Naruto the Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom (Japanese: 劇場版 NARUTO（ナルト） 大興奮!みかづき島のアニマル騒動だってばよ, Hepburn: Gekijō-ban Naruto Dai Kōfun! Mikazuki-jima no Animaru Panikku Dattebayo; lit. "Theatrical Feature Naruto: Great Excitement! The Animal Panic of Crescent Moon Island!") is a 2006 Japanese animated martial arts fantasy adventure film based on Masashi Kishimoto's manga and anime franchise. It is the third and final film for the series during Part I, before the first film was released during Part II.
It was announced on August 6, 2005 at the opening of Naruto the Movie: Legend of the Stone of Gelel. TV Tokyo's website states that Great Excitement! The Animal Panic of Crescent Moon Island! was released in DVD format on April 25, 2007. The film is set after episode 196 of the Naruto anime series. The film's footage is seen in the opening and ending credits for episodes 197 through 199. In the United States, the film aired on Cartoon Network on November 8, 2008 and was released on DVD on November 11, 2008.
The film's song "Tsubomi" is performed by Maria. The first audience to see the film in certain theaters were to receive the yo-yo, featuring Naruto and the Rasengan.
Plot
Naruto Uzumaki, Kakashi Hatake, Sakura Haruno and Rock Lee are assigned to protect prince Hikaru Tsuki and his father Michiru, the heir to the incredibly prosperous Land of the Moon, on their trip back to their kingdom. Hikaru's spoiled attitude irritates Naruto throughout the journey and the team quickly discovers about Michiru's incredible wealth when he nonchalantly buys an entire circus for Hikaru because he wanted to befriend its star attractions, a saber-toothed cat named Chamū and its monkey partner Kiki. Hikaru's attempts to befriend Chamū, but ends badly with Chamū attacking him, forcing Naruto to rescue him.
When Michiru's caravan reaches the port that will take them back to the Land of the Moon, Michiru and Hikaru visit Michiru's ex-wife Amayo. Though Amayo is happy to see Hikaru, she dismisses Michiru's attempts to reform their marriage because of Michiru's materialistic perspective and the fact that he fails to understand "what really matters." During the ship ride to the Land of the Moon the ship gets caught in a storm and the crew is forced to secure the circus animals that were brought aboard Hikaru, bitter about Chamū's aggressive attitude towards him, becomes indifferent about the safety of the animals and Naruto expresses his disgust at his disregard for the animal's lives and his selfishness. Desiring to prove Naruto wrong, Hikaru assists in securing the animals and gets Chamū and Kiki to safety with Naruto's help.
