Terra 2007

Ben Lyons, At the Movies: I don't think younger or older audiences will be interested. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Why is the film almost good, which is to say, not bad but not more? Largely, I think, it's because screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos invents a lot of narrative complication of minimal interest to stretch out a short film to feature length. Read more

Keith Uhlich, Time Out: Doe-eyed earnestness dulls every edge, and Eden-like naivete reigns supreme. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: A dystopian view of future interplanetary relations, and a real bummer of a picture of humankind's future, Battle for Terra is a solid, though not sugarcoated, animated film for the whole family. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: For a movie with a on-the-cheap CGI and a wisecracking R2-D2/C-3PO clone, it's still awfully heady. Read more

Ethan Gilsdorf, Boston Globe: If you find the plot predictable, as a distraction we present an arsenal of 3-D visuals. Read more

Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times: An atmospheric sci-fi saga that may lack major studio marketing heft, but deserves a chance to win over toon-tested audiences. Read more

Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader: This 3D computer animation is more otherworldly than most sci-fi films, and its environmentally conscious theme couldn't be more timely. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: An earnest 3-D eco-sermon. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Battle for Terra turns an overly familiar sci-fi cliche on its head. Read more

Adam Graham, Detroit News: A simplistic message movie boasting computer animation well below the industry standard. Read more

Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: Earthlings who have fled their unsustainable environment are the belligerent, culturally insensitive visitors, and aliens with big, moist eyes out of a sad-clown painting are the home team in this gentle, dreamy animated sci-fi tale. Read more

Rafer Guzman, Newsday: The script, by Evan Spiliotopoulos, borders on the heavy-handed, but director Aristomenis Tsirbas creates an intensity that may raise even grown-up neck hairs. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: A cheap and tiresome outer space cartoon aimed at restless children, desperate parents and people who'll watch anything in 3-D. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Aggressively ugly and intergalactically boring, the dismal sci-fi kiddie cartoon Battle for Terra is too weak to be shown anywhere except maybe on the next flight to Saturn. Read more

Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: In making animation that isn't dark enough for older fans and is too message-centric for kids, Team Terra has created a film that will probably satisfy no one. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: A bewitchingly animated story about an invasion from outer space, by aliens who threaten to destroy all life on the planet so they can claim it as their own. Read more

Justin Berton, San Francisco Chronicle: The creators of the 3-D animation film Battle for Terra have developed such an entirely new world inside the movie theater, it's hard not to think they just pushed the film-viewing experience forward 10 years. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: Naive but ambitious, it comes across as a Battlestar Galactica vetted by pacifists, Clone Wars neutered for Saturday morning kids' TV. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: A middling movie, an admirable effort that looks much better than Star Wars: The Clone Wars but won't incite similar battles, pro or con. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: An earnest animated tale of war and peace in outer space, augmented by captivating 3-D images. Read more

John Anderson, Variety: Terra isn't sugar-coated -- the humans are hardly paragons of virtue, but neither are the Terrareans. And the story's resolution won't make Terra the feel-good cartoon of 2008, although it is a work of art. Read more

Vadim Rizov, Village Voice: Watching it will be no fun for either kids or adults. Read more

Dan Kois, Washington Post: Look past the movie's procreative protagonists and you'll find a thoughtful but muddled tale of clashing cultures, studded with battle scenes so explosion-filled that parents should think twice about bringing small children. Read more