Battle for Terra (2009)

I love this movie so much

To me, this movie is perfection.

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Battle For Terra is right up there with Titan AE as one of the most underrated animated films out there. It was shunted to the area off the beaten path of the genre, released quietly and inconspicuously back in 2009, sneaking just past people's radar. Not mine. I waited eagerly for a theatrical release, which never came, and grabbed the DVD as soon as it hit shelves. It's a dazzling science fiction parable not unlike Avatar, but a little softer, reverent and easy on the pyrotechnics. The story takes place some years after the remainder of the human race has been left to wander the stars in a giant spaceship called The Ark, left homeless following their devastation of all the resources of earth, and three subsequent planets after. Soon they set their sights on a newfound world they call Terra. Terra is populated by a peaceful alien race who spend most of their time in harmony, studying their heritage and bettering their existence. They now face annihilation, however, as the humans wish to settle, mine resources and deeply unbalance their way of life. One young Terran girl named Nala (Evan Rachel Wood) is a plucky young inventress and wonderer who finds one of the human astronauts (Luke Wilson) crash landed and stranded in her neck of the woods. They form a bond which may turn out to be the only way to find peace between humanity and the population of Terra. The story is wonderful, universal and carried out in a childlike manner full of earnestness that anyone can relate too. The Terrans resemble something like upright tadpoles crossed with sock puppets, and are fascinating to look upon. More interesting still is the natural world they inhabit; they sort of swim/glide through their thick atmosphere, and coexist with the many strange creatures and bioluminescence around them, including gigantic blue whale type things that fly around with them. I'm describing this to try and impart to you the level of thought and detail which went into creating this world, so you can see how high the filmmakers have jacked up the stakes in attempt to let you see the length humans will blindly go to further their survival, without voluntary compromise. The world the Terrans live on is a lush paradise in perfect balance, and the humans aboard The Ark, no matter how desperate, threaten it. They are led by stern General Hammer (Brian Cox), who is an antagonist, but not a villain in the least, a determind leader who will go to extremes to protect his people if his lack of empathy is allowed to go unchecked. The supporting cast is stacked high with incredible talent, and one can practice ones skill for identifying voices by listening for Danny Glover, Ron Perlman, Danny Trejo, Justin Long, Rosanna Arquette, David Cross, Beverly D'Angelo, Chris Evans, James Garner, Mark Hamill, Amanda Peet and Dennis Quaid. What a lineup. Imagination, storytelling ambition and visual genius govern this overlooked piece, and anyone who is a fan of animation (which is brilliant here, I might add) or science fiction needs to take a look.

I've never put a review up on a film that I didn't finish watching before now but I really felt I had to warn people about this animated film.I was gripped until the end of the opening titles, it has a reasonably big name cast of voice actors and the atmosphere was good and foreboding.As soon as the opening shot on the surface of the planet comes on it is immediately clear how cheap this production is. All of it, the characters, the scenery, the textures, lighting, animation is all thoroughly second rate. Acceptable for a kids TV show from 10-12 years ago but a feature film? Definitely not. The clearest example was when the Earth guy's ship crashes, it tumbles down a slope. It is just a solid block and looks like a toy, no debris, smoke or bits falling off (or any kind of deformation of the mesh). The close up shot reveals a battered and mangled wreck..... really naff.If you take a look at other CG films of a similar era, say Wall E and Kung Fu Panda, both released a year after granted, you will see how bad this is. Finding Nemo from 2003 is far superior in every aspect and that had been out 4 years previously.But its not all about looks and style right? (Although they're pretty important in an animation) Story, character development, plot, surely they could rescue it? No. I switched off when the Earth guy has his revelation "But she defended me.... from her own kind". The story telling and handling of the main themes is really ham-fisted and laboured. If I was 7 years old I might not care but there are plenty of other children's films that are able to engage my inner kid and be entertaining to adults.Just avoid this as far as possible, and if your child really wants to see it save it for a night when you need to hire a baby sitter and pay them to sit through it with them, trust me it will be money well spent.

Excellent. Moves smoothly from scene to scene. Depicts an alien race as peaceful but willing to defend themselves. Depicts the human race pretty realistically down to the last moment of the film. The movie has heroes and villains; and the resolution of their conflict is handled very well. There is suspense but it generally inspires curiosity rather than fear. And the film ends well. That is a requirement for me. The film must end well. Maybe not the way we think it will but well nonetheless. This film will be safe for viewing by anyone whose regular fare includes PG films and YouTube. This includes adults as the themes are universal in nature and hit close to home for the open, educated mind.

I have a saying, which says (d'oh) that films that doesn't work, doesn't work because one or more rules of scriptwriting is ignored/forgotten.Now this might seem quite basic, but writing a story and forgetting one of the hundreds of important rules are very difficult.I think this film would do better if: *a trickster type character could be in this film. I liked most of the characters, but they were all so sad and serious all the time. I LONGED for laughing. Humour would make the serious parts more serious, not just drab, like now. *it is not a children's film. The themes and philosophies need a mature mind to be interesting, and kids will not be interested in the characters and the story if they don't catch it. *the main character (girl alien) didn't really learn anything as the film moved on. One rule says that a film's main character is the one who goes through the most change. In this case it would be Jim, the earthling who saved the day in the end. Things that are unique and good about this film: *The conflict is not with an obvious answer. Mostly films have one insert image of an object or something early in the film, and if you spot it, you most probably can tell how it will save the day in the end. Luckily this film kept getting more interesting as time passed. *A rich world with fantastic inhabitants, only somewhat scarce in some landscapes (animation-wise).I give it a 7/10