Science fiction and fantasy can sometimes challenge current thinking in ways that popular media sometimes can't do head-on. And animation seems to be able to sneak new ideas onto the big and little screen that can't be done using real actors or sets. So when you combine the two, sometimes you can explore some surprising places.
Battle for Terra surprised me. When I saw the trailers when this film was released in the first half of 2009, I was not impressed. An animated movie about a war? Why would I want to see that? But now I'm sorry that I missed it when it was in theaters.
This movie takes the standard alien invasion story that's been popular in science fiction forever (aliens invade the Earth, Earthlings fight back), it's us doing the invading and the aliens are defending their home. It's great to see the story in reverse so we can feel the what it's like to be on the wrong side of an invasion. And along with the great story, Battle for Terra manages to stay entertaining and not get too preachy, which was also a plus.
The voice cast reads like a "who's who" of actors young and old with big careers at the moment: Evan Rachel Wood (Across the Universe, TV's True Blood) plays Mala, an inhabitant of Terra; Luke Wilson (The Family Stone, Henry Poole is Here) plays Lt. Jim Stanton of EarthForce; Dennis Quaid (The Express, upcoming Pandorum) plays Roven, Mala's father; Brian Cox (X-Men 2, The Bourne Supremacy) plays General Hammer, commander of EarthForce determined to make Terra a new Earth; and David Cross (Arrested Development) plays Giddy, Stanton's robot companion. And there are many others, including Danny Glover (Dreamgirls), James Garner (The Notebook), Rosanna Arquette, Beverly D'Angelo, Chris Evans, Mark Hamill, Amanda Peet, Ron Perlman, and Justin Long.
Terra is a planet far from our own, inhabited by a race which has achieved a peaceful balance with themselves and their world. But when the remnants of humanity invade their space in an aging spaceship, things begin to change. Desperate for a new planet to call home, General Hammer is intent on making Terra habitable for humans at the cost of all life on the planet. Can Mala and Stanton stop the all-out annihilation of the Terrians?
This is not your average animated feature. Though it takes advantage of recent advances in computer animation tools and techniques, its creators did an amazing job of adding the little imperfections here and there (like jiggling the camera) to make it more real. Add to that the serious nature of the story of the impending war between Terrians and humans and you have a compelling movie with great voice actors, animation, and story.
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