Maybe Cameron visited Terra first?

In going back over the films that played in 2009, I remembered a little film that in many ways tells the same story as “Avatar.” Anyone else remember the animated feature “Battle for Terra” ?

Here’s the plot: A group of nature-loving beings lives in harmony on their distant world, named Terra. Humans invade, having left a ruined Earth, intent on colonizing this new planet. A young alien makes friends with a human soldier, and together they strive to avoid the showdown that would mean widespread death for both sides.

The difference? Well, in “Avatar” James Cameron puts the human soldier into an alien body (thus the film’s title). And instead of avoiding conflict, the soldier leads the aliens - not Terrans but Pandorans - into battle against the humans. And while “Battle for Terra” ends up feeling complete, with both sides achieving what they need if not all they want, “Avatar” is ripe for a sequel.

I didn’t like the look in Giovanni Ribisi’s eyes as he gets marched back to his ship. History tells us that powerful entities don’t give up easily whenever there are natural resources to exploit - no matter who supposedly “owns” them.

Below : The trailer for “Battle for Terra.”