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List Price: $19.98 | | Label: LIONSGATE
Salesrank: 6509
Released: September 22, 2009 |
| Our Price: $6.94 |
| Used Price: $4.95 |
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MPAA Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 09/22/2009 Run time: 84 minutes Rating: Pg
Description of Battle for Terra:
Earthlings are the bad guys in this animated saga, which was released to theaters in 3-D. And the good guys? That would be the Terrans, big-eyed little tadpole creatures whose planet is about to be invaded by human beings in search of a permanent living space--and hey, if the atmosphere of this alien planet isn't exactly fit for humans, the visitors can always blast the place with an oxygen-producing terra-forming machine that will make it habitable. The only collateral damage is that the natives will be killed off. Huh? As you can see, the allegorical undertones here are, well, overtones, all of which might seem less heavy-handed if the story were absorbing and the characters were compelling, but director Aristomenis Tsirbas concentrates on the environmental message and the non-show-offy 3D design. We mostly follow a Terran (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood) who comes upon a lone astronaut (Luke Wilson), much to the confusion of her Terran quasi-boyfriend (Justin Long). In the absence of a lot of plot excitement, kids might take some enjoyment in the nerdy declarations of a cute robot (David Cross). Can the brutal intentions of the invading general (Brian Cox) be stopped in time to save Terra? Will you still be awake to learn the answer? --Robert Horton
Stills from Battle for Terra (Click for larger image)
Battle for Terra Reviews:
terra in short 
2009-11-29 - beautiful animated science fiction, with a strange world
I really like this film, also the cover is a bit strange
it's not really a battle film, only a small part of it,
it's one of my favorite films, with nice flying creatures...
interesting movie 
2009-11-24 - honestly, the voice acting is pretty bad. but that aside, the animation and what the story is saying about humanity is great. if you can find it cheap buy it, but at least rent it.
Plain Stupid... 
2009-11-18 - I am adult, and this movie is clearly intended for children, so please keep this in mind. If you have children, and watch the movie with this in mind, you would probably get a different experience out of it. As is, I didn't get much out of it at all.
Basically, this movie is certainly an attempt at making some sort of philosophical, idealogical statement, and I really have no idea what that statment was.
Spoilers to follow.
You begin with cute adorable aliens with eyes like saucers (puppy dog eyes times one million). Obviously, these are the ones who you need to feel sorry for, because, with those eyes, you just have to feel sorry for them when they look sad. I mean, if they cried a single tear, their whole bodies would dehydrate!
Erich Von Daniken, in his book "Chariots of the Gods" changed how we viewed "gods" in ancient cultures by suggesting that these were actually alien visitations. This basically wacky but sometimes accepted theory finds its way into this movie early on.
First of all, the aliens see the human ship and quickly inquire of their leaders if it is a new god. The leaders are reluctant to say yes or no. Then, the humans descend in their craft (the aliens have flying craft and can fly themselves) and begin menacing looking abductions, and for some reason, these abductions are eagerly welcomed by some of the more stupid natives, which is simply bizarre.
The next weird twist comes when asked again, 'are these invaders gods?' 'But no,' the elder (James Garner) says, 'they aren't gods, but invaders who are pretending to be gods.' How they are pretending to be gods is not explained. Perhaps they are wearing their god costumes. I didn't hear them come on the PA system and say, yes, we are gods. I am not sure what criteria they use to distinguish between gods and invaders pretending to be gods, and I can't imagine their would be a good method of guessing. I believe the implication is that the elder has seen gods descend from the heavens, and invaders descend from the heavens. Even if I am not right in my assumptions, the alien's relationships with the "gods" is something that is quite bizarre.
They also have rules about not building any technology because they had wars in the past, and so they tried to keep their current culture in tune with nature, while keeping a "backup" culture that is ready to fight off any possible alien invaders. Yeah. Real probable, that.
Then, you have a human who crash lands and for some reason isn't equipped with a portable oxygen supply. Basically, this is a plot device so that the native tadpoles could nurse him back to health, and help teach him that these aliens are not monsters, they are just like people. The aliens have art and culture, and even a grand Disney "celebration of life." The probably even had "Earth Day" but, unfortunately the invasion came too late for that one.
Of course, the human was taught that all aliens would be monsters. I guess, this is a reference to how wars are started, by "dehumanizing" the enemy. Of course, in this case it is out of place, since given the existance of aliens, no certainties could be drawn since they are, for lack of a better word, aliens. There would be no possible pre drawn conclusions about how they would react to the presence of humans.
Of course, the human plan was stupid. The plan was to fly down, attack the aliens, and abduct and torture them. The humans were ruled by a wise council which was concerned about the morality of their actions. Of course, they condoned attacking without contact or provocation, and the capture and torture of the natives without batting an eye. The part of the plan that posed a problem was the complete destruction of the native aliens. To make a point, they never opposed the plan, they just need more time to consider it.
The humans had a robot which could update your brain with information by shining a beam of light into your eyes, and could teach you the native language. The reason they were programmed this way was so that when your human protagonist gets shot down, the hostile alien might have a chance of constructing an oxygen tent, and then saving and communicating with their human superiors. They couldn't have done this so that they, the humans, could communicate with native aliens, now could they?
The protagonist had a gift of creating complex engineering because it just felt right, and the human protagonist saved the native population by a suicide flight which had the potential of condeming the human race to extinction. In the end, it turns out the whole terraforming thing wasn't necessary, since the humans can live in domes. I guess they just never considered that until they had no other choice. Humans can be so shortsighted.
Oh, well. This is an interesting movie, and the battle scenes are great. The aliens even fly ships that look remarkably like the gungan subs for SW Episode 1.
I would only recommend it for folks who like to fast forward a lot. Overall, the whole movie is a bit too goofy to handle.
Avoid if possible.
Was I watching the same move as the others who reviewed this story?
2009-11-15 - The story "Battle for Terra" is not the animated film one would want their children to see.
Mankind has destroyed Earth and two other planets in the solar system because of the desire for independents from each other.
Now mankind is on a search for another planet to live on. The first contact with the Terrans is a sneak attack upon their world, a world that has found how to live with nature.
A takeover on the rusting old spaceship by a U.S. style military is depicted as the bad guys. The hero in the story, a soldier who turns on and kills the military leaders who are hellbent on destroying the Terrans.
It is my opinion that this very colorful animated film has no entertainment value, but an abundance of propaganda it does have.
Oustanding and thought provoking CGI animated film
2009-11-02 - Battle For Terra is a very unusual CGI animated film about Earth invading an alien planet...no, this is not Planet 51 and is not a comedy by any stretch of the imagination. It's a serious and inciteful film made over 2 years ago and finally released on DVD. What would we do, if our civilization was reduced to a small group of marauders on a failing generation ship desperate to terraform a planet to save what's left of humanity, even if it would wipe out the indigenous population who breathe a different gas? It's well written, acted and animated. A true labor of love and has a bittersweet ending. I don't recommend it for really young children, but perhaps kids 8 and up could get the story.
