Naruto the Movie: Guardians of the Crescent Moon Kingdom

Directed by Toshiyuki Tsuru and released in 2006, this is the third Naruto theatrical film. It sends Team 7, minus one member and plus Rock Lee, on an escort job for a self-indulgent prince, blending comedy, a traveling circus, and a coup into a lesson about valuing people over possessions.

Kakashi leads Naruto, Sakura, and Rock Lee on a paid assignment to shield Michiru, ruler-to-be of the opulent Land of the Moon, during his journey home. The prince throws money at every whim, and his son Hikaru shares the same shallow outlook, which grates on Naruto. When Michiru impulsively buys an entire circus so Hikaru can keep a rare saber-toothed tiger named Chamu, the animals fall under the squad's care. A storm at sea washes the boy and the beast overboard, and Naruto hauls both to safety, thawing Hikaru's coldness and sparking a friendship among the group.

Arriving in the kingdom, the team finds it seized by Shabadaba, a treacherous noble who murdered the reigning king and hired three powerful rogue ninja to eliminate the surviving heirs. Loyal soldiers help the squad flee, and the dying monarch leaves his son and grandson a final lesson: people, not goods, give life meaning. The hired ninja later dose the shinobi with a poison that dulls their reflexes, but a surge of the Nine-Tails' chakra lets Naruto drive the attackers back before Hikaru can be seized.

Disguised as circus performers, the group storms the palace as Shabadaba prepares to hang Michiru on a rigged platform. Each fighter takes on a foe: Lee finishes Kongo with the Reverse Lotus, Sakura tracks and fells the genjutsu-using Karenbana, and Naruto duels the petrification-wielding leader Ishidate. Hikaru's arrow cuts the noose, and in his rage Ishidate accidentally turns Shabadaba to stone. Perched on Michiru's shoulders, Naruto forms the moonlit Crescent Moon Rasengan and lands a blow that destroys both villains at once. Michiru claims the throne and pledges to rule as his father did, while the worn-out team lingers to vacation as Kakashi recovers from overtaxing his Sharingan.

First announced at the premiere of the previous film, this 82-minute feature opened in Japanese theaters on August 5, 2006, with the English dub airing on Cartoon Network on November 8, 2008, followed by a stateside DVD a few days later. Chronologically it slots into the original series' filler stretch, just after episode 196, and its footage turned up in the closing credits of several nearby episodes.

The earliest crowds received a promotional treat: the first hundred thousand viewers at select theaters were handed a Naruto yo-yo that lit up like a Rasengan when spun. Print adaptations followed the usual pattern, with both an ani-manga edition and a light novel by Masatoshi Kusakabe reaching shelves. Notably, it remains the only movie in the franchise to dress its cast in outfits other than their standard wardrobe.