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Battle for Terra
EMAILPRINTRoadside Attractions
Mixed or average reviews
Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 12 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie >
Movie Info
Genre(s): Adventure | Animation
Written by: Evan Spiliotopoulos
Directed by: Aristomenis Tsirbas
Release Date:
Theatrical: May 1, 2009
DVD: September 22, 2009
Running Time: 85 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
Summary
RATING: PG for sequences of sci-fi action violence and some thematic elements
Starring Justin Long, Brian Cox, Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Wilson, David Cross, Amanda Peet, James Garner, Dennis Quaid, Chris Evans, and Danny Glover
When the peaceful planet of Terra is invaded by humans fleeing a dying Earth, a young girl is the only one who can save both civilizations from complete annihilation. (Roadside Attractions)
Also On The Web: Internet Movie Database Official Studio Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
San Francisco Chronicle Justin Berton
The plot is an obvious parable for modern dilemmas, yet in the hands of the film's creators, and with their graceful use of 3-D, viewers feel as if they're watching how the future might actually unfold, glimpsing a conflict that's destined to take place 300 years from now.
Read Full Review >Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
The animation is nicely stylized and the color palette well-chosen, although the humans are so square-jawed, they make Dick Tracy look like Andy Gump. The voice performances are persuasive. The obvious drawback is that the film is in 3-D. If you can find a theater showing it in 2-D, seek it out.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
On one level, it's a down-market Star Wars-inspired shoot-'em-up for kiddies; on another, it's a radical alien invasion story where the HUMANS are the aliens.
Read Full Review >Variety John Anderson
As original and convincing a feature as the better Japanese animes of recent years --"Tekkonkinkreet" comes to mind, along with the slightly older "Metropolis."
Read Full Review >The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
The animation is splendid on what must have been, since this is not a studio film, a modest budget.
Read Full Review >Los Angeles Times Robert Abele
Director/co-writer Aristomenis Tsirbas, expanding his own short film, unveils a classically devised invasion yarn à la H.G. Wells, but with the twist that humans are the aggressors.
Read Full Review >Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov
Battle for Terra boasts impressively executed battle sequences that, frankly, are light-years beyond anything found in the recent Star Wars animated add-ons.
Read Full Review >USA Today Claudia Puig
It's an unconventional premise: that aliens live in harmony and humans are the warmonger invaders. But it's not that simple.
Read Full Review >TV Guide Tracie Cooper
The good news is that Battle for Terra's moments of unbalance ultimately right themselves into a surprisingly earnest, engaging film.
Read Full Review >Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy
A tiresome, didactic and, once the novelty of the graphics has worn off, charmless film.
Read Full Review >The New York Times Neil Genzlinger
The movie's messages are delivered with a heavy hand, but some of the scenes are eye-popping, especially -- sorry, peace-loving Terrians -- the battle sequences.
Read Full Review >Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips
All in all? A curious preachment yarn for peace, one which makes you wonder if the filmmakers couldn't wait to get to the climactic aerial dogfights.
Read Full Review >Washington Post Dan Kois
It doesn't do much for the film's pacifist message that, as spacecraft zip across the screen and fire lasers into your popcorn, you may find yourself wishing that Tsirbas had replaced the movie's poorly written dialogue and implausible plot with more battle scenes. War! What is it good for? Awesome animation!
Read Full Review >Chicago Reader Andrea Gronvall
The exotic plant and animal life is enhanced by the 3D process--which makes the two-dimensional screenplay all the more disappointing. With its weighty dialogue the movie becomes depressing well before the final violent showdown.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe Ethan Gilsdorf
Please, moviegoers, time is running out for us. Our civilization (and bottom line) depend on fast-food kiddie meals stuffed with toys. In this way, we conquer the solar system.
Read Full Review >Charlotte Observer Roger Moore
Naive but ambitious, it comes across as a "Battlestar Galactica" vetted by pacifists, "Clone Wars" neutered for Saturday morning kids' TV.
Read Full Review >Village Voice Vadim Rizov
Terra, to be fair, looks fairly clean, and the 3-D is totally passable, but watching it will be no fun for either kids or adults.
Read Full Review >New York Post Kyle Smith
Aggressively ugly and intergalactically boring, the dismal sci-fi kiddie cartoon Battle for Terra is too weak to be shown anywhere except maybe on the next flight to Saturn.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this movie is 7.1 (out of 10) based on 12 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Elvis K gave it a10:
Excellent movie. This is a pretty good animated movie. The story is interesting and pulls you in. The characters are uniformly interesting, Jim and Mala are very good and well developed.
Jay H gave it a6:
Very imaginative and the story is quite good. Very creative. Although the animation is good, it was not overly impressive. i enjoyed it.
Mak D gave it an8:
I agree w/ Kip O, and Ebert - a real effort has been made to imagine an alternative, alien culture, as well as the plausible effects of a tragic past successfully overcome - rather our future from an optimistic retrospect; as for the invading humans, yes they are 2D, but that's because we're meant to identify w/ the aliens who are more human than 'we' are tending to behave. Once again, the reimagining of an alternative, alien ecology is very lovingly wrought - and the fact that it happens to be ecologically sound or ideal is belied by the discovery of the aliens' own predatory past. And 3D is a headache as long as I have to wear glasses, period. Can't wait for the DVD!
Brent gave it a9:
I found this to be quite an excellent film. I wasn't expecting much when I first saw the trailer. But even though I only saw it because it was the best movie currently playing when my friends wanted to go, I was in a rapt stare at this film's kiddy, but surprisingly beautiful visuals and all the other cool things it did. We found the movie to be very relatable to people of this day and age since I could easily see something like this happening years and years from now. I also loved the idea to make humans the bad guys for once and to look at things from a realistic angle. It's plot line was very engagin and I had a blast with this movie. I won't go down as a masterpiece, but it's still an awesome film.
Aaron W gave it a9:
The story adds an interesting twist to the typical alien invader movie. The world is bright and colorful with many smooth figures, and appears to be directed toward children however there are several amazing action scenes to keep adults on the edge of their seats. However, not all is perfect with this movie. Many main characters, such as the general are extremely two dimensional. Also not much information is given about the events the precede the movie. You never learn what happened to Terra before their "Golden Age" or about the Mala's childhood. And considering that the movie is only an hour and twenty-five minutes, there was plenty of time to go into more detail. The flaws of this movie do not detract much from the value of it. The movie was pleasing and was not a waste of my five dollars. It may not have been a perfect movie but it was a satisfying movie.
Kip O gave it an8:
I actually enjoyed this movie a lot. It was an original story told from a unique perspective. It certainly had a message or an insight they were trying to convey, but most good movies/literature try to do more than entertain. I imagine a good number of reviewers judged the message as much as they judged the film.
