History WesternAnimation / BattleForTerra

The planet Terra is [[SugarBowl home to a race of peaceful, floating aliens who celebrate life and live in harmony with nature]], but everything is not as [[TownWithADarkSecret cheerful as it seems]]. Mala is a [[GadgeteerGenius mechanically gifted]] and [[HotBlooded rebellious]] girl who questions their society's restriction on science and the ForbiddenZone. After [[TotalEclipseOfThePlot an ominous eclipse]], space ships descend and abduct several of the Terrians who mistake them for gods; among the abducted is Mala's father. This prompts her to try getting abducted herself, leading to a dangerous chase as she catches the attention of Lt. Jim Stanton. After a harrowing pursuit, she outmaneuvers him into a [[GeoEffects wind tunnel]] and his ship crashes.

Mala takes him to her home, and with the help of his RobotBuddy, Giddy, keeps him from being suffocated in Terra's atmosphere. Stranded, Jim agrees to help Mala find her father in exchange for help returning home. Things only get more complicated for the two as friendship, loyalty, and family set them and their people up for a devastating battle that could wipe out one of the two races.

* DyingRace: What remains of humanity after [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression an apocalyptic war between Earth, Venus, and Mars]] are onboard the Ark, which had been in dilapidated conditions and [[spoiler: will give out in two months by the present time of the movie]] with many people dying from frequent system malfunctions. The entire conflict began as the planet is the closest thing to a habitable planet to the refugees, who discovered its air to be unbreathable for them that [[spoiler: General Hemmer is willing to use the terraformer to make the planet breathable while killing off the native Terrians in the process]]. Fortunately, [[spoiler: Jim's sacrifice in destroying the Terraformer along with General Hemmer meant that the rationally-minded humans and Terrians began to cooperate on providing the former with an artificial biosphere and infrastructure to avert this trope]].

* DyingRace: What remains of humanity after [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression an apocalyptic war between Earth, Venus, and Mars]] are onboard the Ark, which had been in dilapidated conditions and [[spoiler: will give out in two months by the present time of the movie]] with many people dying from system malfunctions along its journey. The entire conflict began as the planet is the closest thing to a habitable planet to the refugees, who discovered its air to be unbreathable for that [[spoiler: General Hemmer is willing to use the terraformer to make the planet breathable while killing off the native Terrians in the process]]. Fortunately, [[spoiler: Jim's sacrifice in destroying the Terraformer along with General Hemmer meant that the rationally-minded humans and Terrians began to cooperate on providing the former with an artificial biosphere and infrastructure to avert this trope]].

* DyingRace: What remains of humanity after [[TheWarOfEarthlyAggression an apocalyptic war between Earth, Venus, and Mars]] are onboard the Ark, which had been in dilapidated conditions and [[spoiler: will give out in two months by the present time of the movie]] with many people dying from system malfunctions along its journey. The entire conflict began as the planet is the closest thing to a habitable planet to the refugees, [[spoiler: one of whom--General Hemmer--is willing to terraform an entire planet to make it breathable for humans while killing off the indigenous Terrians in the process]]. Fortunately, [[spoiler: Jim's sacrifice in destroying the Terraformer along with General Hemmer meant that the rationally-minded humans and Terrians began to cooperate on providing the former with an artificial biosphere and infrastructure to avert this trope]].

* SuperweaponSurprise: [[spoiler: The terrians' past fighters and tanks. Subverted in that they're unable to put up more than a token resistance even with them, just enough for sympathetic humans to act.]]

** While his [[FinalSolution solution]] is rather extreme, General Hemmer is quite right that the humans have to act ''immediately'' to prevent their own extinction, especially since the ruling council doesn't manage to come up with any ''alternative'' solutions to the imminent crisis.

* CentrifugalGravity:

* ConflictingLoyalty: Giddy gets hit with this when Mala asks him for information on how the humans will attack. He's programmed not to disobey them, but at the same time was given a direct order by his immediate superior (Jim) to save Mala, which she contends will require him to help save the Terrians. After thinking on it for a bit, Giddy decides Jim's order has higher priority.

* GadgeteerGenius: Mala.

* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Jim, who died destroying the terraformer.]]
** Also, [[spoiler: Mala's father.]]

* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: The President and his council, before a coup which results in Hemmer [[TyrantTakesTheHelm taking over]].

* RealityEnsues: [[spoiler: Despite their superior weapons technology, the Terrian defense forces ultimately fail to hold off the numerically superior and far more experienced Earthforce fleet. A few days of TrainingThePeacefulVillagers after ''centuries'' of complete peace isn't going to cut it against a highly trained army, no matter how much better your weapons are.]]

* ShowDontTell: It's clear, [[MissingMom Mala's mother]] is dead, but never directly referenced in dialogue. There's a a small scene where she's shown habitually putting out three dinner plates, then pausing and putting one away, and ll Later on, we see a small display in her house that contains figurines of Mala, her father, and her mother.

* VillainHasAPoint: While his [[FinalSolution solution]] is rather extreme, General Hemmer is quite right that the humans have to act ''immediately'' to prevent their own extinction, especially since the ruling council doesn't manage to come up with any ''alternative'' solutions to the imminent crisis.

* ShowDontTell: How we know [[MissingMom Mala's mother]] is dead, through a small scene where she's shown habitually putting out three dinner plates, then pausing and putting one away.

* NoBiochemicalBarriers: Averting this is a crucial plot point. Humans suffocate in the Terrian atmosphere and vice versa,

* ShowDontTell: How we know [[MissingMom Mala's mother]]

* BadGuysDoTheDirtyWork: Well, "bad guy" is putting it [[GreyAndGrayMorality a bit too strongly]],

* MoralDilemma: The primary source of Jim's conflict.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: No one in this film is evil; the Terrians' ShadowDictator is well meaning and kind, and most of the humans don't want to invade, but see no other option [[spoiler: as their ship will fail in about two months]], which is why the villain is so willing to do whatever it takes. Moreover, despite appearing like a textbook example of PerfectPacifistPeople at first, the Terrans themselves [[spoiler: have a long history of warfare]], and when the humans invade they don't hesitate [[spoiler: to whip out their stockpiled weaponry and fight back.]]

* SceneryPorn: Planet Terra is ''gorgeous'', small wonder everyone's fighting over it. General Hemmer was quite right when he called it "a jewel hanging in space."

A compact and entertaining movie, it doesn't pull its punches when it comes to the [[AnyoneCanDie death]] involved in such a conflicting plot. It boasts a mixed cast of famous film stars and voice actors, with solid performances all around. A pity that the marketing was practically nonexistent, and few people were aware of the film when it came out.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: No one in this film is evil; the terrians' ShadowDictator is well meaning and kind, and most of the humans don't want to invade, but see no other option [[spoiler: as their ship will fail in about two months]], which is why the villain is so willing to do whatever it takes. Moreover, despite appearing like a textbook example of PerfectPacifistPeople at first, the Terrans themselves [[spoiler: have a long history of warfare]], and when the humans invade they don't hesitate [[spoiler: to whip out their stockpiled weaponry and fight back.]]

* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler: Well, co-protagonist, but Jim definitely qualifies.]]
* UsedFuture: The Ark is in ''horrible'' condition. There is not a single part of the ship that isn't covered in rust or worn out, and equipment failures that results in death are common.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: No one in this film is evil; the terrians' ShadowDictator is well meaning and kind, and most of the humans don't want to invade, but see no other option [[spoiler: as their ship will fail in about two months]], which is why the villain is so willing to do whatever it takes.

* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:It looks like Jim is going to crash his ship into the terraformer's tower, but he blows it up before he hits it... and is then killed in the fireball.]]

* SuperweaponSurprise: [[spoiler: The terrians' past fighters and tanks.]]