Battle for Terra (2007)
"Terra" (original title)

A peaceful alien planet faces annihilation, as the homeless remainder of the human race sets its eyes on Terra. Mala, a rebellious Terrian teenager, will do everything she can to stop it.

Director:

Aristomenis Tsirbas

Writers:

Evan Spiliotopoulos (screenplay), Aristomenis Tsirbas (story)

Stars:

Evan Rachel Wood, Brian Cox, Luke Wilson

4 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Evan Rachel Wood	...	Mala (voice)
Brian Cox	...	General Hemmer (voice)
James Garner	...	Doron (voice)
Chris Evans	...	Stewart Stanton (voice)
Danny Glover	...	President Chen (voice)
Amanda Peet	...	Maria Montez (voice)
David Cross	...	Giddy (voice)
Dennis Quaid	...	Roven (voice)
Luke Wilson	...	Jim Stanton (voice)
Chad Allen	...	Terrian Scientist (voice)
Rosanna Arquette	...	Professor Lina (voice)
Bill Birch	...	Terrian 2 (voice)
Brooke Bloom	...	Technician Quinn (voice)
Tom Connolly	...	Technician Williams (voice)
Beverly D'Angelo	...	Interrogator Wright (voice)

Storyline

BATTLE for TERRA is a fantastic journey to worlds we have only dreamed of. It is a story of friendship, family, sacrifice and most importantly, the realization that all of our survival relies on our earth's precious natural resources.

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Plot Keywords:

battle | alien | planet | culture clash | terraforming | 

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Taglines:

They are coming

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Genres:

Animation | Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller | War

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for sequences of sci-fi action violence and some thematic elements

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [South Korea]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 May 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Battle for Terra

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$1,082,362 (USA) (1 May 2009)

Gross:

$1,647,083 (USA) (4 September 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

MeniThings LLC, Snoot Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 85 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally conceived as a film with live actors playing the human characters.

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Connections

References Skywhales (1983)

User Reviews

Remember the time when animation used to be for kids?

Remember the time when animation used to be for kids? The good ol' days, eh? This animated movie makes pretty good use of the medium to tell a rather complex story. The movie has most qualities of good storytelling - ethical dilemmas, unique settings and gray areas aplenty. The premise of the movie is simple: Threatened with extinction, the human race needs to make one last desperate attempt at survival by the conquest of a seemingly peaceful alien world teeming with sentient life.

The movie explores possibilities that are the antithesis of staple sci-fi genre. For instance, What if the (typical) victim is the aggressor? (Humans attack a seemingly peaceful alien planet). Is peaceful bliss really a practical possibility? (without advanced weaponry, the alien world is threatened with extinction). Another highlight of the movie was that the aliens were, you know, just alien. They weren't cute and cuddly (a la E.T.) or menacing hordes (a la every-sci-fi war movie you've seen). The aliens are just rational beings who will fight, feel and cry when the need arises.

Now, the movie isn't without its flaws. It's not completely balanced (aggressors - no matter what the reason for aggression - are still painted in a slightly negative tone), characterization, even the quality of animation (in this post-Pixar universe) might be called into question - but I'm willing to overlook all of that for one simple reason: the director has a clear vision and explores it vividly on screen. That's worth a couple of hours of your life. Definitely is.