Battle for Terra

GREEN'S TOXIC ATMOSPHERE REVIEW:

I had seen previews for this movie on television and in the theater but never went to see it. I really didn't think it would be the kind of film that the scribester would want to review, knowing his previous disdain for kids movies and slightly less disdain for animated films. Much to my surprise he suggested that we review it, probably as a gag reaction to Avatar.

This is a movie that made its way through all of the various independent film festivals starting with Toronto in September 2007 and all throughout 2008 but didn't gain wide release in the US until May, 2009.

My kids and I liked this movie, but we liked Avatar much better. They are essentially the same movie, though Battle for Terra is less than half the length. Of course there are differences in the two stories but it comes down to this in both films: Humans have a problem and want/need something real bad in order to fix it. And they don't care what alien life form is in the way or what they have to destroy to get what they need.

Aside from the obvious live action vs. animation difference, Battle for Terra doesn't give as much in the way of developing the world the aliens live on or the relationship between the human Jim Stanton (voiced by Luke Wilson) and the tadpole like Terrian Mala (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood) like Avatar does between its major characters. Terra also doesn't rely as much on the musical score than Avatar does to set the tone and emotional levels.

The remaining voice cast actors are all good, though none stuck out to me as outstanding.

The animation is stunningly rendered throughout the movie. Watching the animated space battle sequences reminded me of watching the "live action" battle scenes in the Star Wars films.

I didn't have time to watch the bonus features included on the DVD. Perhaps if the price comes down to the $5 range, I'll add this movie to my DVD collection.

***½ out of *****

SCRIBE'S JAMES CAMERON OWES THEM MONEY REVIEW:

Not only did this film share a concept with the bloated, misdirected epic Avatar, but it got the job done in less than half the running time. What sets this movie apart from most of the American animated film coming out nowadays is its adult storyline.

The film centers around the last humans who are desperately searching for a new world to ruin since Earth is no more. Unlike Avatar, the humans in this film are not all mindless idiots obeying a greedy corporation/government. They're people, some of them assholes, some of them, good, all of them afraid for their survival.

Unfortunately, like all folks of Western European descent throughout time, their solution is to take land from an indigenous population regardless of its effect on them. The humans seem to be more advanced than the peace-loving and adorable floating beings currently residing on their intended new home.

The voice talent is superb as are the visuals. These aliens are much more fully realized than Cameron's over-sized, obnoxious smurfs. It's hard to dislike these guys and soon the viewer finds himself conflicted as far as who to root for. The twist during the battle scene at the end and the final solution make this a much more satisfying film than Cameron's preachy sequel setup.

**** out of *****

Battle for Terra (2007, PG, 84 minutes), starring the voice talents of Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Wilson, Brian Cox, James Garner, Chris Evans, Danny Glover, Amanda Peet, David Cross, Justin Long and Dennis Quaid. Written by Aristomenis Tsirbas. Screenplay by Evan Spiliotopoulos. Directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas.