Sailor Moon Super S: The Movie

Sailor Moon SuperS: The Movie is the third theatrically released Sailor Moon movie. This simplified name is the one given to the English-subtitled edition released by Geneon, while its full name in Japanese is in the style of the series' episode titles: Pretty Soldier Sailor Moon SuperS: The 9 Sailor Soldiers Unite! Miracle of the Black Dream Hole (美少女戦士セーラームーンSuperS セーラー９戦士集結！ブラック・ドリーム・ホールの奇跡). The English dub is called Sailor Moon SuperS the Movie: Black Dream Hole.

The film debuted in Japanese theatres on December 23, 1995. Its story seems to occur either in the middle of or at the very end of the SuperS series. However, it can also be construed as appearing outside of the series continuity - Sailor Pluto is not present at all during SuperS, and upon her first appearance in Sailor Stars, Sailors Uranus and Neptune express their surprise at her still being alive after the events of episode 124. Pioneer Entertainment released it in the United States for VHS and DVD on September 13, 2000, and on TV on November 16, 2001.

Plot
The movie begins with Poupelin playing a magical song called Sanji no Yosei ("Three O' Clock Fairy") on his flute. He uses the tune to hypnotize children and cause them to follow him away from their homes, reminiscent of the story The Pied Piper of Hamelin. Happily singing along, many pajama-clad children follow him into a strange flying ship, and they sail off into the sky.

The next day, we see Usagi, Chibiusa, and the other girls baking cookies together. Usagi ends up with cookies that look perfect and taste terrible; Chibiusa produces the reverse. Taking her ugly, delicious cookies with her in a sack, Chibiusa sets out to give them to Mamoru, but is stalled by the vision of a winged boy in strange white clothing standing outside the sweets shop. She blinks, and sees him more clearly as a normal boy dressed in red. They befriend each other, and he causes some of the treats inside the shop window to dance by playing a tune on his flute. He then introduces himself as Peruru.

Meanwhile, Usagi, visits Mamoru with her cookies, but is still agitated by his friendship with Chibiusa. She demands to know which of them is more important to him, but he is unable to answer &mdash; they are, after all, his future wife and daughter. Just then, they hear a report on the radio about the mass disappearance of children all over the world, and both fall silent. Around the same time, Chibiusa gives her bag of cookies to Peruru, and they part.

That night, the girls wake up to find Chibiusa and the other children walking, mesmerized, through the city. They save Chibiusa, but get into a fight with Poupelin, the flutist, and his "Bonbon Babies." In turn, Tuxedo Mask appears, then Perle (who tries to dissuade Poupelin), and finally a projection of Queen Badiane, who orders the fairies to hurry up. Peruru says outright that he does not believe in her anymore, but she seems unconcerned and orders that Super Sailor Chibi Moon be captured, too. A Bonbon Baby lifts Chibi Moon onto the ship, which rises into the sky and vanishes!

The ship lands, along with two others, in the depths of Marzipan Castle. When the doors are opened, all the children run delightedly out into the darkness, except for Chibi Moon. Looking into the shadows, she sees hundreds of "Dream Coffins," each containing a now-sleeping child. An enormous Badiane lifts her into the air, commenting on the power she senses from Chibi Moon, and explains her purpose. In the center of the castle, a Black Dream Hole is forming, gathering the "sugar energy" of the sleeping children. Eventually it will overtake Earth, and all humans will enter into Dream Coffins.

Meanwhile, Peruru leads the other Sailor Soldiers to a flying ship of his own. He recalls as they fly how Badiane had promised that the children would be happy and safe in her world of dreams and where they can remain children indefinitely, but he thinks also of Chibiusa, his friend. As they reach the castle, they are attacked, and after crash-landing must battle Poupelin, Banane, and Orangeat, as well as three sets of Bonbon Babies. Just when the situation seems hopeless, the Senshi are saved by the appearance of Sailors Neptune, Uranus, and Pluto. With this advantage, they are able to break the flutes of the three fairies, which changes them into small birds. The Senshi continue into the palace.

They then confront Queen Badiane, who has drained enough dream energy from the children, particularly Chibiusa, to create a large Black Dream Hole. The power drain is enough to force all the Sailor Soldiers except Super Sailor Moon into a half-detransformation. Taking Chibiusa with her, Badiane enters the hole itself, and Super Sailor Moon follows. Sailor Moon then finds herself in Mamoru's apartment, carrying Chibiusa (who is now dressed in her pajamas). Mamoru lays her on the bed, then wraps his arms around Super Sailor Moon and tells her not to worry about anything, just to stay there with him. She asks him again who is more important, herself or Chibiusa; this time he tells her that she is. Smiling, Super Sailor Moon lifts Chibiusa in her arms again and decides to wake up - the whole experience was nothing more than reverie.

Breaking out of the Dream Coffin, Super Sailor Moon faces Badiane, who is now a ball of fiery energy in the middle of the black hole. Hearing her mental cry, the other Senshi offer their magical mystic energy to Super Sailor Moon, who awakens Super Sailor Chibi Moon. Together, they destroy Badiane with a "Moon Gorgeous Meditation" attack. After the battle, Marzipan Castle self-destructs, and with Perle's help, the Senshi escape. The airships, each carrying children, descend back to Earth.

Later, at a beach, Peruru gives Chibiusa his glass flute, telling her that he is the fairy who protects children, and will always be with her. Chibiusa gives him a kiss on the cheek, and he blushes, looking startled, before flying away. The film ends with a shot of all the Senshi looking out over the sun rising.

Queen Badiane
Queen Badiane (女王バディヤーヌ) is the main antagonist of the movie. Her name is sometimes romanized Badian or Vadiane.

Badiane is a witch from another world whose plan is to gather all of Earth's children at Marzipan Castle to nurture her Black Dream Hole, a giant, artificial black hole of evil energy—under the guise of giving the children eternal happiness, peace, and comfort in a dream world. Once the Black Dream Hole is large enough, she will use it to swallow Earth, putting everyone into eternal sleep and taking over the world.

According to the Materials Collection Artbook her name is the Japanese approximation of the French word "Badiane," meaning "star anise". Star anise are attached all over her body as accessories and clothing; the books say that they are attached directly to her skin.

In the Japanese version, she was voiced by veteran seiyū Rihoko Yoshida. In the English version, she is voiced by Kirsten Bishop.

Perle
Perle (ペルル) is a supporting character who originally allied with Queen Badiane. He is the younger brother of the more enthusiastic Poupelin. Like the other fairies, he possesses a magical flute.

Perle seems to feel sympathy for the children of Earth—unlike the others, he is never shown mesmerizing them with his flute. His loyalty to the evil queen wavers after befriending Chibiusa at the beginning of the movie. When his new friend is nearly captured, he decides to join the Senshi in their fight. His wings are revealed at the end of the film.

His name is a Japanese approximation of the French word perle, which means "pearl." Naoko Takeuchi's Materials Collection artbook states that the idea behind the character is "pearl, liqueur, and bonbons." Perle wears many pearl ornaments such as pearl earrings, and there are pearls inside his flute.

In the Japanese version, he is voiced by Chika Sakamoto. In the English version, he is voiced by Julie Lemieux.

Poupelin
Poupelin (ププラン) is an antagonist subordinate to Queen Badiane. He is a loyal servant, one of the fairies who lure children into her snare with his flute. Poupelin is the older brother of the more reluctant Perle.

He turns into a hummingbird when his flute is cut by Sailor Uranus.

His name is the Japanese approximation of the French word "Poupelin." A poupelin is a type of French pastry that was popular during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It is made with chou paste, cooked in a mold. During cooking, most of the paste spills out so that all that is left is a crust, which is then filled with cream or mousse.

In the Japanese version, he is voiced by Nobuo Tobita. In the English version, he is voiced by Robert Tinkler.

Banane and Orangeat
Banane (バナーヌ) and Orangeat (オランジャ), called Bananu and Oranja in the dub, are the remaining two fairies who work for Queen Badiane. Each plays a flute to help lure children out into their flying ships, and each is defeated fairly quickly in his encounter with the Sailor Senshi when this flute is destroyed, turning him into a cuckoo bird. Banane is named for the French word for Banana while Orangeat is named for the German word for a candied Orange Peel.

In the English dubbed version, both Bananu and Oranja were voiced by Susan Aceron.

Bonbon Babies
Colorful candies thrown by the fairies enlarge and sprout babylike heads and limbs. They are able to levitate, and attack the Senshi by ramming into them at high speed. The color of a Bonbon Baby varies depending on which of the fairies summoned it. They disappear when each dream fairy turns into a bird. Bonbon is the French word for small, sweet candies.

Production
Originally, Kunihiko Ikuhara envisaged that Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune were going to be the main characters in the SuperS movie, and it was going to be independent of the main series. Sailor Neptune was going to be in a deep sleep at the end of the world, and Sailor Uranus would have had to steal the talismans from the Sailor Senshi to revive her. As the producer left the movie, so too did Ikuhara, but these ideas were later used in Ikuhara's Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Ami's First Love
Japanese theaters showed a trailer before the Sailor Moon SuperS movie: a 16-minute short named Ami's First Love (Ami-chan no Hatsukoi), in which Ami Mizuno (Sailor Mercury) struggles to focus on her studying amidst various distractions including a pruritus-inducing love letter found in her school locker and a rival known as "Mercurius" who ties Ami's perfect score in mock high school entrance exams, and who Ami believes is either a female monster that makes her forget math and English or a handsome boy who looks like a young Albert Einstein. The short featured a new transformation sequence ("Mercury Crystal Power Make Up!") and special power ("Mercury Aqua Mirage") for Sailor Mercury.