Naruto: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom is the third film in the Naruto franchise. It was released in 2006 and is meant to take place after Episode 196. It's also notable for the being the last movie in the original series timeline.
Naruto, Sakura, Kakashi and Rock Lee are assigned escort duty to Michiru, prince of the Land of the Moon, who is traveling abroad with his son, Hikaru. Both royals are very spoiled, particularly Hikaru, who quickly gains Naruto's irritation with his pranks and indifference. However when the group returns to their kingdom, they find it's been taken over by Shabadaba, a former adviser of Michiru's father, who has hired ninja mercenaries led by a ninja named Ishidate whose gauntlet can turn anything to stone.
Thus Naruto's group finds itself helping those still loyal to the king to stop Shabadaba from taking over the land and try to help Michiru and Hikaru reclaim the throne.
Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom has the following tropes:
- Animation Bump: The quality of the animation in this movie is much better than the usual animation in the TV Show.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: Ishidate and Shabadaba, though while the latter puts the conflict of the movie in motion, Ishidate is considered more the threat since he's the one doing all the physical fighting.
- Broken Pedestal: It's invoked for comedy, but when The Reveal is known by way of Motive Rant, and he recovers from his Heroic BSoD, all Michiru wants is to teach the Big Bad the lesson of his life.
- Crescent Moon Island: The movie revolves around Naruto and friends protecting the royal family of the Land of the Moon, who rule over an island shaped like a crescent moon.
- Crush Parade: In the final battle, when Hikaru manages to shoot the noose around his father's neck, saving him but causing him to fall to the bridge below. Naruto produces millions of clones and rushes underneath him to cushion his fall, trampling Ishidate underneath in his haste.
- Determinator: Michiru's father defied death and waited for the prince's return, so he could spend his last hours asking Michiru to take back the throne. The guy has balls of diamond.
- Jerkass Ball: Sakura grabs it when Naruto hits Hikaru. She ties Naruto up and starves him until he apologizes. When Naruto refuses, she taunts him by waving food in front of him. Even in her Pre-Character Development phase, Sakura wasn't this nasty.
- La Résistance: The group still loyal to the king.
- Older Than They Look: Karenbana, who looks Sakura's age but reveals she's 22.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: If Shabadaba hadn't attempted his takeover, Michiru and Hikaru wouldn't have changed as people.
- Punched Across the Room: Karenbana when Sakura manages to locate her thanks to the shattered glass from a chandler. Kongō likewise gets juggled in the air by Rock Lee before being slammed through three floors.
- Shoot the Rope: How Hikaru saves Michiru from certain death by hanging.
- Spoiled Brat: Hikaru and to a lesser extent Michiru. The latter is at least good-natured, but obviously has no idea what being a true ruler means (which is what caused his wife to leave him). The former is mostly indifferent to everything, and they both spend money on a whim (they wind up buying a whole circus near the beginning of the film). Over the course of the film, they start to grow out of it as the situation in the kingdom escalates.
- Took a Level in Badass:
- By this point in the series, Sakura was training under Tsunade. Thus, she now is using physical attacks, as poor Karenbana finds out the hard way.
- Arguably Michiru and Hikaru as well. In the finale, they help Naruto, who had his leg turned to stone, by hoisting him on Michiru's shoulders and charging full force at Ishidate. Michiru even takes a few rock attacks for good measure. During the credits, we see Michiru even working out; starting to slim down and gain muscles.
- Villain Ball: Shabadaba. He manages to capture Michiru, but rather than kill him outright, he decides to have him stand out on a plank with a noose around his neck, hoping Michiru will fall and hang himself. Not only does this not happen, but Michiru finally realizes what his wife and father were trying to tell him what was important about ruling a kingdom and gains his resolve, managing to right himself and stay still long enough for the heroes to form a plan of attack to retake the castle and save him.
- Villainous Breakdown: Ishidate as Naruto starts gaining more of an advantage over him. So much so that when Shabadaba continually orders him to go after Michiru first, Ishidate accidentally grabs him with the stone gauntlet and unintentionally turns him to stone.
