Battle for Terra (2007)
Directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas
Giddy. Image from http://www.aceshowbiz.com/still/00003527/terra11.html
In an alien village of towering mushroom trees lives a girl and her father. These aliens don't have legs and fly. They propel with a swimming motion and are kind of leaf shaped. Although they can fly they use other flying contraptions equatable to motorcycles or cars to get places faster or move more people.
It's another peaceful day in this town when the sun is eclypsed. Dozens of tiny lights rain from the sky and turn out to be invading fighter ships. They're capturing the native people to run tests on and who knows what else. The girl, Mala, is distressed to see her father get abducted. Unable to tolorate losing her only other parent Mala tried to get abducted to get reunited.
None of the ships take her so she decided to take them. In her flying machine she manages to take down a ship. After it's crashes she finds the pilot unconscious and losing oxygen. Back at her home the pilot, Jim's rover unit tells Mala how she can create oxygen so he doesn't die. Giddy is able to teach her English, and Mala follows the instructing, driven by the hope that this human will be able to get her to her father.
Once concious Jim says he needs to get to his ship. If Mala helps him get to his ship, he'll take her to her dad. Mala eagerly agrees.
When they return the site of the crash the ship is gone! Giddy's sensors indicate it's been dragged off to a part of Mala's planet, Terra, where no one goes. They follow Giddy and end up at the ruins of an old civilization, and to Mala's surprise there are people there! One of her people's ships lands and the group follows it to get in. However once inside they're surrounded. With Jim's ship in sight, he takes Mala hostage in order to get to it. The three get inside and take off.
Jim approaches his home ship and docks. Mala is instructed by Jim to stay in his ship and wait for him. He has to be debriefed and scanned then he'll be back. Jim is greeted by his best friend who was worried Jim died, then drilled for information about the natives by higher-ups.
During all this Mala grows impatient. She's brought her respirator so she'll be able to filter the oxygen, and she grabs a laser gun from the cockpit that she'd seen Jim use.
Snooping around the ship eventually leads her to a holding chamber. Whether her people are dead inside or not is unclear. Her father in the connecting room is still alive, but very very weak. Mala attemps to push his stretcher out and make it back to Jim's ship but her father and her are tailed by two men. Not wanting anything bad to become of his daughter, Mala's father grabs the gun, throws her back in the room with her people and shuts the door on her. He shoots wildly at the men and the room, eventually breaching something resulting in all of them getting sucked into something and dying. Mala, heartbroken in the next room, sees all this through the glass. She collapses on the floor and is taken prisoner.
Jim tried to convince his supervisor, Hemmer, that the people are peaceful and they need to think of a way to get more oxygen for the humans without destroying the Terrans. Hemmer disagrees. He's taken over the government and the home ship. He demands that the terraformer be sent to the planet as soon as possible. It'll take a week for the planet to get converted to breathable oxygen, and as it is the ship only has two months of oxygen left. Hemmer begins to worry where Jim's loyalties lie.
On the other side of a one way mirror Jim sees Mala calling for help. She's in a room full of breathable air for her. Jim's best friend is then thrown in and begins to suffocate. Hemmer explains to him he has two options. He can press the red button and the room will fill with oxygen, saving his friend but killing Mala. Or he can let him die and show where his new allegiance lies.
Unable to kill his friend Jim presses the button. Mala begins to choke on the oxygen. Not wanting Mala to die either, Jim quietly orders Giddy to save her. Giddy breaks the glass and leads Mala to Jim's ship. Once inside they make a break for it back to Terra.
Back home Mala is asked to tell all she knows about the humans' plans. She tried also to get Giddy to explain, but he's unsure if his first allegiance lies with her or with Earth Force. Because Jim has ordered her protection, Giddy finalizes on helping Mala.
The Elders of Terra also reveal that in the ruins where Jim's ship had been held is a secret army base, in case of invasions like this. The Elders had once been at war, but because of the near total destruction the survivors started new lives teaching nothing of hate or war. However the past is now coming in handy.
The flying machines they have at this base are much more sophisticated than the ones ever other Terran uses. They actually stand a chance against Earth Force.
Hemmer launches the attack the the fighter ships on both sides take flight. Things look promising until Hemmer calls for backup.
The terraformer hits Terra's surface and begins producing oxygen. The residents of a nearby village being to suffocate. Seeing all these innocent civilians choking, Jim decides he can't go through with supporting the humans. Knowing he'll get closer than anyone else, human or Terran, to the terraformer before being suspected he becomes a martyr.
Rockets go straight through the machine, killing Hemmer. Mala sadly watches as Jim's ship explodes. The battle is over. But at a great cost on both sides.
The home ship still in space, Mala feels terrible for all the humans that have nothing to do but wait to die. The Elders assure her, there is always an alternative.
Some time later, Mala and her best friend, Senn, are racing through the clouds. They're approaching a large dome. It's a small part of her planet where the humans are able to terraform. The species can intermingle on Terra now with their respirators.
In the middle of the dome a large statue is under construction.
It's Jim, staring our to the stars.
Mushroom tree village. Image from http://www.transmissionfilms.com.au/index.php/battle-for-terra/
This films was alright. It definitely had a lot of feels towards the end.
The animation is meah. Things are pretty limited. Basically it seemed like in order to have to not worry about a lot of things, like leaves or grass or hair, the settings went where they did. The giant mushroom-topped trees the Terrans live in have a couple giant leaves on them, like maybe a dozen. All the Terrans are bald, and on the home ship it's pretty militant in attitude and dress so everyone is bald or close to it. They're also all in simple tight-ish uniforms so all that fabric secondary moment is not needed. Ect. Ect. I guess I'm just getting at it's a lot easier if all your materials have a shiny texture or matte texture to them. And if they're still or unmoving completely like metals. You don't have to deal with fabric folds then.
Modeling and stuff get's more complex towards the end of the film, when the battle sequences are going on. All of a sudden you have all these spaceships and Terran ships and explosions and blood. So it was nice from an animation standpoint for a change.
Jim's death was interesting. He really did become a martyr for these two races, so they'd find another way. A better way. The spaceships are shaped like plus signs for the humans, and the pilot sits in a bubble in the middle. During the final battle a couple of the wings on Jim's ship get clipped. There's a scene of Jim's ship closing in on the terraformer and Hemmer looking at it through the glass. It's like a cross. And then they both die.
For all the Terrans' weird flying things, they could sure use an astrologer. Not only did the rain catch them by surprise but a giant spaceship that definitely didn't just appear there. Pretty sure it was traveling for a long time. Their music sucks too XD The jam sessions that kept getting inturruprted in the beginning didn't seem like they were going well.
Funny part of the movie is when one of the humans says "It's a trap!" in the end battle. I literally paused it at that point and went to watch Admiral Ackbar say it on youtube.
The voice acting in the film is amazing. It's a lot of screen actors, not voice actors, doing the voices so it's extra impressive. Giddy, played by David Cross (Tim and Eric, Year One, Men in Black), and Evan Rachel Wood (Across the Universe, Thirteen, True Blood) did exceptional work. Also in it was Justin Long, who had been in Alpha and Omega, which I recently talked about on here too.
It was an okay one time watch. The storyline wasn't horrible. Definitely one of those go-green movies. However, it came before most of the ones that people complain about. Avatar was 2009, WALL-E was 2008. Yes there were many before that, and there will be many more. I just think it's something worth keeping in mind as you pass judgement.
This movie was better than Planet 51 by a long shot if that helps you make a decision.
There is also no love interest (except between the Terrans and their love for their home planet) which is nice. A movie without that is sometimes hard to come by in North America.
Mala and Giddy escaping the home ship back to Terra. Image from http://www.kpbs.org/news/2009/may/01/battle-terra/
Finally here's some more cool info about the movie. So this feature-length was actually based on a short that was written, directed, and animated by the same director.
Check it out.
In honesty I think I like the short better. Not in terms of quality, but purely story. The American flag with a million stars is genius! Really threatening too.
In terms of technicalities, this short, in my opinion, is great. The score by Matt Messina is awesome. I love how the horns build uneasily. I really do. At first it was abrasive, but it's supposed to be. It's supposed to make you feel uneasy. I'd recommend the short to anyone. If you really love the short then maybe the film is for you.
Directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas
In an alien village of towering mushroom trees lives a girl and her father. These aliens don't have legs and fly. They propel with a swimming motion and are kind of leaf shaped. Although they can fly they use other flying contraptions equatable to motorcycles or cars to get places faster or move more people.
It's another peaceful day in this town when the sun is eclypsed. Dozens of tiny lights rain from the sky and turn out to be invading fighter ships. They're capturing the native people to run tests on and who knows what else. The girl, Mala, is distressed to see her father get abducted. Unable to tolorate losing her only other parent Mala tried to get abducted to get reunited.
None of the ships take her so she decided to take them. In her flying machine she manages to take down a ship. After it's crashes she finds the pilot unconscious and losing oxygen. Back at her home the pilot, Jim's rover unit tells Mala how she can create oxygen so he doesn't die. Giddy is able to teach her English, and Mala follows the instructing, driven by the hope that this human will be able to get her to her father.
Once concious Jim says he needs to get to his ship. If Mala helps him get to his ship, he'll take her to her dad. Mala eagerly agrees.
When they return the site of the crash the ship is gone! Giddy's sensors indicate it's been dragged off to a part of Mala's planet, Terra, where no one goes. They follow Giddy and end up at the ruins of an old civilization, and to Mala's surprise there are people there! One of her people's ships lands and the group follows it to get in. However once inside they're surrounded. With Jim's ship in sight, he takes Mala hostage in order to get to it. The three get inside and take off.
Jim approaches his home ship and docks. Mala is instructed by Jim to stay in his ship and wait for him. He has to be debriefed and scanned then he'll be back. Jim is greeted by his best friend who was worried Jim died, then drilled for information about the natives by higher-ups.
During all this Mala grows impatient. She's brought her respirator so she'll be able to filter the oxygen, and she grabs a laser gun from the cockpit that she'd seen Jim use.
Snooping around the ship eventually leads her to a holding chamber. Whether her people are dead inside or not is unclear. Her father in the connecting room is still alive, but very very weak. Mala attemps to push his stretcher out and make it back to Jim's ship but her father and her are tailed by two men. Not wanting anything bad to become of his daughter, Mala's father grabs the gun, throws her back in the room with her people and shuts the door on her. He shoots wildly at the men and the room, eventually breaching something resulting in all of them getting sucked into something and dying. Mala, heartbroken in the next room, sees all this through the glass. She collapses on the floor and is taken prisoner.
Jim tried to convince his supervisor, Hemmer, that the people are peaceful and they need to think of a way to get more oxygen for the humans without destroying the Terrans. Hemmer disagrees. He's taken over the government and the home ship. He demands that the terraformer be sent to the planet as soon as possible. It'll take a week for the planet to get converted to breathable oxygen, and as it is the ship only has two months of oxygen left. Hemmer begins to worry where Jim's loyalties lie.
On the other side of a one way mirror Jim sees Mala calling for help. She's in a room full of breathable air for her. Jim's best friend is then thrown in and begins to suffocate. Hemmer explains to him he has two options. He can press the red button and the room will fill with oxygen, saving his friend but killing Mala. Or he can let him die and show where his new allegiance lies.
Unable to kill his friend Jim presses the button. Mala begins to choke on the oxygen. Not wanting Mala to die either, Jim quietly orders Giddy to save her. Giddy breaks the glass and leads Mala to Jim's ship. Once inside they make a break for it back to Terra.
Back home Mala is asked to tell all she knows about the humans' plans. She tried also to get Giddy to explain, but he's unsure if his first allegiance lies with her or with Earth Force. Because Jim has ordered her protection, Giddy finalizes on helping Mala.
The Elders of Terra also reveal that in the ruins where Jim's ship had been held is a secret army base, in case of invasions like this. The Elders had once been at war, but because of the near total destruction the survivors started new lives teaching nothing of hate or war. However the past is now coming in handy.
The flying machines they have at this base are much more sophisticated than the ones ever other Terran uses. They actually stand a chance against Earth Force.
Hemmer launches the attack the the fighter ships on both sides take flight. Things look promising until Hemmer calls for backup.
The terraformer hits Terra's surface and begins producing oxygen. The residents of a nearby village being to suffocate. Seeing all these innocent civilians choking, Jim decides he can't go through with supporting the humans. Knowing he'll get closer than anyone else, human or Terran, to the terraformer before being suspected he becomes a martyr.
Rockets go straight through the machine, killing Hemmer. Mala sadly watches as Jim's ship explodes. The battle is over. But at a great cost on both sides.
The home ship still in space, Mala feels terrible for all the humans that have nothing to do but wait to die. The Elders assure her, there is always an alternative.
Some time later, Mala and her best friend, Senn, are racing through the clouds. They're approaching a large dome. It's a small part of her planet where the humans are able to terraform. The species can intermingle on Terra now with their respirators.
In the middle of the dome a large statue is under construction.
It's Jim, staring our to the stars.
This films was alright. It definitely had a lot of feels towards the end.
The animation is meah. Things are pretty limited. Basically it seemed like in order to have to not worry about a lot of things, like leaves or grass or hair, the settings went where they did. The giant mushroom-topped trees the Terrans live in have a couple giant leaves on them, like maybe a dozen. All the Terrans are bald, and on the home ship it's pretty militant in attitude and dress so everyone is bald or close to it. They're also all in simple tight-ish uniforms so all that fabric secondary moment is not needed. Ect. Ect. I guess I'm just getting at it's a lot easier if all your materials have a shiny texture or matte texture to them. And if they're still or unmoving completely like metals. You don't have to deal with fabric folds then.
Modeling and stuff get's more complex towards the end of the film, when the battle sequences are going on. All of a sudden you have all these spaceships and Terran ships and explosions and blood. So it was nice from an animation standpoint for a change.
Jim's death was interesting. He really did become a martyr for these two races, so they'd find another way. A better way. The spaceships are shaped like plus signs for the humans, and the pilot sits in a bubble in the middle. During the final battle a couple of the wings on Jim's ship get clipped. There's a scene of Jim's ship closing in on the terraformer and Hemmer looking at it through the glass. It's like a cross. And then they both die.
For all the Terrans' weird flying things, they could sure use an astrologer. Not only did the rain catch them by surprise but a giant spaceship that definitely didn't just appear there. Pretty sure it was traveling for a long time. Their music sucks too XD The jam sessions that kept getting inturruprted in the beginning didn't seem like they were going well.
Funny part of the movie is when one of the humans says "It's a trap!" in the end battle. I literally paused it at that point and went to watch Admiral Ackbar say it on youtube.
The voice acting in the film is amazing. It's a lot of screen actors, not voice actors, doing the voices so it's extra impressive. Giddy, played by David Cross (Tim and Eric, Year One, Men in Black), and Evan Rachel Wood (Across the Universe, Thirteen, True Blood) did exceptional work. Also in it was Justin Long, who had been in Alpha and Omega, which I recently talked about on here too.
It was an okay one time watch. The storyline wasn't horrible. Definitely one of those go-green movies. However, it came before most of the ones that people complain about. Avatar was 2009, WALL-E was 2008. Yes there were many before that, and there will be many more. I just think it's something worth keeping in mind as you pass judgement.
This movie was better than Planet 51 by a long shot if that helps you make a decision.
There is also no love interest (except between the Terrans and their love for their home planet) which is nice. A movie without that is sometimes hard to come by in North America.
Finally here's some more cool info about the movie. So this feature-length was actually based on a short that was written, directed, and animated by the same director.
Check it out.
In honesty I think I like the short better. Not in terms of quality, but purely story. The American flag with a million stars is genius! Really threatening too.
In terms of technicalities, this short, in my opinion, is great. The score by Matt Messina is awesome. I love how the horns build uneasily. I really do. At first it was abrasive, but it's supposed to be. It's supposed to make you feel uneasy. I'd recommend the short to anyone. If you really love the short then maybe the film is for you.
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