Naruto the Movie: NInja Clash in the Land of Snow.
March 24th 2008 21:53
Category: Videos
Naruto Created by: Masashi Kishimoto.
Director: Tensai Okamura.
Screenplay by: Katsuyuki Sumisawa.
Producers: Tomoko Gushima (TV Tokyo) & Ken Hagino.
Starring: David Wittenberg (Kakashi), Maile Flannagan (Naruto), Kate Higgins (Sakura), Lex Lang (Doto Kazahana), Liam O’Brady (Nadare Roga), Michael McConnohie (Director Makino), Sam Riegel (Assistant Director), Darran Noris (Sandayu Asama) and Yuri Lowenthal (Sasuke).
Produced by: TV Tokyo & Pierrot.
Released by: Madman Entertainment.
Running Time: 82 minutes. Rating: M.
A land trapped in an endless winter, a beautiful highly renowned actress with a heart of stone, a princess with no throne, a trio of ruthless and efficient ninja, a cunning evil overlord and…Naruto. What more could you want in a fast paced anime action movie, especially one involving the number one hyperactive knuckle headed ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village? When I heard that this movie was available on DVD I just knew that it was going to end up in my collection, in fact the other day I mentioned the sudden arrival of it at my humble abode to a long time friend of mine as we were sharing an ale at our mutually favourite watering hole, his eyes glazed over, as with excitement I proudly announced that Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow was now in my hot little hands. Before I could regale him with the virtues and wonders of all things ninja and Naruto related he decided it was time for him to go outside and have a cigarette, I then noticed that both our beers were finished which meant it was my shout and as a result when he departed for a smoke I went to the bar to buy the next round.
So apart from being one of the many episodes in the life and career of Naruto Uzamaki what exactly is Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow (NCITLOS) all about? Well it uses one of those devices that have been employed before in films, the film within a film within a film as part of the means through which the plot is driven along. Essentially one of the pillars on which the story is based is the fact that there is a film being made by characters in the story and one of the protagonists is a leading actress. Yukie Fujikaze is the actress who places the famous character of Princess Gale in a series of blockbuster action films. It is the filming of a Princess Gale film that is part of the action involved in this film, the cast and crew are about to travel to the Land of Snow to film certain scenes within the next Princess Gale movie.
Now the first thing that opens this film is an actual scene from a Princess Gale movie, one that Naruto and his two companions Sasuke and Sakura are watching in a cinema whilst hanging from the rafters. Why are they hanging from the rafters I hear you ask, well a good ninja never passes up an opportunity to train regardless of the situation or the place so it seems. At some point Naruto lets his exuberance get the better of him and he flops to the floor of the cinema, the cinema manage comes over and accuses him of having snuck in without paying and from that point on things just escalate, eventually ending up with the three getting tossed out after Naruto’s stock standard “I’m going to be Hokage” proclamation and a resulting rain of debris being hurled at him and his friends from ticked off movie goers.
From the cinema the team move on to the rendezvous point with their sensei Kakashi Hatake, for some reason this location is outside of the studio where the Princess Gale films are made. The three team mates have no idea why he’s told them to meet them here and as is usual with Kakashi; he is late. Suddenly a beautiful women riding a white horse leaps over the fence surrounding the studio lot, its Princess Gale and she is being pursued by a horde of armoured goons riding black horses. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke immediately spring into action, they don’t hesitate and Naruto with a cry of “I’ll save you Princess Gale” bounds off in pursuit of the fleeing princess with his two friends. It is during this little moment that Naruto discovers that his screen idol is one snotty stuck up diva who has no real concern for anyone, not even herself. After confronting a totally soused Yukie Fujikaze in a downtown bar Naruto is confronted with the fact that he and his friends are going to be bodyguards for this pampered actress on a voyage to the Land of Snow where shooting is taking place for a Princess Gale film. It was for this particular reason that Ms Fujikaze did, as they say in the vernacular, a runner. She has no desire to go the Land of Snow, a desire that is the result of a troubled past, a troubled past that will as the movie progresses have consequences for the members of cast and crew as well as Naruto and his friends.
It seems that ten or so years ago the Land of Snow suffered a serious coup d’état at the hands of the evil Doto Kazahana, the younger brother of the then reigning lord. Doto took power and now is seeking the missing heir to the Kazahana clan; his brother’s daughter who is in possession of a Hex crystal that he believes will open a secret storehouse of hidden wealth near the Rainbow Glacier. Naturally he has a band of trusty henchmen ready to fulfil his will and further his agenda, the three Snow Ninja led by Nadare Roga; who previously during the coup d’état crossed swords with Kakashi Hatake. Now Roga and his team are getting ready for when Yukie Fujikaze and her crew arrive in the Land of Snow so that they can retrieve the hex crystal that she carries around her neck.
Naturally nothing is exactly quite as it seems within this film; in fact the only thing that is as it seems are the film crew, the other actors and Director Makino who goes all King Kong as the action unfolds and the landscape is getting chewed up in confrontations between Team 7 and the insidious Snow Ninja and their evil boss, Doto. His attitude is that the film gods are smiling down on this shoot so let’s make the best of it; strangely he also has a very similar attitude and ethos to Naruto. As with any of the Naruto shows, manga and films one of the driving themes is being true to ones dreams, of striving for them in spite of any obstacles and hopefully bringing them to fruition and this is a view that Director Makino shares in common with the Leaf Village’s supreme hyperactive ninja. Dreams are important, they’re not something that should be scoffed at or let slip, something that Ms Fujikaze has forgotten in all her years as an actress.
As well as the film within the film device the other significant pillars that NCITLOS relies on which is a mainstay of many movies from anime to live action is the rescuing of a beautiful princess from a tyrannical villain along with the overthrow of said tyrant. These have been plot mainstays ever since humanity sat around fires in the wilderness of the primeval world telling stories, they are literally archetypal and when employed well do make for good action and drama. NCITLOS makes good use of these archetypes and then rounds it all off in the traditional manner in which such stories have ended since time immemorial, a happy ending. Where it does differ is in the precise nature of that happy ending, the Land of Snow is called that for a very good reason yet for some time there has always been the hope that one day spring would come to the Land of Snow, that the endless winter would pass and things would change. The cycle of seasons and the coming of the spring are also archetypes familiar to various cultural myths down through the ages particularly in cultures from Northern climes, and this particular theme is woven into the plot of NCITLOS though its outcome is decidedly different from what you’d expect.
Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow is great value viewing, I enjoyed every moment of it, I laughed, I cried and it was a ball. Apparently there is another movie or two that have yet to make their way onto the English speaking market so I’ll naturally be keeping an eye out for them, as far as I am concerned you can never have too much Naruto…BELIEVE IT!
Director: Tensai Okamura.
Screenplay by: Katsuyuki Sumisawa.
Producers: Tomoko Gushima (TV Tokyo) & Ken Hagino.
Starring: David Wittenberg (Kakashi), Maile Flannagan (Naruto), Kate Higgins (Sakura), Lex Lang (Doto Kazahana), Liam O’Brady (Nadare Roga), Michael McConnohie (Director Makino), Sam Riegel (Assistant Director), Darran Noris (Sandayu Asama) and Yuri Lowenthal (Sasuke).
Produced by: TV Tokyo & Pierrot.
Released by: Madman Entertainment.
Running Time: 82 minutes. Rating: M.
A land trapped in an endless winter, a beautiful highly renowned actress with a heart of stone, a princess with no throne, a trio of ruthless and efficient ninja, a cunning evil overlord and…Naruto. What more could you want in a fast paced anime action movie, especially one involving the number one hyperactive knuckle headed ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village? When I heard that this movie was available on DVD I just knew that it was going to end up in my collection, in fact the other day I mentioned the sudden arrival of it at my humble abode to a long time friend of mine as we were sharing an ale at our mutually favourite watering hole, his eyes glazed over, as with excitement I proudly announced that Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow was now in my hot little hands. Before I could regale him with the virtues and wonders of all things ninja and Naruto related he decided it was time for him to go outside and have a cigarette, I then noticed that both our beers were finished which meant it was my shout and as a result when he departed for a smoke I went to the bar to buy the next round.
From the cinema the team move on to the rendezvous point with their sensei Kakashi Hatake, for some reason this location is outside of the studio where the Princess Gale films are made. The three team mates have no idea why he’s told them to meet them here and as is usual with Kakashi; he is late. Suddenly a beautiful women riding a white horse leaps over the fence surrounding the studio lot, its Princess Gale and she is being pursued by a horde of armoured goons riding black horses. Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke immediately spring into action, they don’t hesitate and Naruto with a cry of “I’ll save you Princess Gale” bounds off in pursuit of the fleeing princess with his two friends. It is during this little moment that Naruto discovers that his screen idol is one snotty stuck up diva who has no real concern for anyone, not even herself. After confronting a totally soused Yukie Fujikaze in a downtown bar Naruto is confronted with the fact that he and his friends are going to be bodyguards for this pampered actress on a voyage to the Land of Snow where shooting is taking place for a Princess Gale film. It was for this particular reason that Ms Fujikaze did, as they say in the vernacular, a runner. She has no desire to go the Land of Snow, a desire that is the result of a troubled past, a troubled past that will as the movie progresses have consequences for the members of cast and crew as well as Naruto and his friends.
It seems that ten or so years ago the Land of Snow suffered a serious coup d’état at the hands of the evil Doto Kazahana, the younger brother of the then reigning lord. Doto took power and now is seeking the missing heir to the Kazahana clan; his brother’s daughter who is in possession of a Hex crystal that he believes will open a secret storehouse of hidden wealth near the Rainbow Glacier. Naturally he has a band of trusty henchmen ready to fulfil his will and further his agenda, the three Snow Ninja led by Nadare Roga; who previously during the coup d’état crossed swords with Kakashi Hatake. Now Roga and his team are getting ready for when Yukie Fujikaze and her crew arrive in the Land of Snow so that they can retrieve the hex crystal that she carries around her neck.
Naturally nothing is exactly quite as it seems within this film; in fact the only thing that is as it seems are the film crew, the other actors and Director Makino who goes all King Kong as the action unfolds and the landscape is getting chewed up in confrontations between Team 7 and the insidious Snow Ninja and their evil boss, Doto. His attitude is that the film gods are smiling down on this shoot so let’s make the best of it; strangely he also has a very similar attitude and ethos to Naruto. As with any of the Naruto shows, manga and films one of the driving themes is being true to ones dreams, of striving for them in spite of any obstacles and hopefully bringing them to fruition and this is a view that Director Makino shares in common with the Leaf Village’s supreme hyperactive ninja. Dreams are important, they’re not something that should be scoffed at or let slip, something that Ms Fujikaze has forgotten in all her years as an actress.
As well as the film within the film device the other significant pillars that NCITLOS relies on which is a mainstay of many movies from anime to live action is the rescuing of a beautiful princess from a tyrannical villain along with the overthrow of said tyrant. These have been plot mainstays ever since humanity sat around fires in the wilderness of the primeval world telling stories, they are literally archetypal and when employed well do make for good action and drama. NCITLOS makes good use of these archetypes and then rounds it all off in the traditional manner in which such stories have ended since time immemorial, a happy ending. Where it does differ is in the precise nature of that happy ending, the Land of Snow is called that for a very good reason yet for some time there has always been the hope that one day spring would come to the Land of Snow, that the endless winter would pass and things would change. The cycle of seasons and the coming of the spring are also archetypes familiar to various cultural myths down through the ages particularly in cultures from Northern climes, and this particular theme is woven into the plot of NCITLOS though its outcome is decidedly different from what you’d expect.
Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow is great value viewing, I enjoyed every moment of it, I laughed, I cried and it was a ball. Apparently there is another movie or two that have yet to make their way onto the English speaking market so I’ll naturally be keeping an eye out for them, as far as I am concerned you can never have too much Naruto…BELIEVE IT!
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