雪姫忍法帖だってばよ!!)
(lit. “Great Action Scene! Snow Princess’ Book of Ninja Arts”)

Director: Tensai Okamura
Last Episode Before Release: Episode 97 (takes place after Episode 101)

The first Naruto movie delivered exactly what the viewing public wanted to see from a big budget theatrical Naruto release: interesting one-off characters, improved animation, an decently interesting plotline, and plenty of action. The narrative follows Team Kakashi (consisting of Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, and their teacher Kakashi) as they travel to the Land of Snow to serve as bodyguards for an actress named Yukie Fujikaze who has secret reasons for playing that country’s Princess Fūn in movies. Naruto and crew try to protect Yukie from powerful assailants and a grand time is had by all. Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow is one of the more accessible and enjoyable pieces of Naruto media even if you aren’t acquainted with the series’ complex lore, so it’s worth checking out even if you’ve only seen Naruto on backpacks and store displays.

Naruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel  (2005)
Daigekitotsu! Maboroshi no Chiteiiseki Dattebayo (大激突!幻の地底遺跡だってばよ)
(lit. “Great Clash! The Illusionary Ruins at the Depths of the Earth”)

Director: Hirotsugu Kawasaki
Last Episode Before Release: Episode 145 (takes place after Episode 160)

The first Naruto movie left expectations high for the second, but Legend of the Stone of Gelel fell a bit short of its predecessor. The story follows Naruto, Shikamaru, and Sakura as they get caught up in an age-old battle between the Sand Ninja (led by Gaara) and a clan of heavily armoured warriors over possession of a powerful Gelel Stone.  Feeling more like an elongated average-quality episode than a truly epic movie, the Legend of the Stone of Gelel is simply a lot less focused and memorable than many other anime series movies in spite of its nicely improved animation and sound quality.  If you watch it you’ll see why it was never given a theatrical release in North America, which is not to say that it’s actively bad but rather just the definition of “alright”.

Naruto the Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom  (2006)
Dai Kōfun! Mikazuki-jima no Animaru Panikku Dattebayo!
(大興奮!みかづき島のアニマル騒動だってばよ!)
(lit. “Great Excitement! The Animal Panic of Crescent Moon Island!”)

Director: Toshiyuki Tsuru
Last Episode Before Release: Episode 195 (takes place after Episode 196)

Coming off the heels of a mildly disappointing second movie you’d think that the people over at Studio Pierrot would have been scrambling to pull up their socks and come back at full force for the third. You’d think so, but in this case you couldn’t be more wrong. Easily the very worst Naruto movie yet created, the entire first half of Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom is even worse than the abysmal “Naruto uses his ninja powers to make the tastiest ramen (yes this actually happened in Episode 168)”-level of filler that was airing on Japanese television at the time. The first time I watched as Naruto, Kakashi, Sakura, and Rock Lee escorted the spoiled prince of the Land of the Moon and a circus full of animals across the sea I couldn’t believe I was watching something actually produced as a serious Naruto movie. The action picks up a bit in the film’s second half, but not nearly enough to make up for the sins of the first half. So, watch it if you absolutely must, but Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom really is just about as bad as anime TV series movies come. Thank goodness for the much-needed Shippuden reboot.