Episode of Alabasta: The Desert Princess and the Pirates

One Piece The Movie: Episode of Alabasta: The Desert Princess and the Pirates (エピソードオブアラバスタ 砂漠の王女と海賊たち Episōdo obu Arabasuta Sabaku no Ōjo to Kaizoku-tachi) is the eighth movie in the anime and manga series One Piece. It is an abridged retelling of the Alabasta arc. It was released on March 3, 2007 and debuted at #2 in the Japanese box office. The movie has grossed 7,075,924 million dollars in Japanese box office and is currently at number 25 in the year end chart. It is the only One Piece movie to be released by FUNimation, hereby the only movie to be dubbed in English.

Synopsis
The Straw Hats travel to Alabasta, the desert island and home of Nefertari Vivi. They find the country in the middle of a revolution. Crocodile, the country's hero, secretly used his criminal organization, Baroque Works, to undermine the citizens trust in Cobra, Vivi's father and head of the Kingdom of Sand, in order to seize the throne and the countries hidden secret for himself. The crew now has to cross the desert, stop the revolution, save thousands of lives from Baroque Works hidden bombers, and most of all, defeat Crocodile, one of the mighty Shichibukai.

Plot
Vivi dreams of her childhood in which she flies over the land of Alabasta on Pell, who has transformed with his Devil Fruit powers. She asks why he trains all the time, and he says that it is to protect the land from any enemy. As the dream ends, Vivi resolves to show her father that the "hero" of Alabasta is really working to destroy it.

Vivi wakes up to find Luffy and Usopp fishing with Carue as bait, and she punishes them by bashing their heads together. They pull up a mysterious "man-lady", who appears extremely grateful to be saved by pirates he doesn't know. The man reveals that he cannot swim because he ate the Mane Mane no Mi, which allows him to change himself into anyone he has touched the face of. He adds that he also has a "save feature", which allows him to take on the faces of those he touched before, showing several faces to the crew, one of which is Vivi's father, the king of Alabasta. The man then leaves as his crew arrives to pick him up, declaring the Straw Hats his friends despite not knowing them for long. As he leaves, he is called Mr. 2 Bon Kurei by his crew.

Vivi realizes that the man was one of Baroque Works' agents, and that his being able to turn into her father is troubling. She reveals that Alabasta is in a drought, and her father had been framed for using Dance Powder, which forces rain onto the region it is used on at the expense of places downwind, for the capital. The leader of Baroque Works is revealed to be Crocodile, one of the Shichibukai, who is considered a hero in Alabasta for protecting the nation from pirates. In order to prove their identity should Mr. 2 transform into any of them, the crew each draws an X on their wrists and covers it with a bandage, which they will take off to prove their identity.

The crew reaches Yuba, a ghost town that had once been a prosperous oasis before sandstorms ravaged it, causing many of the people to join the rebellion. They encounter an old man named Toto, who is the father of the rebellion's leader, Kohza, who was a childhood friend of Vivi's. Elsewhere in the desert, Crocodile tells the Officer Agents of Baroque Works to ensure the nation falls into civil war, and to prevent Vivi and Kohza from meeting. The Rebel Army finds Nanohana destroyed, supposedly by the Royal Army.

As the sun rises, Toto gives Luffy some water he dug up. During their travel, Luffy declares that he quits, saying that even if the rebels stop, the threat will continue as long as Crocodile is alive. He adds that Vivi is naive to think that they can prevent everyone from dying in the battle, and he urges her to, rather than risk only her life, let them help her.

Bon Kurei, in the form of the king of Alabasta, orders Chaka and the other soldiers of the royal guard, to destroy the rebels. After befriending a camel named Matsuge (Eyelash), they ride his Moving Crab friend, Hasami (Scissors). Vivi thanks Luffy for helping her see the truth, and promises him a feast after they save the kingdom.

Crocodile ambushes them almost immediately afterward, using his Suna Suna abilities to reach and capture Vivi. Pell attacks Crocodile and while he fails to injure him, manages to make him let go of Vivi. Crocodile's assistant, Miss All-Sunday uses her Hana Hana Fruit powers to ground Pell, then uses Seis Fleur Clutch to severely wound him. Luffy then intervenes, stretching out and throwing Vivi atop Hasami, staying behind to fight Crocodile. Crocodile uses his ability to turn into sand to render all of Luffy's attacks useless. He then attempts to drown Luffy in a quicksand pit he creates, but Luffy manages to escape. Crocodile dries out Luffy's leg, and Luffy restores himself to normal by drinking the water Toto had given him earlier. Crocodile impales Luffy with his hook and leaves him for dead. Robin then asks why people with the letter D in their name fight.

Nami disrobes slightly, causing Hasami to bolt towards the kingdom of Alabasta. Baroque Works' Officer Agents lie in wait, but the crew splits up as decoys for Vivi, allowing her to escape and try to stop the rebellion. Zoro fights Mr. 1, Nami fights Miss Doublefinger, Sanji fights Mr. 2, and Usopp and Chopper fight Mr. 4 and Miss Merry Christmas.



Vivi attempts to reason with the rebellion, but due to Baroque Works members who have infiltrated the Royal Guards firing on the Rebels, Kohza is unable to see or hear her. Vivi is nearly trampled by the Rebel Army, but Carue protects her. Carue runs the blockade, only to collapse from his injuries and call the Super Spot-Billed Duck Squad to assist Vivi. Usopp and Chopper have difficulty dealing with Mr. 4 and his exploding baseballs, and they tell him that Luffy has been killed by Crocodile. Despite being heavily wounded after being struck by Mr. 4's four-ton bat, Usopp manages to trick Mr. 4 into hitting Miss Merry Christmas with his bat, then hits him with a hammer fired from a slingshot attached to Chopper's antlers. The two are then knocked out by an exploding baseball detonating nearby. Sanji is unable to attack Mr. 2 when he transforms into Nami, but manages to find a way to kick through Mr. 2's defenses without hitting him as Nami, defeating him. Nami defeats Miss Doublefinger with her new weapon, the Clima-Tact. Zoro is initially unable to hurt Mr. 1, but suddenly realizes how to cut through steel, and defeats him.

Vivi attempts to stop the battle as she demands that Chaka and the soldiers destroy the palace. She escorts Chaka to the center of the kingdom where they discover Crocodile demanding the location of the weapon, Pluton, from the king, whom he had abducted. Believing it to be inscribed on the land's poneglyphs hidden in the kingdom's sanctuary, Robin takes the king to it. Chaka attempts to stop Crocodile by transforming into a Jackal with the Inu Inu no Mi, Model: Jackal, but is defeated. Kohza, having come to demand the king's surrender, realizes the truth and protects Vivi from Crocodile. Crocodile reveals that he plans on destroying the city by firing a bomb into the main square. He then attempts to drop Vivi off the roof of the palace, but Luffy, flying in on Pell's back, saves her.

In the sanctuary, Robin, the only person able to translate the Poneglyphs, discovers that the inscription is not what she is looking for. Crocodile arrives, and Robin lies that the poneglyph only contains history. Crocodile sees through her deception, knowing that Cobra would not be so shocked to hear about Pluton if his kingdom did not contain the secret. Robin reveals that she knew Crocodile would betray her, and attempts to throw water on him, but he avoides it by turning into sand and stabs her with his hook. Luffy then arrives, showing the viewer that Robin saved his life in the desert, and manages to injure Crocodile by using his own blood to wet the sand. Crocodile, however, reveals a new trick- a poisoned hook, and injures Luffy with it.

The crew attempts to retrace Crocodile's steps to find the bomb, while Pell searches from the air. They discovers its location in the clock tower and is guarded by Mr. 7 and Miss Father's Day, who shot Pell from the sky. As Luffy and Crocodile's battle continues under the collapsing sanctuary, the crew are left with less than one minute, and they work together to launch Vivi into the clock tower, where she easily defeats Mr. 7 and Miss Father's Day and cuts the fuse, only to discover, it's a time bomb and cannot be disarmed.

Luffy, despite being poisoned and still weak from his previous injuries, refuses to give up. While Crocodile considers him a naive rookie, Luffy is determined to defeat him, and forces his hook into the ground, snapping it off. Pell, still alive, comes to Vivi, says that it is his duty to protect Alabasta, transforms into a falcon, and carries the bomb high above Alubarna. As he does so, the falcon statue at Alubarna's gate crumbles. Pell carries the bomb so that it detonates safely above Alubarna, apparently dying in the process.

While the threat to Alubarna has passed, Vivi is still unable to get both sides to stop fighting. Crocodile reveals a knife blade in his hook, and attempts to stab Luffy, but Luffy knocks him into the air. Crocodile attempts to use Sables Pesada to kill Luffy, but Luffy avoids the attack while protecting the wounded and immobile Robin. Luffy sucks in air and twists his body to propel himself upward at high speed. Crocodile prepareds to use Desert Espada on him, but Luffy punches through with a new technique, Gomu Gomu no Storm, which sends out punches at high speed, punching Crocodile through the bedrock in the ground and sending him through a tower. Crocodile flies through the sky and lands in the main square, defeated.

Luffy collapses from his wounds and the poison, and Robin gives Cobra an antidote for Luffy. Vivi screams for the fighting to stop with all her might as, for the first time in three years, it rains. Both sides stop fighting as the King shows the people the defeated Crocodile, who is responsible for the war. Luffy regains consciousness long enough to carry Cobra and Robin out of the tomb before it collapses. Cobra then brings Luffy to his crew, meeting them for the first time. The crew collapse from their injuries and rest in the palace as Vivi stays up, watching the rain. Toto enjoys the long awaited rain and hopes to reunite with Kohza.

Three days later, Luffy awakens from his coma and Vivi returns his hat. Terracotta announces that the palace is holding a feast for the Straw Hats, and Luffy eats nearly everything he can get. Chaka then arrives, informing them that Marine ships have come for the Straw Hats. Nami tells Vivi that she can come with them if she wants, and if she does, she must come to the shore at noon the next day. That night, Vivi wonders if she can truly continue her journey with the Straw Hat



Robin, still alive, rests as she remembers how Luffy saved her from the collapsing kingdom despite her believing she had nothing to live for, this being the second time she was saved from death by a person of the initial D, the first being her dearest friend, Jaguar D. Saul. While she seems ready to give up, his words renew her resolve. As Vivi prepares for her speech to Alabasta, she tells Cobra- whom she now addresses as "Father" rather than "Papa,"- that she has something important to say to him. The speech begins, and describes Vivi's journey, but the crowd soon realizes that Terracotta is acting as a stand-in for Vivi. Vivi instead proceeds to the shore, where the Straw Hats initially believe that she is not coming. She tells the Straw Hats that she can no longer travel with them, but asks if they will consider her a friend if they meet again. Luffy is about to say yes, but Nami tells him that her being associated with them will make her a criminal, and the crew says goodbye by showing her the marks on their arms, while Vivi does the same.

During the credits, Alabasta is shown rebuilding itself, Pell reunites with Vivi, and Vivi shows some children what the mark means, before reflecting on her friendship with the Straw Hats.

Changes

 * Ace, the Marines (Smoker, Tashigi, Hina, Jango and Fullbody), Rainbase, Bananawani and Mr. 3 were removed from the plot of the movie
 * Sanji was not supposed to be present when Mr. 2 was on the ship, he was inside the whole time. This prevents Crocodile from realizing that he is part of the crew, enabling him to use his "Mr. Prince" persona to free his friends. However, in the movie, when Mr. 2 was about to touch Sanji, he kicked his hand away.
 * Crocodile's fur coat was in two shades of green in this movie and not the fur coat that was seen in the One Piece episodes.
 * The movie does not mention that Luffy and Usopp are fishing for provisions because they ate all of the supplies that were supposed to last until they reached Alabasta.
 * In the movie, Vivi woke up to discover Mr. 2 holding onto Carue. In the original version, Mr. 2 is fished out of the ocean after he disappears from his ship in the middle of steam caused by an underwater volcanic eruption, and the first fishing incident takes place slightly earlier.
 * Crocodile withers Luffy's leg with Barchan after a failed Gomu Gomu no Stamp rather than his arm from the original version.
 * In the movie, after Luffy mentions that the water he is drinking is the water Toto spent all night digging up, Crocodile does not conjure up a sandstorm, but instead immediately impales Luffy. Also, Crocodile's hook doesn't fully impale through Luffy.
 * Instead of Cobra giving orders to attack Crocodile to Chaka and Pell, Mr. 2 in the guise of Cobra orders them to raise arms against the rebels.
 * The crew originally ride Hasami but finish shortly after Luffy's defeat at the hands of Crocodile in the movie, this resulting in the absence of the Super Spot-Billed Duck Squad's debut.
 * During the disguise scene Usopp was teamed with Chopper and Sanji was teamed up with Eyelashes was cut out the part when Mr. 2 disguised himself as Usopp and tried to trick Vivi.
 * Zoro does not mention his having been offered a position in Baroque Works (the reason why he knows of the organization)
 * Luffy's second fight with Crocodile is edited out as their original third and final match is when he discovers Luffy's survival.
 * Robin's saving Luffy is shown in a brief flashback after Luffy finds Robin wounded in the tomb.
 * Robin's conversation with Cobra concerning her search for the Poneglyphs is removed, although she is shown giving Luffy the antidote.
 * Robin mentions the Will of D. and indirectly mentions Jaguar D. Saul.
 * All fights are shorter and have noticeable changes, notably:
 * Zoro's ambition to cut steel - as well as any accompanying flashbacks - is removed. Also, when Zoro defeats Mr. 1 with the Single Sword Style - Lion Strike, he originally cuts the center of his chest but cuts the top right in the movie.
 * Nami's receiving of the Clima Tact and her unfamiliarity with it is removed. When Nami defeats Miss Doublefinger with the Tornado Tempo, the second bird is wrapped around her left leg and not her right and was originally launched through several buildings but was launched within short distance of Nami in the movie.
 * Mr. 2 does not show Sanji 'the World's Funniest Face' and Sanji neglects to honor his efforts after defeating him.
 * In the movie, after defeating Mr. 4, Miss Merry Christmas, and Lasso, Chopper and Usopp are blown away by the explosion of Lasso's last baseball bomb sneeze before celebrating with a thumbs up. Usopp's '5-ton Hammer' is not shown.
 * During Luffy's fight with final battle with Crocodile, Luffy doesn't stretch as often as he did in the anime or manga. Instead of cutting and dissolving a piece of rubble, Crocodile instead breaks a pillar in half, hastening the destruction of the mausoleum. Crocodile's Desert La Espada is also changed in appearance, resembling Desert Espada and when Luffy arm runs through the technique, blood is shown flying from it. When Crocodile is hit with Gomu Gomu no Storm, the surprised expression he made before getting hit is changed to a look of horror and disbelief. Instead of punching his stomach first, Luffy punches Crocodile's face multiple times: also, the scene is reangled, resembling the manga scene rather than the anime scene. A tall tower is shown shattering to pieces. Finally, the screen pans to Luffy's face after Luffy's crew sees Crocodile flying through the air, as he falls through the holes in the bedrock he made, not showing his arm retracting like in the anime.
 * In the movie, Terracota disguises herself as Vivi instead of Igaram when Vivi is at the coast saying goodbye to the Straw Hats.
 * In a TV version, Tony Tony Chopper appears in Whiskey Peak, whereas in the manga he hadn't joined the Staw Hat Pirates yet.

Trivia

 * This is the last movie featuring the Going Merry.
 * For the TV version of the movie, new scenes remaking the Whiskey Peak Arc were added to the opening of the film.
 * Dispite FUNimation using the names 'Zoro' and 'Miss Merry Christmas' for both the English dub and subtitle track, the DVD credits use the 4Kids names 'Zolo' and 'Miss Groundhog Day'.