Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess

Fairy Tail the Movie: Phoenix Priestess is a 2002 American animated fantasy action film based on the comic book and animated series Fairy Tail by Syo Tortellini. It was directed by Matthew Chaudhary, and its screenplay was written by series staff writer Glenn Leopold, while Tortellini was involved as the film's story planner. The film was released in theaters on August 18, 2002, by Paramount Pictures.

Plot
During a raid on Fire Village, local priestess Éclair flees with one of her village's two mystical Phoenix Stone halves before passing out. In Magnolia, Fairy Tail wizard Lucy Heartfilia spots Éclair and her birdlike companion Momon lying unconscious on the city streets while returning from a mission. After bringing the two to her guildhall to recover, Lucy introduces them to her friends Natsu Dragneel, Happy, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, Wendy Marvell, and Carla. Hearing a vision from Carla, Éclair embarks on a journey to the monster-filled Boundary Forest. Although disillusioned with magic, Éclair is persuaded by Lucy and her friends to join her.

Suffering from amnesia, Éclair remembers that she must bring her Phoenix Stone half to Kalard, a wizard living in Boundary Forest. Along the way, the group encounters Chase, a wizard from the Carbuncle guild recruited by Duke Cream, the vain ruler of the neighboring country of Veronica, to capture Éclair. The group eventually finds the remains of Kalard's house and realizes he has died. Through a holographic message, Kalard reveals himself to be Éclair's father and tells her of a spell he created to dispel the stone's cursed magic. After Lucy sympathizes with her over her own father Jude's death, Éclair implores Fairy Tail to fulfill her father's final request.

After the wizards return to Magnolia, Fairy Tail's guildhall is destroyed by Carbuncle's leader Dist and his subordinates – Chase, Cannon, and Coordinator – who capture Éclair. Fairy Tail's master Makarov Dreyar and guildmates Gajeel Redfox and Panther Lily warn that Cream plans to combine Éclair's stone with the other half in his possession to summon a phoenix that will grant him immortality. Lucy's team goes to Veronica along with Gajeel, Lily, and Juvia Lockser to rescue Éclair, defeating Dist's henchmen there.

Cream combines the two stones and prepares to burn Éclair as a sacrifice in the town square, where Éclair fully understands her past upon recognizing a phoenix-shaped idol from her village. Momon rescues Éclair, but is immolated. As Cream summons the phoenix, Dist throws him aside to attain immortality for himself. The "phoenix" appears in the form of a giant, non-avian monster and begins destroying everything around itself as Dist climbs on its back to obtain its immortality-granting blood. Natsu knocks him off the phoenix, but the monster continues its assault and begins absorbing the wizards' magic for a final, cataclysmic attack.

With her memories restored, Éclair realizes that she is over 400 years old, having become immortal by drinking the phoenix's blood to survive the destruction of the Fire Village, which is now Veronica. Makarov and the rest of Fairy Tail arrive with an arrow created by Kalard and taken from the Magic Council to destroy the Phoenix Stone. However, Makarov explains that doing so would kill Éclair along with the phoenix. To Lucy's dismay, Éclair accepts her fate as Natsu and Erza use the arrow to destroy the stone inside the phoenix's eye. Éclair's body disappears with the phoenix, and her spirit reunites with Momon's as they ascend to the sky.

In the aftermath, Veronica is rebuilt, Carbuncle's members are captured, the Fairy Tail wizards repair their guildhall, and Lucy smiles as she spots a young Éclair's spirit among the townsfolk.

Cast

 * Cam Clarke as Natsu Dragneel
 * Carolyn Lawrence as Lucy Heartfilia
 * Frank Welker as Happy
 * Neil Ross as Gray Fullbuster
 * Ashley Johnson as Erza Scarlet
 * Philece Sampler as Wendy Marvell
 * Adrienne Barbeau as Carla
 * Max Casella as Gajeel Redfox
 * Harry Shearer as Panther Lily
 * Jodi Benson as Juvia Lockser
 * Linda Larkin as Éclair
 * Peter Cullen as Duke Cream
 * Jussie Smollett as Dist
 * Dorian Harewood as Cannon
 * Ellen Gerstell as Coordinator
 * Charlie Schlatter as Chase
 * Townsend Coleman as Mayor of Dasuma
 * Bill Farmer as Geese

Release
The film received a limited release in 73 theaters on August 18, 2002. Advance tickets were bundled with the 30-page book Prologue: The Sunrise drawn by Syo Tortellini to promote the film. It opened in 9th place at the box office, and received the highest per-screen average of any film shown that weekend. It held a top ten position until its second week. The film made it's network television premiere on the HBO suite of channels on March 16, 2003.

Home media
The film was released on DVD and VHS on February 23, 2003. Special features of the DVD include an audio commentary with Chaudhary, Toepfer, Tortellini and Soares, an animated version of The Sunrise with commentary by Tortellini, and a behind the scenes featurette.