Battle For Terra Movie Review

Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Wilson Star in 3-D Animated Movie

Apr 28, 2009

This new animated film takes on the serious subjects of the environment, acts of aggression, and coping with loss.

Most animated family films combine one important issue – for example in Bee Movie the main character learns to stop working long enough to smell the roses – with lots of comedy. Battle For Terra breaks new ground by dealing with several important subjects, minimizing the humor, and using 3-D computer-generated animation in more subtle ways than audiences have come to expect.

The story starts among the nature-loving inhabitants of Terra where two slightly rebellious teenagers Mala (the voice of Evan Rachel Wood) and Senn (Justin Long) skip school to race their planes. An only child whose mother has died, Mala relies on her father and Senn for comfort and support. Soon these best friends choose opposite sides when an invading ship of humans tries to take over the planet.

The humans, left homeless by environmental disasters on the Earth and other nearby planets, introduce high-tech weaponry, destruction, and chaos into the once peaceful environment. During the preliminary attack, Mala aids Jim Stanton (Luke Wilson), a highly decorated pilot known for his bravery and loyalty. They form a tentative bond with each other and then work toward bridging the gap between their two races in order to prevent genocide.

Evan Rachel Wood, Justin Long In All-Star Cast

A dynamic cast of famous names provides voices for the computer-generated characters in the film. In addition to Wood, Long, and Wilson, the voices of Brian Cox (The Bourne Supremacy), David Cross (She’s The Man), Danny Glover (Shooter), Amanda Peet (Syriana), Dennis Quaid (Vantage Point), Chris Evans (Sunshine), James Garner (The Notebook), Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Mark Hamill (Star Wars), Beverly D’Angelo (National Lampoon’s Vacation), Rosanna Arquette (What About Brian), and Danny Trejo (Halloween) bring the characters to life.

With an emphasis on action-adventure and important themes such as ecological conservation and peaceful compromise, this movie should appeal to an adult audience on an esthetic, emotional, and intellectual level while still being entertaining for children. Unlike most animated films, there’s not much saturated color. In fact, the naturalistic tones of the wood-based Terrian culture preclude vibrant colors and modern styles.

The battle scenes, however, take up the slack. With the enhancement of the 3-D effect, the multi-layered and multi-textured battle scenes provide a visual feast – without having items appear to fly out into the audience or splatter blood onto the camera lens. These exciting battles throughout the movie balance the slower-moving story, (that is, no musical numbers or quick cuts like in many animated films). Even with the predominantly adult themes, children won’t be disappointed; a little robot named Giddy (David Cross) adds comic relief and cranks up the cuteness factor.

The copyright of the article Battle For Terra Movie Review in Animated Films is owned by Leslie C. Halpern. Permission to republish Battle For Terra Movie Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.