Battle for Terra

I'm not sure why I didn't see this at the cinema -- it was probably showing during the school holidays and I just couldn't face a trip to Cineworld to see a 3-D animated movie when it was bound to be heaving with families with young children who can't be quiet throughout a film and teenagers who would seemingly rather play on their mobile phones than actually watch the film which they have paid to see. I undoubtedly went that week to see something that wasn't 'child friendly' so least that particular screen would be relatively quiet. As such, I didn't really bother with Battle for Terra but did make a mental note to watch it when it became available to buy. It could also be that this only had a limited theatrical release so never made it to the Cineworld near me. I honestly can't remember why didn't see it despite having full the trailer looked good.

Just looking at the synopsis, it's amazing how close this is to James Cameron's blockbuster and record-setting extravaganza, Avatar. Both films deal with an alien planet which is extremely peaceful and eco-friendly and is being threatened by the increasingly belligerent human population. In the case of Avatar, it was because the native population lives on top of a rare mineral which the humans desperately need to survive where as Battle for Terra shows the humans needing the planet as a place to settle because their own has been destroyed in an intergalactic war.

Although the film is relatively short at only 86 minutes including credits, it takes a while for the exposition to truly emerge and explain why Lt. Jim Stanton crash landed on Terra. It transpires that, having almost mined Earth dry of every mineral resource necessary for sustaining human life, some humans moved to Mars and Venus and settled there by building artificial environments which could do away with the problems of gravity and lack of oxygen. Unfortunately, the colonies on Mars and Venus declared independence from Earth and, in the ensuring war, all three planets were destroyed forcing the humans into outer space to live on an 'Ark', a huge metal device that looks like a gyroscope, whilst they find a suitable alternative. That alternative is Terra which has just about all the right conditions for human survival apart from a breathable atmosphere but, thanks to technological advances, a machine exists that can generate oxygen from nothing.

Lt. Jim Stanton, a decorated war hero, was dispatched to Terra on a fact-finding mission to determine if the planet was habitable and whether the native population would be able to prevent a human invasion. Unfortunately for him, his ship crash landed but he was saved by one of the natives, Mala. As fraternising with humans is against the law, Mala and Stanton's robot companion, Giddy sneak him back to her house where she secretly nurses him back to health. Fortunately for Mala, Giddy is a computer which has 'studied' linguistics and so is able to speak her language and, by staring into her eyes, is able to teach her the human language extremely rapidly. (Some may call it a rip off, others may call it homage to Star Trek with the whole Vulcan 'mind meld' technique.)


When Jim regains consciousness, the three unlikely companions venture off into the snowy wasteland to find his ship as Giddy has been able to fashion a replica piece the same as the the one that broke when Jim's ship hit a wind tunnel and was sucked through a cave. Oddly, the ship isn't where it was put Giddy has special vision and is able to follow the ship's journey all the way to a huge bunker where it is being experimented on and tested so that they can learn more about human technology. As Mala tries to help Jim and Giddy get back onto their ship so they could return to the huge orbiting satellite, she is caught up in the mayhem and has to seek refuge in his ship's cockpit as they are being fired upon. With no alternative, Jim takes Mala back to his 'home' and, unbeknownst to him, she decides that, whilst she is there, she may as well look for her father who was taken by the humans some years ago.

Predictably enough, she is captured and Jim's loyalty to the human race is questioned by General Hemmer who talks him through the planned invasion and what will happen when the 'Terraformer' is deployed on Terra. In order to make sure he is on their side, Stanton is placed in front of a large room in which Mala is kept captive and alive as they have managed to recreate her environment. Jim's younger brother, Stewart, is thrown into the room where he can't breathe and Jim is forced to choose between Mala and his brother. Choosing family over friend, the general is satisfied and gives Jim an important role in the invasion which only takes place when the general usurped the council's position by staging a mutiny and seizing control of the Ark in a military coup.

With Mala dying before his eyes, Jim tells Giddy to protect her so the robot burns a hole in the glass window and takes Mala back to one of the ships and she is able to fly home and spread the word that the 'battle for Terra' will soon be upon them. Mala is successfully able to persuade Giddy into helping them out as it has been charged with protecting Mala and, as the invasion would put Mala's life at risk, Giddy should do all it can to help prevent the invasion.


Any digitally animated film will be up against all of Pixar's output and some of the better stuff from DreamWorks and Sony Animation and, although Battle for Terra is on the second-tier, it is very high in that particular group. It is a lovely story that is beautifully told and with extremely good voice acting. It really zips through the story, going from A to B to C extremely quickly, though not too rapidly that you are in any way lost or unsure of what is happening. The characters are very well rounded and it does a good job of making this a 'zero-sum' situation where it is either the humans or the Terrians and you feel as if you have to pick a side.

I really enjoyed Battle for Terra and will probably watch it several more times in the next week or so, just to fully appreciate the animation and landscapes.

The Disc

Extra Features
I expected this disc to be full of supplementary material such as an interview with members of the cast, a commentary by the director or other members of the production crew or even some EPK stuff from the premiere. It was therefore quite a surprise to find that there is absolutely nothing on the disc with the menu only giving you scene selections and the option to have subtitles on or off.

It could be that there is a Special Edition in the works that will render this release obsolete in several months and it is notable that there is no Blu-ray release, so perhaps that is in the pipeline.


The Picture
No high definition picture, no problem. As standard definition animation goes, this is pretty spectacular and stands up there with some of the best looking DVDs I've seen. The animation is absolutely stunning with the tree top dwellings on Terra looking especially impressive and when Mala and her childhood friend Senn are flying around the planet, the screen comes alive with dangling vines, distant trees and other flying creatures.

When the invasion begins and the Terrians take on the humans in their fighter jets (which do bear more than a passing resemblance to the X-wing fighters from Star Wars), there is a great deal of vibrancy and energy to proceedings that does have you actively swerving to avoid oncoming objects.


The Sound
As with the picture, the lack of a high definition soundtrack isn't an issue as the Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack is extremely immersive and does a sterling job with the action sequences, making the entire soundstage and immersive one that ensures that each speaker has something to do.

The voice acting is spot on and the casting is just about perfect. Evan Rachel Wood is terrific as Mala, Luke Wilson has that southern drawl that makes animated characters likeable and this is essential when it comes to Lt. Jim Stanton who needs to be a likeable member of the enemy. General Hemmer, on the other hand, is a terrific pantomime villain who is the character that she loved to hate and Brian Cox obviously revelled in voicing this character as he really makes him into a man that you really want to see get his comeuppance. As the human president, Danny Glover lends a suitably sonorous and weighty tome to the character with his gravitas and there are other fine roles for the likes of Justin Long, James Garner, Chris Evans, Dennis Quaid and Amanda Peet.


Final Thoughts
Battle for Terra is an extremely well made film that, whilst not catching the heights that Pixar managed to reach, is still an immensely accomplished piece of work that does have 're-watchability' and will be the perfect thing to keep children of all ages occupied the just under an hour and a half at a time during the summer holidays. It is a shame that there's not more to the disc than just the film, but I don't imagine that sort of thing that will bother younger children who would be quite happy to watch this film and then, once it has finished, watch it again.