Bad day to meet an Earthling
‘Battle for Terra’ manages a few surprises while staying true to standard space adventure form
By Lisa Miller 05/07/2009
What if Earthlings decided to conquer an alien planet? Functioning best as an allegory for the ’tween audience, “Battle for Terra” wonders whether humans can ever learn to coexist peacefully, let alone exist in harmony with another species. The film falls somewhere between the space opera of “Battle Star Galactica” and the action-adventure of “Star Wars.” Watching it, I felt as though the filmmakers had self-consciously diagrammed a predetermined number of close calls, violent confrontations, technical gewgaws and other film-by-numbers plot points.
However, “Battle for Terra” also offers up a few surprises and draws an unusual world. Living peaceably on planet Terra, a sentient species of big-eyed tadpolians swim through its thick atmosphere. For recreation, they fly heliocopter/hang-gliders that could have been designed by Leonardo Da Vinci. We meet two young Terrians during a playful flight excursion that establishes Mala (Evan Rachel Wood) as a teen apt to push the limits.
The Terrians have traded away much of their freedom to achieve Utopia. They exalt art and music, but do almost everything according to a prescribed formula that allows little freedom of expression. They are ruled by a patriarchal group of elders and make their homes inside the stems of overgrown mushrooms while avoiding “forbidden zones.”
When a spaceship appears in the Terrian sky, the elders instruct the citizens to take no action until the council decides whether they are being visited by gods or invaded by outsiders. Before the council can render its decision, human pilots swoop into Terra’s city and abduct a handful of residents.
Humans have arrived at the planet after decades of transit in a broken-down spaceship protected by only a dozen or so operational fighter ships. The plan — to terraform Terra — ignites momentary human guilt when we realize that changing the atmosphere will kill the planet’s indigenous life forms. A hotheaded general (Brian Cox), determined to oxygenate the planet, dispatches his gung-ho pilots with instructions to carry out the mission at any cost. Whether we wipe out the Terrians or reach a mutual accommodation will be strongly influenced by the bonds resulting from an unlikely friendship between Mala and human pilot Stanton (Luke Wilson).While the film remains uncertain about the identity of its audience and how best to reach it, the addition of Snoot Entertainment to the CGI animated marketplace provides a welcome change from the comedic stylings of Disney, Pixar and DreamWorks.
“Battle for Terra” is the brainchild of Canadian writer-director Aristomenis Tsirbas, who has much to learn about pacing and consistency. However, when he masters these elements, the universe will be his.
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