Terra (Battle For Terra) poster & wallpaper

Amanda Peet, Brian Cox, Chris Evans

The film tells the story of Senn (Justin Long) and Mala (Evan Rachel Wood), two rebellious alien teens living on the beautiful planet Terra, a place that promotes peace and tolerance, having long ago ...( read more  read more... )rejected war and weapons of mass destruction. But when Terra is invaded by human beings fleeing a civil war and environmental catastrophe, the planet is plunged into chaos. During the upheaval, Mala befriends an injured human pilot (Luke Wilson) and each learns the two races are not so different from one another. Together they must face the terrifying realization that in a world of limited resources, only one of their races is likely to survive.

Flixster Users

42% liked it

3,377 ratings

Critics

46% liked it

76 critics

PG, 1 hr. 25 min.

Directed by: Aristomenis Tsirbas

Release Date: May 1, 2009

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DVD Release Date: September 22, 2009

Stats: 1,565 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,565)

  • her69eyes
    October 28, 2009
    her69eyes
    Get this: it's an alien invasion film, but... wait for it... HUMANS, yes - HUMANS - are the invaders!

    The latest animated picture to criticize us evil bipeds is "Battle for Terra", a humorless science fiction adventure that has about the same level of invention as whatever movie...( read more) the SyFy network is playing at this moment. It's a fairly admirable effort, indeed, touching on some interesting themes (which go absolutely nowhere) and boasting some impressive visuals, but when the plot suggests that the entire existence of a species is jeopardized by invaders and yet we couldn't care less - something has gone terribly wrong.

    On Terra resides a peace-loving race, a tadpole-like colony who live harmoniously with the gigantic floating whales that swim across their skies. The civilization is a stable one, however it is not perfect - the elders of the Terranians are hyper-religious nuts who aren't in favor of individual thought. When one of the sperm-like teens, Mala (Evan Rachel Wood), begins to assemble a telescope - she is told that such an invention is not allowed.

    One day, a fleet of metallic ships passes through Terra. They encapsulate the Terranians in a bright neon glow before abducting them into their ships. Some respond with fear, others wait open-armed and welcome who they perceive to be the Gods. A kid's picture that involves such overtly religious themes is a rarity, but director Aristomenis Tsirbas and screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos don't attempt to go anywhere interesting with it.

    The metallic ships are, indeed, humans. They have destroyed Earth, and in the process also ransacked Venus and Mars. The ruthless general (Brian Cox) of the endangered human race plans to destroy the Terranians by supplying their planet with enough oxygen for human habitation. War ensues - an epic battle in the skies that culminates with the dashing hero, Jim Stanton (Luke Wilson), forced to decide which side to fight for.

    The film has giant battles, some great visuals, and even a cute little robot pal (David Cross), but it has none of the heart of the great animated films. It's simply lifeless, boring - the humans are a homogenized group of square-jawed hunks, the Terranians are bizarre and hardly developed, and it's simply too talky for a kids picture. I'm not saying that every animated film needs a farting guinea pig, but at this point I can't rule out anything that might bring any semblance of life to this rather dull and joyless picture.
  • thefog1331
    October 11, 2009
    thefog1331
    Both the animation and dialogue are rather lackluster but I give this sci-fi film props for showing a little more realistic depiction of war (for a kids film anway) and the significance of self-sacrifice.
  • jim222001us
    September 26, 2009
    jim222001us
    An alien planet called Terra is invaded by humans who right away treat the peaceful aliens as hostiles. Mala (Rachel Wood) befriends a human pilot (Luke Wilson) and they must choose between their friendship or the loyalty to their races. The story isn't bad even if the animation ...( read more)isn't best I have seen.
  • pixygiggles
    November 6, 2009
    pixygiggles
    The only thing I liked about this movie is that the humans were defeated by the aliens. It should have gotten at least a PG-13 rating, if not R. This is NOT a kid's movie.
  • soffici
    November 5, 2009
    soffici
    tiresome, didactic, charmless
  • Zento
    October 30, 2009
    Zento
    The Battle for Terra is an engaging animated sci-fi adventure. The story is about an alien planet called Terra. The inhabitants look like little E.T.'s and they live in giant mushrooms. Their life is peaceful until they are suddenly invaded by space ships. The ships begin captur...( read more)ing the aliens. It is then realized that the pilots are humans who want to colonize their planet.The story is entertaining because it reverses the conventional situation. Instead of humans being trespassed by aliens, it is the other way around. The film also makes a meaningful anti-war statement.There are voice-overs by Brian Cox, Dennis Quaid, Luke Wilson, and Danny Glover.The Computer graphic imagery is noteworthy. That said, The Battle for Terra is a charming film for children and adults.
  • Blunt253
    October 27, 2009
    Blunt253
    good concept short movie so much potential but fell short
  • ronbryant
    October 27, 2009
    ronbryant
    Predictable ending, but a good story.
  • chicken2402
    October 26, 2009
    chicken2402
    It had me at: "Maybe our teachings are wrong!"
  • lee1701
    October 26, 2009
    lee1701
    Not a bad movie. Sperm looking aliens?

View All Terra (Battle For Terra) Reviews

Critic Reviews

May 1, 2009
Kyle Smith, New York Post

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. full review

May 1, 2009
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

An earnest 3-D eco-sermon. full review

May 1, 2009
Claudia Puig, USA Today

An earnest animated tale of war and peace in outer space, augmented by captivating 3-D images. full review

April 30, 2009
Pete Hammond, Hollywood.com

A thrilling, action-packed sci-fi adventure that lifts 3D animation to a whole new level of excitement. Mind blowing entertainment. full review

April 30, 2009
Colin Covert, The Minneapolis Star Tribune

Naive but ambitious, it comes across as a Battlestar Galactica vetted by pacifists, Clone Wars neutered for Saturday morning kids' TV. full review

April 30, 2009
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

A bewitchingly animated story about an invasion from outer space, by aliens who threaten to destroy all life on the planet so they can claim it as their own. full review

April 27, 2009
Nick Schager, Slant Magazine

A bizarre, preachy pro-peace animated adventure. full review

View more Terra (Battle For Terra) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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