Terra Willy: Unexplored Planet Parent Guide

Animated movies for children are often formulaic cash cows, with characters, scenes, and plot lines that are virtually interchangeable. They might entertain kids, who are famously unfussy media consumers, but they bore parents, who become captive audiences in the theater. When a different type of kids’ movie comes along, it’s worth celebrating.

Terra Willy: Unexplored Planet is something special in the world of children’s animation. Its uniqueness might be credited to the fact that it’s not a Hollywood production but comes from France. Viewers who are leery of “foreign” films can be reassured – the film has been released for the English-speaking market with animation that aligns the character’s faces with the English language dialogue. There are no awkward subtitles or moments where the dubbing feels incongruent.

What makes this movie stand out above the rest of the pack is its visual design. Terra Willyd is a joy to watch. If you combine a Dr. Seuss-type imagination with the colors of a candy store and the capabilities of computer animation, you wind up with the vivid, out-of-this-world scenes that the youthful protagonist encounters. The story begins with bland, but finely detailed spaceship interiors and then moves on to a rocky desert…but, wait, those aren’t rocks; they’re giant rock monsters. Willy then travels through numerous ecosystems on the planet, from hills covered with what looks like lavender, to fields of brilliant umbrella/tulip shaped flowers, to bleak landscapes with bubbling hot springs, to rain-forest like glades that are filled with fruits and flowers in extravagant colors, to sparkling rivers and streams and on to a sure-fire kid favorite – a natural water park. These settings are a visual feast and will ignite children’s imaginations. Don’t be surprised if your youngsters come home, grab their art supplies, and start drawing brightly colored, wildly designed alien worlds.

The rest of the movie lags behind the design but is still perfectly acceptable. The plot – a young boy is separated from his astronaut parents when an asteroid strike sends his escape pod to a distant planet – doesn’t come to any surprising conclusions. A happy ending is expected and the story delivers. But there are some surprises in the course of the tale and I was pleased that I couldn’t predict every event ahead of time. The adult voice acting is occasionally a bit stiff, but Landen Beattie gives Willy a youthful freshness and enthusiasm that is completely believable.

A big plus for the film is the minimal negative content it puts on the screen. The only issue for some children will be the film’s violence. Willy is separated from his parents by a meteor strike, which could upset sensitive little ones, especially when he grieves on the planet. But most of the issues involve Willy being chased by various alien monsters. There are some moments of peril, which could be frightening, but none of the violence in the film is graphic and it all furthers the plot.

Even better, Terra Willy comes with a cornucopia of positive messages that parents will want to embrace. The importance of family, the value of friendship and loyalty, the need to control impulsive urges – all are emphasized. Emotional resilience is a major theme of the film, with kids watching as Willy copes with the separation from his parents while also finding ways to solve problems, make friends, and find happiness and purpose in his new circumstances. One of his strategies is to continue his parents’ work as explorers so Willy industriously records the flora and fauna of his new planet. This celebration of education, knowledge, and science is another mark in the movie’s favor. Hopefully, Hollywood will decide that this type of children’s film-making is a world worth exploring and will produce more films of this quality.