It’s basically just Pocahontas or Dances with the Wolves. I like some moments in it but it’s otherwise mediocre. When I first heard about it I was expecting some next level 3D, borderline virtual reality stuff but it was pretty basic. Definitely disappointing but not so bad.
EDIT: Actually Fern Gully is the best comparison.
Even better comparisons can be found in literature...
Robert F. Young - "To Fell a Tree" 1959
A giant tree sacred to humanoid natives, is razed to the ground by a greedy, crazed human military outfit
Poul Anderson – “Call Me Joe” 1957
A paraplegic telepathically connects with an artificially created life form in order to explore a harsh planet. He revels in the freedom and strength of his artificial created body, battles predators on the surface of the planet, and gradually goes native as he spends more time connected to his artificial body.
Ben Bova – “The Winds of Altair” 1973. Six-legged beasties, remote control “avatars”, greedy terraforming humans.
Humans are trying to terraform the planet of Altair IV, where they cannot breath the air. The natives of this planet are a cat-like race and humans are able to transfer their minds into these cats in order to explore the planet safely. The main character inhabits the body of one of these cats (just like in Avatar) and grows to side with the natives against the Military in the story.
Then you have heavy elements from Anne McCaffrey's – “The Dragonriders of Pern” series. The visual similarities to Roger Dean's artwork. All the films that it has been compared with.
It really is a a mish mash and (for me) unremarkable film.