Imagine the 1973 French animated film Fantastic Planet if Dr. Seuss and Chuck Jones had contributed to it, and you’ll have an idea of this independent (i.e., not from Disney, Pixar, or DreamWorks) sci-fi fable. Originally called Terra but retitled in a presumed attempt to boost its appeal to action-addicted children, Battle for Terra opens on a planet populated by peaceful creatures who are a warmer version of the now-standard extra-terrestrial prototype: big eyes, no visible nostrils, willowy bodies. They live in what appear to be impossibly tall plants, and glide through the air (like Whos, they seem to have no feet) like fish through the water. They are ruled by a council of elders who discourage independent thought, which seems like it’s going to be a lot more central to the plot than it ever is. Their nonviolent existence is disturbed by the arrival of powerful visitors in the skies. These are at first assumed to be gods, even when they scoop up samples of the populace and whisk them away. Instead, they are alien invaders who plan to take over the planet, having long ago destroyed their own. (Wanna guess what their planet was called?) I’m not sure what demographic this PG-13 movie was designed for, though it should work reasonably well both for kids (who get enough eye candy—in 3-D, too—to sit still for the somewhat obvious moralizing) as well as for older animation fans, who will appreciate the originality of its designs. There may be some who will be attracted by the huge number of familiar names in the voice cast—Luke Wilson, Evan Rachel Wood, Rosanna Arquette, Brian Cox, David Cross, Beverly D’Angelo, Chris Evans, James Garner, Danny Glover, Mark Hamill, Laraine Newman, Amanda Peet, Ron Perlman, Dennis Quaid, and Danny Trejo—but as usual with this kind of thing you won’t recognize most of them when you hear them anyway.

—m. faust

Watch the trailer for Battle for Terra