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Movie Description
CGI-animated in eye-popping 3-D colors, BATTLE FOR TERRA features the voices of Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Wilson, and Brian Cox in a saga of alien invasion and battle. The twist here is that the bad guys--the invaders of the cute and ingeniously imagined planet Terra--are from Earth. Survivors of a massive war, humans need to flood the planet with oxygen so it's inhabitable, which will mean wiping out all life thereon. The planet's population consists of cute little creatures that live inside giant vegetation, promote conformity, and initially see the destructive humans as intergalactic gods. Mala (Wood) is a LITTLE MERMAID-style rebel who questions authority and even rescues one of the enemy: a human pilot, Jim (Wilson). While their elders hem and haw, Mala and Jim bond and race against total destruction and the earthlings' fear-mongering military commander (Cox).
Written and directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas--a sensitive, prize-winning French-Canadian animator in his feature-length debut--there's some poetic intelligence behind the peaceful messages, and the animation is stellar, with Terra's myriad creatures brilliantly and imaginatively brought to 3-D life. Even the most warmongering of parents should still dig the many sly references to vintage sci-fi films (the adobe decor recalls PLANET OF THE APES and the 1977 STAR WARS) and the dry underplaying of David Cross (MR. SHOW) as Jim's robot sidekick. Other voices include Danny Glover, James Garner, Dennis Quaid, and Rosanna Arquette., When the peaceful inhabitants of the planet Terra come under attack from humans in search of a new home, the friendship between a human pilot and an alien girl may hold the key to saving both races. Mala (Evan Rachel Wood) is an alien girl living on the planet Terra. The Terrians are a gentle race of extraterrestrials who have no need for war and harbor a deep respect for nature. When Earth's natural resources began to dwindle, the human race established colonies on Venus and Mars. Although that solution worked temporarily, tragedy struck when the colonies attempted to declare independence from Earth, and all three planets were destroyed in the ensuing war. Now, humankind's only hope for survival is to reach Terra. The few remaining humans have developed a machine that will make Terra habitable for them yet poisonous for Terrians, and while the human council is dedicated to finding a peaceful means of coexisting with the Terrians, the villainous General Hemmer (Brian Cox) is fast losing patience. When heroic human fighter pilot Lt. Jim Stanton (Luke Wilson) crash-lands on Terra while chasing Mala into uncharted territory, the empathetic alien girl saves his life, and an interspecies friendship is forged. But time is running out for both the humans and the Terrians, and when General Hemmer stages a military coup d'etat, the stage is set for a battle that threatens to destroy both species., When the peaceful inhabitants of the planet Terra come under attack from humans in search of a new home, the friendship between a human pilot and an alien girl may hold the key to saving both races. Mala (Evan Rachel Wood) is an alien girl living on the planet Terra. The Terrians are gentle race of extraterrestrials that have no need for war, and harbor a deep respect for nature. When Earth's natural resources began to dwindle, the human race established colonies on Venus and Mars. Although that solution worked temporarily, tragedy struck when the colonies on Venus and Mars attempted to declare independence from Earth, and all three planets were destroyed in the ensuing war. Now, humankind's only hope for survival is to reach Terra. The few remaining humans have developed a machine that will make Terra habitable for them yet poisonous for Terrians, and while the human council is dedicated to finding a peaceful means of coexisting with the Terrians, the villainous General Hemmer (Brian Cox) is fast losing patience. When heroic human fighter pilot Lt. Jim Stanton (Luke Wilson) crash-lands on Terra while chasing Mala into uncharted territory, the empathetic alien girl saves his life, and an interspecies friendship is forged. But time is running out for both the humans and the Terrians, and when General Hemmer stages a military coup d'etat, the stage is set for a battle that threatens to destroy both species.
Industry Reviews
3 stars out of 4 -- "BATTLE FOR TERRA is a bewitchingly animated story about an invasion from outer space....The animation is nicely stylized and the color palette well-chosen..."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (04/29/2009)
3 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t has a pluck and pull that refuses to let go....It does convey a light environmental message..."
Box Office - Mark Keizer (04/25/2009)
"[A]n earnest animated tale of war and peace in outer space, augmented by captivating 3-D images."
USA Today - Claudia Puig (05/01/2009)
"War action, environmental dangers and a message of inter-species harmony combine with spirited results in the 3-D CG-animated feature BATTLE FOR TERRA, an atmospheric sci-fi saga..."
Robert Abele - Robert Abele (05/01/2009)
"[S]ome of the scenes are eye-popping..."
New York Times - Neil Genzlinger (05/01/2009)
"This spry film demonstrates that 3-D need not strip away any charm, beauty or intelligence in favor of trick shots....[The film] certainly delivers plenty of action."
Hollywood Reporter - Kirk Honeycutt (04/30/2009)
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