SYNOPSIS:
When the peaceful inhabitants of the beautiful planet Terra come under attack from the last surviving members of humanity adrift in an aging spaceship, the stage is set for an all-out war between the two for control of the planet. But will an unlikely friendship between a rebellious young Terrian and an injured human pilot somehow convince their leaders that war is not an answer?
MOVIE REVIEW:
There’s an old saying that goes "Don’t judge a book by its cover". When I first came across the poster and trailer for Battle For Terra, I dismissed it as a poorly executed, forgettable CG animation. I was so wrong.
Made on a microscopic budget and skeleton crew members, Battle For Terra tells the story of the peaceful inhabitants of planet Terra being attacked by humans who are desperately in search of a new home after war destroyed Earth, Venus and Mars. Rescued by a young rebellious Terrian, Mala after his fighter plan is shot down, Lt Jim Stanton forms a friendship with Mala in the midst of the battle between humans and the Terrians.
Perhaps the movie’s technical quality is not something that will impresses if you are used to those served by Pixar or DreamWorks. The Terrians lack a certain skin texture and move in an awkward tadpole style while the humans seem to wear suits that practically looks liked they are sew to their skin. But then again, it’s not really the animation that counts here. The wide array of ships, creatures, flora and fauna are interestingly rendered despite the restrictive factors faced by the filmmakers. It’s a whole new ecological environment created for Terra and I believe you got to give credit for it.
I’m glad Battle For Terra is not dumb down to appeal to the younger crowd. Forget about those usual references to pop-culture, there are plenty of hidden messages here about being environmentally friendly to anti-war though it’s not to the extent of being so bland that it will knocked out a few young children. In fact, Battle For Terra has a few exciting aerial battles that will even impressed the Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica fanbase.
The competent voice cast include Indie actress Evan Rachel Wood and comedian Luke Wilson who voices Mala and Lt Jim Stanton respectively. The acclaimed Brian Cox voices the menacing General Hemmer with Justin Long as Mala’s friend and David Cross as a R2D2 type sidekick, Giddy.
The Battle For Terra is an original, intelligent sci-fi animation that is highly recommended for its sincere efforts by the crew. As the filmmakers say, this is a form of art they are making. So don’t go around judging a book by its cover, like me for example. Pick up Terra and perhaps you might be genuinely surprised by it.
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Consider the less than whelming box-office, it’s a surprise to find The Battle for Terra DVD equipped with a couple of extra features that includes:
Director Aristomenis Tsirbas, Screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos and Film Editor Jim May talks in details about the making of Battle of Terra in Filmmakers' Audio Commentary. If you are interested in how the filmmakers pull it all off with a limited budget, this commentary track is both informative and engaging as they talks about how the animation is accomplished and also the various voice actors.
The Making of Battle for Terra lasts 4 minutes and mainly touches on the design and animatic of the characters.
From Storyboard to Final Render: Mala Sneaks Around shows you the different versions of the same scene done in Maya, storyboard, animatic and the final render.
Director Aristomenis Tsirbas did all the pre-production animatics one year before actual production begins and Animatics: Mala's Escape is just one of them.
Production Design shows you the conceptual drawings and designs of the various characters, ships and creatures etc.
Aristomenis Tsirbas: Pulling the Strings has the director talks passionately about filmmaking in his very own animatic form.
The DVD is also rounded up with the Theatrical Trailer and 4 Deleted Scenes.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The Dolby Digital 5.1 did a competent job showcasing the aerial battles and ambient effects consider the tight budget. It has a wider sonic range than expected but visually speaking, the animation does not hold up well on the small screen so that’s perhaps a slight pity.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING:
Review by Linus Tee
Posted on 1 November 2009
|
