One Piece: The Desert Princess and the Pirates: Adventure in Alabasta (2007)

I am disappointed that this movie doesn't have a higher rating because I think it's one of the best movies I've watched for Anime Month! The thing is, I'm not even a "One Piece" fan! I think I read the first volume or two of the manga and it didn't interest me that much, but this movie was wonderful! Granted, I saw a subtitled version so I probably just saw the best version that exists. Anyway, I remember when I first became familiar with this series. I was kind of turned off by the weird character designs. I mean, it just didn't seem like a traditional anime.I was very glad to watch the anime in action and be amazed by how much fun it was. It's really easy to realize that the weird designs is what makes it so unique! I don't know that much about Luffy, but certainly got associated with him and his crew. I haven't read far into the manga or watched the show much to understand what's going on. Apparently, this was an adaptation of a story arc. It's easy for me to realize that the series is about pirates, so it was very interesting to see them on land in the desert of all places! The fight scenes are very well done and the characters are very entertaining. There's tons of funny moments and throughout all the silliness, there really is a very strong story here. This tells about one of the crew members named Vivi going back to save her hometown. I really do love the ending, where they really do the courageous thing. At first, it looks like it's going to be the same with her rejoining the crew. Instead, they did something bold and had her stay behind and rule her kingdom! It's a very heartfelt moment and I'm so glad to know more about such a popular franchise. ****

This One Piece movie takes place in Alabaster which is a fictional city in the One Piece Anime world. All the usual heroes team up to fight the known Crocodile bandit and many other Pirates. The best part of this is a newer character named Vivi (a princess) who adds much needed emotion to balance out the awesome brutal fight scenes! One Piece is an awesome Anime. It's also very rocky, but it always seems to hang on the cliff and pull it's self back up. That's the verbal message found throughout the film. Which I find kind of funny. It practices what it preaches.DUB; I have to say I know there were some problems with the English dub on the external level. There were two dubs. One bad, one amazing. When you would watch the T.V. series online for free you had a 50/50 chance of getting one or the other and I have to say it seems like this movie is the bad. Luffy sounds like a stupid little kid who has no power behind his voice but he does pull off the emotion it just seems a tad wimpier than the other dub which brings me to my next point.ANIMATION: A lot of people are saying the Animation is better. I'm not convinced. I thought there was a lot of crappy CG here, and a lot of still shots which are a sign of cheapness (or making little kid films). But most importantly Luffy seems like he is drawn by the x**-holic artist and he looks more wimpy than I remember. Yet I do want to say the Animation is still very cool overall.BOTTOM LINE: One Piece teaches us that even though a movie can have a ton of characters and story lines it doesn't necessarily mean it will be confusing, and that despite some obvious flaws it can still be better than a lot of other Anime out there. The emotional depth of the characters made this great. The scenes with Vivi and Luffy are emotionally pummeling and make you feel like you are in the best 90's Disney movie ever. There are no strings left untied, except for one or two which makes you want more.RATING: During the movie many times I thought this was like a 6 or 7 but One Piece fought it's way to an 8 because it had a lot to say. I would still recommend sticking with the "good dub" in the first season of One Piece. That I believe is more enjoyable. Hopefully in the future One Piece can take some notes from Inu Yasha which is a little less crazy but sucks you in unpretentiously. If it does this One Piece could be one of the best Animes around. But like I said I think the T.V. series does this already so watch that first.

Okay, I, just yesterday, went to my local Wal-Mart to buy One Piece The Movie: The Desert Princess and The Pirates Adventures in Alabasta. Being the One Piece buff I am, it's only natural that I anticipate. I mean, this is the new One Piece movie, right. I got home right after buying it, popped it into my DVD player, and sat down on my couch to watch.Shortly after pressing play, my ears were greeted by a billowing wisp of air from my television speakers, as well as a beautiful orchestral blare. The movie kept going on like this and it was a truly beautiful thing to see and hear.The animation has greatly improved from the TV anime. Though it's not on the same level as Miyazaki's critically acclaimed Spirited Away, it doesn't mean it can't startle you now and then.The voice-overs are expertly done, and will blow you away once you hear them. I especially loved Pell's voice, as it suited the character so perfectly, I nearly jumped up from the couch and shouted, "Yes! Do it again!" The score has been crafted by careful hands here, and expertly comments the mood of each individual scene.This movie is entertaining and I recommend it to anybody who is a One Piece fan or likes a good action film.10/10 (Highly Recommended)

Since my wife and I have enjoyed some of the box office hits produced by the classic Japanese cartoon directors (mostly subtitled versions of PRINCESS MONONOKE, SPIRITED AWAY, HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE, CASTLE IN THE SKY, etc.), we thought we'd give this title a try when it came to our local multiplex last weekend. After all, our town is so small that the concurrent animated release THE PIRATES WHO DON'T DO ANYTHING: A VEGGIE TALES MOVIE and Oscar-nominated THERE WILL BE BLOOD had NOT made it to our screens; therefore, ONE PIECE just HAD to be good by default.I could mostly follow what was happening in this, but the dubbing and animation were more reminiscent of the six Pokemon titles I suffered through with my son than the 8, 9, and 10-rated titles mentioned in the first sentence above. My wife was willing to give it a 4 or 5; me a 6 or 7, so we compromised on a rating of 6.If I had to recommend target audiences for ONE PIECE (other than people who have either read the comic books or seen the original cartoon series), I would suggest A)parents who want to punish REALLY bratty pre-teens, and B)cliques who attend flicks in altered states.