History YMMV / BattleForTerra

* HarsherInHindsight: The movie's complete failure at the box office is even more bitterly irritating when a movie with [[Film/{{Avatar}} almost the exact same plot]] held the record for highest-grossing film '''OF ALL TIME''' for nearly a decade.

* MarySuetopia: [[spoiler: Subverted with the Terrians, their society of apparently PerfectPacifistPeople grew from the wake of centuries of violent warfare against one another. When they ''do'' take up arms against the numerically superior and far more advanced humans, they lose, with only Jim's HeroicSacrifice saving them from extinction.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: The movie's complete failure at the box office is even more bitterly irritating when a movie with [[Film/{{Avatar}} almost the exact same plot]] when end up becoming the highest-grossing film ''of all time.''

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Are the council [[ObstructiveBureaucrat Obstructive Bureaucrats]] (due to spending most of the time debating rather than taking action despite the failing nature of their starship) or [[ ReasonableAuthorityFigure Reasonable Authority Figures]] (knowing that their hawkish mindset led to [[WarIsHell a devastating war]] along with eliminating [[EnlightenedSelfInterest a potential ally who would be a boon to their colonization effort]])? However by the time Hemmer revealed that [[spoiler: the Ark has only two months of life support left]], it is not clear whether [[spoiler: he was sidelined during his arguments with the council, kept secret by the council to prevent total chaos among the crews, or deliberately withheld from everyone except him and his pool of supporters]].

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Are the council {{ObstructiveBureaucrat Obstructive Bureaucrats]] (due to spending most of the time debating rather than taking action despite the failing nature of their starship) or [[ ReasonableAuthorityFigure Reasonable Authority Figures]] (knowing that their hawkish mindset led to [[WarIsHell a devastating war]] along with eliminating [[EnlightenedSelfInterest a potential ally who would be a boon to their colonization effort]])? However by the time Hemmer revealed that [[spoiler: the Ark has only two months of life support left]], it is not clear whether [[spoiler: he was sidelined during his arguments with the council, kept secret by the council to prevent total chaos among the crews, or deliberately withheld from everyone except him and his pool of supporters]].

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: Is the council ObstructiveBureaucrat (due to spending most of the time debating rather than taking action despite the failing nature of their starship) or ReasonableAuthorityFigure (knowing that their hawkish mindset led to [[WarIsHell a devastating war]] along with eliminating [[EnlightenedSelfInterest a potential ally who would be a boon to their colonization effort]])? However by the time Hemmer revealed that [[spoiler: the Ark has only two months of life support left]], it is not clear whether [[spoiler: he was sidelined during his arguments with the council, kept secret by the council to prevent total chaos among the crews, or deliberately withheld from everyone except him and his pool of supporters]].

** How do you really drive home an anti-war message in the anvilliest way? By having ''three whole planets'' blown up in the backstory.

* StrawmanHasAPoint: While General Hemmer is a [[GeneralRipper ruthless warmonger]] and the primary instigator of the human-Terrian conflict, it's hard not to find merit in his argument, considering that not only is [[VillainHasAPoint the Ark falling apart]] but the Council hasn't come up with any other solutions. And his speech on the matter is surprisingly moving.
-->'''Hemmer:''' Tired of watching comrades die for nothing? We've come a long way, Terra is our prize. A jewel hanging in space. It has real water, not that chemical junk, and ground. God, I'd like to feel steady ground under my feet one day. Kids born on the ''Ark'' have never seen a blade of grass, or heard a bird sing.

** Considering the BigBad quotes the Bible multiple times in the movie, I think they weren't necessarily going for subtle. And really, the Cross shaped fighters look more like B-Wings than the Traditional Christian Cross.
*** The whole Anti-war/Tolerance message of this film wasn't very subtle, anyway.
*** More subtle than you give it credit for. The story of a peace-loving people repelling an alien incursion through force of arms is more Jack Nicholson's [[Film/AFewGoodMen "you need me on that wall"]] speech with better PR than it is a pure anti-war message.
** There's the "possibility" (read: BLATANTLY OBVIOUS) that the humans were self-righteous enough to include these allegories ''for themselves in-universe'' and that's a ''major tip-off'' as to their hubris.
** Just going along with the "ships-as-crosses" bit, it does feel {{anvilicious}} at the start where the Terrians [[spoiler:"give themselves up to the ships."]] (If you don't get it, just replace the word "ships" on that phrase with the word "cross.")
** One thing that can't be chalked up to in-universe human fundamentalism, it sure is convenient that Jim happens to be flying one of those cross-shaped starships [[spoiler: when he ends up [[HeroicSacrifice sacrificing himself]] to save both peoples...]]

* MarySuetopia: [[spoiler: Subverted with the Terrians, their society of apparently PerfectPacifistPeople has only arisen in the wake of centuries of violent warfare amongst themselves, and when they do take up arms against the humans, they lose, with only Jim's HeroicSacrifice saving them from extinction.]]

**** More subtle than you give it credit for. The story of a peace-loving people repelling an alien incursion through force of arms is more Jack Nicholson's [[AFewGoodMen "you need me on that wall"]] speech with better PR than it is a pure anti-war message.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids: How the heck did this get a PG rating with a D-bomb, casual threats of genocide on both ends, and space whale gore?

*** Considering how few people saw it, I doubt the MPAA saw it themselves. Shame though.

** Considering the BigBad quotes the bible multiple times in the movie, I think they weren't necessarily going for subtle. And really, the Cross shaped fighters look more like B-Wings than the Traditional Christian Cross.

* {{Anvilicious}} -- The main human ship is called the ark, and the smaller ships are shaped like crosses. Subtle.

*** The whole Anti-war/Tolerance message of this film wasn´t very subtle, anyway.
**** More subtle than you give it credit for. The story of a peace-loving people repelling an alien incursion through force of arms is more Jack Nicholson's [[AFewGoodMen "you need me on that wall"]] speech with better PR than it is a pure antiwar message.

* WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids -- How the heck did this get a PG rating with a D-bomb, casual threats of genocide on both ends, and space whale gore?
** Going further, the film has (human) male nudity (not [[MaleFrontalNudity frontal]], but still), several dead (alien) bodies on slabs and hanging in body bags in the worst [[NightmareFuel abattoir like display]] possible. And to top it off the on-screen deaths by decompression of no less than four people, one of whom was [[spoiler: a protagonist's father, and another was Jim]].

* YourMileageMayVary: It is either a underrated, misunderstood animated masterpiece, or just an {{Anvilicious}}, pretentious tale that was victim of his own ambition.