CGI-animated in eye-popping 3-D colors, BATTLE FOR TERRA features the voices of Evan Rachel Wood, Luke Wilson, and Brian Cox in a saga of alien invasion and battle. The twist here is that the bad guys--the invaders of the cute and ingeniously imagined planet Terra--are from Earth. Survivors of a massive war, humans need to flood the planet with oxygen so it's inhabitable, which will mean wiping out all life thereon. The planet's population consists of cute little creatures that live inside giant vegetation, promote conformity, and initially see the destructive humans as intergalactic gods. Mala (Wood) is a LITTLE MERMAID-style rebel who questions authority and even rescues one of the enemy: a human pilot, Jim (Wilson). While their elders hem and haw, Mala and Jim bond and race against total destruction and the earthlings' fear-mongering military commander (Cox).

Written and directed by Aristomenis Tsirbas--a sensitive, prize-winning French-Canadian animator in his feature-length debut--there's some poetic intelligence behind the peaceful messages, and the animation is stellar, with Terra's myriad creatures brilliantly and imaginatively brought to 3-D life. Even the most warmongering of parents should still dig the many sly references to vintage sci-fi films (the adobe decor recalls PLANET OF THE APES and the 1977 STAR WARS) and the dry underplaying of David Cross (MR. SHOW) as Jim's robot sidekick. Other voices include Danny Glover, James Garner, Dennis Quaid, and Rosanna Arquette.

DVD Features:

Region 1
Widescreen - 2.35
Audio:
Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo - English
Dolby Digital 5.1 - English
Subtitles - English, Spanish

Evan Rachel Wood: Actress, LITTLE SECRETS (2001)
Justin Long: Actor, JEEPERS CREEPERS (2001)
Luke Wilson: Actor
Dennis Quaid: American actor, FREQUENCY (2000)
Amanda Peet: Actress
Chris Evans: Actor, NOT ANOTHER TEEN MOVIE (2001)

Aristomenis Tsirbas: Director

Keith Calder: Producer
Jessica Wu: Producer
Dane Allan Smith: Producer
Ryan Colucci: Producer

Evan Spiliotopoulos: Screenwriter, JUNGLE BOOK 2 (2003)

Abel Korzeniowski: Composer

J. Kathleen Gibson: EDITOR
Jim May: Editor, VAN HELSING (2004)

3 stars out of 5 -- "[I]t has a pluck and pull that refuses to let go....It does convey a light environmental message..."
3 stars out of 4 -- "BATTLE FOR TERRA is a bewitchingly animated story about an invasion from outer space....The animation is nicely stylized and the color palette well-chosen..."
"War action, environmental dangers and a message of inter-species harmony combine with spirited results in the 3-D CG-animated feature BATTLE FOR TERRA, an atmospheric sci-fi saga..."
"[A]n earnest animated tale of war and peace in outer space, augmented by captivating 3-D images."
"[S]ome of the scenes are eye-popping..."
"This spry film demonstrates that 3-D need not strip away any charm, beauty or intelligence in favor of trick shots....[The film] certainly delivers plenty of action."