Battle for Terra

Overall score:

Voices of Evan Rachel Wood, Brian Cox, Luke Wilson, Justin Long, James Garner, David Cross, Danny Glover, Chris Evans and Dennis Quaid
Written by Evan Spilotopoulos
Story by Arisomenis Tsirbas 
 
A few years ago,  a short  film entitled "Survive," which featured brilliant performances from extraordinary acting talents such as Patrick Gibbs and Ethan "Skar" Skarstedt, and directed by Paul Gibbs, made an impact on the almost ten people who actually saw it. "Survive" told the story of a group of soldiers doing battle with aliens during an invasion. But as it turned out, these human soldiers were the alien invaders, and they were out to conquer another world. It was sort of a backyard, no budget "Twilight Zone" episode.
 
But now, the same premise has resurfaced in the animated adventure Battle For Terra, and as the writer of the previous film, I was fascinated to see how this take on my idea played out.
 
Mala and Senn (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood and Justin Long), two teenagers who happen to resemble salamanders, are having a glider race though the skies, without a care in the world--a world that is not earth. Their fun is interrupted by a thunderboom and the darkening of the sky as something emerges from the heavens, and before you can say "Independence Day," it becomes clear that we (or rather they) are not alone in the universe.
 
It seems that a long time ago, in a galaxy relatively far, far away, the inhabitants of Earth, having depleted their natural resources, colonized Mars and Venus (which is quite a feat--considering Venus' proximity to the sun, the global warming issues would be more than any number of dancing penguins could hope to endure, or any life, for that matter). Eventually, the three planets that made up the human race went to war with each other, and the result was that the survivors were forced to move to a fleet of ships and look for a planet capable of sustaining life. Now, several generations later, the colonies, known as "Earthforce," have found one. There is some debate about whether colonizing this planet is the best idea. President Chen (voiced by Danny Glover--you can tell it's the future because the president is black, this would never happen in real life) doesn't agree with plan. After all, Terra has its shortcomings; for example, there is no oxygen on the planet, but this doesn't stop the resourceful General Hemmer (voiced by Brian Cox), who plans to terraform this newfound home using a doomsday weapon/oxygen generator. Earthforce has even named their new-found home "Terra."
 
In the initial invasion, Mala's father (voiced by Dennis Quiad) is abducted. While chasing after the craft that has taken him, Mala manages to cause the crash of another alien fighter, piloted by Major Jim Stanton (Luke Wilson). Mala brings Stanton back to her home and takes care of him, with the help of Stanton's robot, Giddy (voiced by the great David Cross). Now, you'd think that any interaction between our heroine and hero would be impossible without the aid of a Native American Willow Tree, but fortunately, Giddy is able to upload the earth people's language into Mala's brain, "Matrix" style, so that when Stanton comes to, the can communicate. Stanton is grateful to be rescued, and finds that upon meeting these creatures, the invasion, which he already questioned, is not a plan that he can support.
 
Battle For Terra, which is playing is REAL D 3D, features some truly breathtaking animation and spectacular visuals. Admitedly, the animators fair much better with the Terrians than they do with the humans, who are dull and unexpressive. But the Terrians, Mala and Senn in particular, as well as Giddy the robot, are top notch and full of expression, lovability and Happy Meal Toy potential. The space sequences and the battles on Terra are extremely exciting and more than worth the price of an admission ticket. It's really nice to see a new space adventure epic with its own story, and this movie coasts wins a lot of points for visual skill and entertainment value. It's not a classic, by any means, but it's a very entertaining and even thoughtful thrill ride. It does get just a little heavy-handed at times, though it's not over-the-top political grandstanding, and while the hypersensitive might be a little offended, it's nothing to be get worked up over. This is ultimately just popcorn entertainment--a silly, big screen Saturday morning cartoon. And you know what? That's just fine with me. While far from being a PIXAR masterpiece, if you're like me, and a sci fi/space opera geek who is going through Clone Wars withdrawals, Battle For Terra may be just the ticket.
 
Battle For Terra is rated PG for violence, suspense, and mild profanity, and is not intended for very young children.

Discuss it in our forums.

Written by Patrick Gibbs on April 30th, 2009