One of the most refreshing movies I saw at Fantastic Fest this year was Terra, an independently-produced CG movie that stands up on its own and feels like nothing but justice in the face of things like Barnyard 2 getting studio funding.
I have critic friends who see every CG-animated movie out there for one of two reasons: they're required to for work or they honestly have a remarkable drive for morbid curiosity. Since the genre-establishing* (see note below) success of Toy Story, we've all seen many more weekends than ever before crammed with sub-par animated features (all CG mind you) that are designed not to be innovative or interesting, but just generate revenue because it's what the whole family will settle to watch, from toddlers up to grandparents.
I know people who just dismissed it from their must-see list or saw it and said "meh", falling back on something to the tune of "it didn't knock my socks off or anything". Does it blow the doors off of the CG or scifi genres? Honestly it doesn't, and I really don't think they were aiming to. They were going to tell a story that could really only be told this way independently. As expensive as I'm sure non-studio CG animation must be, it'd be nothing compared to trying to make this thing live-action.
Terra takes place on and around a distant planet to Earth and features an alien people who themselves "swim" around through the air, hovering over the ground, but who are also fascinated with flying machines. They seem to have strict controls on technological development, for unclear reasons at first.
Humans come into the picture at one point, and my wife commented it was an interesting companion piece to WALL-E thanks to thematic similarities involving mankind forced into outer space as a result of making Earth uninhabitable.
There are spaceship laser battle sequences, and the influences of many other science fiction films is present, from Star Wars to Independence Day, but never to the point of ripping anyone else off. Others may make that allegation, but the closest you see to them ripping off ID4 is the fact there's a Quaid in the voice cast.
What I like most is that it does its own thing without trying to be the writer or director's "version" of someone else's vision. I dare say Terra does the spirit of Star Wars better than Star Wars has done in some time. It keeps the themes and plot progression simple. It is absolutely family-friendly and has a "don't just do as you're told when it feels wrong" message that has been missing from so many animated features aimed square at kids for so long. Then again, it has been in some of them, but it's aimed more at "be rebellious and stupid" instead of "do the right thing."
At a Q&A after the film, producers Keith Andrews and Jess Wu stated they were eyeing a 2009 release, and they had just recently begun the process of putting together a stereoscopic 3D version of the film, which I can imagine would only hopefully get more kids and their parents into the cinema. I'll be tracking developments on this movie, so keep an eye peeled for updates.
If anything, I only wish Terra were coming out before the election, because kids bringing their parents out to this movie could possibly do something to influence the undecided voters out there.
It's been something like five days since I saw Terra, and it's only grown in my estimation since then. If you're an adult who's into animation, and don't need it to be "adult" in nature, check it out, and if you have kids, definitely see it (in 3D if possible).
**Toy Story was not the first feature CG movie, as many would argue, but it absolutely cemented CG animation as a category in the public consciousness