Battle for Terra

With a low budget for a 3D animation I really wasn't expecting anything good from this movie but was a lot better than I thought it would be. The plot is sort of a mix between "Planet 51" and "Avatar", lets just say it's much better than "Planet 51". I was sort of shocked this movie came out before "Avatar" so I guess maybe that movie took some ideas from this one. This is a well made animation film that kids and adults can enjoy with is decent script and good direction, there was hardly a dull moment. The plot takes place in a planet full of nature and floating worm like species and they are intelligent lifeforms. But there peaceful ways are interrupted when machines from the sky is seen and the floating worm like species thinks it's a god. But they don't come in peace, in fact they are coming for other reasons. Soon one of the female floating worm like being meets one of the invader and the story goes on from there. The floating worm like species have simple technology compared to the invaders who has more advance technology. Sort of reminded me of our history while watching this film. And although there has been many invasion movies in the past the direction of this film was actually quite unique, not super original though. I also liked how in this story it's difficult to pick a side just like one of the protagonist in this film. For a low budget 3D animation film, the animation was alright and the facial expressions are very well done. The battle sequences in this is also exciting at times. When it was done and finished, I actually enjoyed this movie way more than I thought I would. Also Giddy is a pretty good sidekick.

7.5/10

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.

Saw this movie today at the Tribec Film Festival and they really did a GREAT job. The story is unique to anything that is out there, uplifting, and creative all around. There are a lot of amazing action sequences and visually, they did an excellent job; between the music and sound effects it all tied together extremely well (soundtrack used "big sound" orchestrated music...went great with the film). I'm not one to comment on animated films but I thought this one went above and beyond what I have seen in the past. The director spoke afterwards and said they made it between a small animation crew of about 20. Not bad for an indie; you would never know looking at the final product. I was expecting a few more laughs during the film (my animated movie stereotype) but there weren't very many. The audience found a few laughs at David Cross (who played a robot) on a couple of moments, but that was it for the most part. Regardless, the blend went over well with the audience, and I personally enjoyed it a lot. Kept you going and had a really good ending. Just my 2 cents, but definitely worth seeing.

I was at the gala premiere of Terra in Toronto and was absolutely blown away by this film- I'm not a big festival goer- but I was in Toronto on vacation and saw something about Terra on the local news. It's hard to believe that 'kickmekenneth' and I were at the same screening. I've never commented on these types of websites but came across this review when I was looking for info about this film. The film was incredible- the world Tsirbas created is gorgeous and totally unique. I felt as though I was watching a painting come to life. It was so refreshing to experience an animated story whose characters had depth and conflict like those in a dramatic live action film. The environmental and anti-war themes were expertly woven into the plot and clearly Danny Glover, Brian Cox and Justin Long felt strongly enough about this film to present the premiere and Danny Glover was gracious enough to talk with us afterward. Terra's only flaw may be that it is ahead of its time in the US – where we are are used to our animated characters being simplistic, forgettable talking animals. TERRA is the future of CGI. I took a group of children who have not stopped talking about this film since the screening- we go to all the animated films, and I've never seen this kind of reaction from them. I also noticed a few adult audience members sniffling tears at the dramatic conclusion. BRAVO Mr. Tsirbas! This is a film worth seeing... Does anyone know who Mr. Tsirbas is or where I can learn more?

A movie that also has a message, always does have thinner line to walk. You have to deliver your message but still not be too judgmental. In this case, the CGI has to be top notch too. And since Pixar made Animation their own, it's all the more difficult to prove yourself in that field.

This movie holds up though, in every department. The voice talent is great and the story has a few surprises. That being said, there always will be people who will be disappointed with how a movie with a dark edge/message concludes itself. It doesn't even matter which path it takes, some people will be annoyed and/or disappointed. Same goes here too. Even if you'd wish the movie ended differently, I hope you can overcome that and be happy with what you just saw ... I was.