“Battle for Terra” turns an overly familiar sci-fi cliche on its head.
What the if daily rhythms of a planet’s inhabitants are shattered when an invader from outer space arrives with territory in mind? Only the peaceful race going about its business is a citizenry of tadpole- like creatures — and humans are the invading horde.
What lessons might that cultural clash deliver?
In Aristomenis Tsirbas’ 3D-animated feature, starring the voice talent of Evan Rachel Wood and Luke Wilson as the young Terrian hero and the human pilot she rescues, the answer is: plenty.
In these times of environmental reckoning, “Battle for Terra” could have been a self-hating exercise. Humans are resource-hungry baddies. Period. But this wasn’t Tsirbas’ aim.
Instead, “Battle for Terra” uses the collision of these civilizations as a fable of crisis and opportunity.
Along the way, the filmmaker has fun showing us a new world. Tsirbas is helped mightily in this endeavor by composer Abel Korzeniowski, whose orchestral score is wondrously atmospheric.
Early on, Mala (Wood) and friend Senn (Justin Long) play hooky on flying machines. Their friendly competition provides a rousing tour of a planet. Their bobbing and weaving race through a canyonland will bring a smile of recognition to “Star Wars” fans. Indeed, the conflict between Terrians and humans owes a debt to that beloved franchise.
When the humans attack Terra, Mala’s father is nabbed. Most Terrians are frightened and confounded. They look to religious leaders, who know more than they’ve shared with their citizens about the ways of the galaxy.
Inventive Mala fights back.
Wilson provides the gruff, then doubtful, voice of Capt. Jim Stanton, a captured pilot. Having destroyed Earth and then a couple of outlying colonies, humans live on a battered spaceship. Terra is the name they’ve given to the planet with an atmosphere they might be able to work with.
Making Terra’s air hospitable for humans means making it unlivable for Terrians. This presents a problem for the civil leaders but not for Gen. Hemmer, played by Brian Cox with a bold, frothing voice.
As we grow used to the 3-D bells and whistles of the major animation studios, those in “Battle for Terra” might seem quaint. They gently conduct us through Terra’s world more than plunge us into it.
Tsirbas’ storytelling ambitions are almost as subtle, which is why Gen. Hemmer’s unmodulated hostility rings a false and easy note.
Is it really necessary for him to be such a unrepentant aggressor to make the point that humans act crazy when endangered?
We know the answer — and are left wondering why the movie doesn’t honor it.
“Battle for Terra”
PG for sequences of sci-fi action violence and some thematic elements. 1 hour, 25 minutes. Directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas; starring the voice talent of Evan Rachel Wood, Justin Long, Brian Cox, James Garner, Danny Glover, Amanda Peet, David Cross, Dennis Quaid and Luke Wilson. Opens today at area theaters.
