Fantastic Fest 2008

Brief Summary:
An Armada of humans arrives on a habitable planet with intentions of colonization, but the seemingly peaceful indigenous creatures turn out to have some unexpected moxie. Beautifully animated with voice talent by David Cross, Brian Cox, Dennis Quaid, Rachael Wood and Luke Wilson.

Full Description:
Most animated kids movies these days stink. No, strike that - most CGI kids movies these days stink. Unless it's from Pixar, Dreamworks or Blue Sky, many of these movies have one thing going against them that they can never overcome: They all follow the kid's animated movie rulebook to the letter, all to their detriment. What sets TERRA apart from the pretenders, however, is in how it doesn't want to be regular CGI animated movie, but rather, it has its own identity. And like the best of the big three, it offers kid-friendly entertainment that adults will get as much out of, if not more.

It's a bit unfair to classify TERRA strictly as a kid's film (although it's easily one of the most family-friendly features we're running at this year's Fantastic Fest), since it's also one of the most intelligent science fiction/fantasy films to come along in some time. Some may look upon TERRA as a not so thinly veiled allegory of Bush administration environmental and foreign policy and they're probably right (all the more reason to take the kids!), but TERRA doesn't force its ideas on the viewer, it puts everything expertly in context. More so, TERRA is one of the more strikingly designed SF CGI films, building both a unique alien world and a striking lived-in, man-made future that's on the verge of falling apart, but the film is about more than just design, as the characters who populate it make for the film's most endearing aspect. The excellent voice cast is lead by Evan Rachael Wood and Luke Wilson, with fine support coming from Justin Long and Dennis Quaid, and you know a film is good when Brian Cox voices yet another one of his patented villain roles and it doesn't sound like he's merely phoning it in.

Like the best SF anime, TERRA tells a story with several layers to it that keeps you emotionally and intellectually involved all the way through. It's a new world that's well worth exploring. (Matthew Kiernan)

Producers Keith Calder and Jennifer Wu will be in attendance.

TERRA is sponsored by MUSHROOM MEN, the exciting new video game from Gamecock – coming this fall!.