In the past year we've seen everything from flies to dogs to little girls with insatiable imaginations come to life in 3-D. We've been warned about the impending doom of our self-centered (and environmentally unfriendly lifestyles) by murderous plants, miniature aliens, and monstrous robots. We've witnessed the power that one person/alien/robot can have when they choose to put another's life first. And in this spring's Battle for Terra, that's pretty much what we get again.

The full-length feature realization of animator/director Artistomenis Tsirbas's earlier short Terra, Battle for Terra is an animated film about the collision of two civilizations. After the destruction of Earth following a war between Earth and its space colonies, the planet's remaining inhabitants have set off in search of a new home in their gear-like space station "The Ark." After nearly coming to an end following their own conflict, the inhabitants of the planet of Terra live lives of peace and celebration of nature—nearly unaware that such a thing as war even exists. Cue the very strange reception the earthlings get when they decide that Terra will be their new home and begin taking steps to make it just that. Unfold a story about the fight to survive in a divided world and the reminder that the path to survival need not be a competition, but can instead be a cooperative effort.

When Battle for Terra begins, one of the first themes that presents itself is the concept of seemingly unquestionable authority and the power of actually challenging it. While Terra really does seem like a pleasant world in which to live, as the young Terrian Mala (voiced by Evan Rachel Wood) reveals, it allows for only one way of thinking. When the earthlings first descend on the planet and Mala asks her father what is going on, he replies, "It is whatever the elders say it is." When Mala proposes doing a bit more investigation herself, her father replies, "Inventions that are not approved by the elders are against our teaching." But as Mala proposes, "Then maybe our teachings are wrong."

Since the elders tell the Terrians nothing more than that there is no need for alarm, the people of Terra greet their attackers as gods. As the human ships fly around taking hostages, the Terrians ignorantly offer themselves to their attackers with absolutely no concept that they are offering themselves up to death not life. And for the people of Terra, their blind trust becomes a personal and communal tragedy.

From the planet of Terra to the inner halls of the Ark, we see that the problem of ultimate power and unquestioned authority is also an issue for the remaining humans. On The Ark, the ultimate authority goes by the name of General Hemmer (voiced by Brian Cox). With The Ark's ability to sustain civilization deteriorating every day, his mandate is the appropriation of a new home right now. With Terra in their sights and its inhospitable air supply the only thing standing between them and their ability to live on its surface, his directive is the immediate conversion of the planet to their requirements. The fact that a planet made to fit their needs for survival will result in the destruction of the Terrians—a cost that simply cannot be avoided to attain the prize they deserve.

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