Battle for Terra Review

A conflict between human nature and need pits all of humanity against the peaceful population on the planet Terra. This animated space drama, Battle for Terra, threatens us all with a suck that could collapse a black hole.

Terrian Mala Evan (Evan Rachel Wood) explores her peaceful world, inventing forbidden gadgets and playing like a Terrian child should. That is until a new "god" appears in the sky, gobbling up Terrians right out of thin air, including Mala's father. In an attempt to retrieve her father, she meets the Spartan-esque earthling Jim Stanton (Luke Wilson) and his robot Giddy (David Cross). Mutual codependence creates understanding and affection but circumstance pits them against each other.

The animation in the Battle for Terra would flunk the artists out of a junior college animation class. Milky white, shimmerless, and ending in a tail, the inhabitants of Terra resemble and move like sperm. Anyone who has a grasp on remedial biology would know their eyes resemble a night dwelling creature but they live and interact in broad daylight. The human beings are freakishly shaped, even for animated characters. All of the characters show only the most obvious emotions, subtlety is totally lost on their faces, body language absent from their expression.

Voice talent is flat, offering the audience no reprieve from the mutinous animation. David Cross, Luke Wilson, and Evan Rachel Wood bore the audience with their monotone, affectless performances. Throughout the film, I wondered if they had lost the finished copy of the voices and had to use the rehearsal performances instead.

It's obvious that the original story had been butchered to make it palatable for children. There were scenes that might have been emotionally resonant if the actors, animators, writers (Evan Spiliotopoulos, Aristomenis Tsirbas) and director (Aristomenis Tsirbas) had actually committed to it but they glaze it over like a child's eyes in math class. There is one scene in particular where Jim Stanton has to make a decision, that, no matter how it turns out, is both the right and the wrong solution. The team on Battle for Terra couldn't make the scene stick to the hearts of the audience. If this were an isolated incident, it may be forgivable, but Battle for Terra is littered with these ridiculous production mishaps.

What makes The Battle for Terra especially frustrating is that the attempted moral of the story is timely, relevant and could have been powerful. This disappointing dissection of what might have been a revolutionary story left me feeling like I spent $50 bucks on a carrot stick.

Battle for Terra is perfectly acceptable for children to watch but will be as mindless and pointless as Saturday morning cartoons. Save yourself the money, get up early this weekend and watch cartoons. It will be more satisfying than spending your hard earned cash on this cinematic vegetable.