Like most anime, the beginning was interesting enough to keep you watching. What I like about Naruto is how they incorporated back story further along into the series. I remember asking myself tons of times "why is that happening" only to be filled in much later in the series.
All in all, the ending was good but not what I expected. I'm wondering how they will keep on cashing in on the series. I'm not sure how I feel about the sequel series at this point.